#fiscal rules

[myprmate-blog]

Finance ministers press Italy to stick to EU fiscal rules

EU finance ministers told the Italian government on Thursday (13 June) to meet its fiscal obligations in order to reduce its high debt, with the European Commission insisting on “substantial corrections” to rein in public spending.

Finance ministers press Italy to stick to EU fiscal rules

[theswitchproject]

The paper provides evidence that fiscal rules can limit the political budget cycle. It focuses on the application of the Italian fiscal rule at the sub-national level over the period 2004-2006 and shows that: 1) municipalities are subject to political budget cycles in capital spending; 2) the Italian subnational fiscal rule introduced in 1999 has been enforced by the central government; 3) municipalities subject to the fiscal rule show more limited political budget cycles than municipalities not subject to the rule.

[theswitchproject]

The current European fiscal framework is inefficient and relies on indicators that are badly estimated. How can the rules be improved and what can a European fiscal council add to this?  The strong fiscal tightening implemented in many European countries since 2010 has contributed to the poor economic recovery in Europe. This raises doubts about the effectiveness of the EU’s fiscal rules in achieving their two main objectives: public debt sustainability and fiscal stabilisation.

[theswitchproject]

The current European fiscal framework is inefficient. It should be replaced with a system based on rules more suited to the two core objectives: public debt sustainability and fiscal stabilisation. The rules should be more transparent and easier to implement. These reforms would promote greater compliance.