IMF Working Papers

Expenditure Ceilings—A Survey

By Gösta Ljungman

December 1, 2008

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Gösta Ljungman. Expenditure Ceilings—A Survey, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2008) accessed October 10, 2024
Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary

This paper looks at the factors that have to be considered when designing an aggregate expenditure ceiling. It is argued that expenditure ceilings are effective in promoting fiscal discipline and sustainability, but that a number of trade-offs have to be made when setting up a fiscal framework that will survive in a politically charged environment. The paper illustrates the discussion with a case study of medium-term aggregate expenditure ceilings in three countries: Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Subject: Budget planning and preparation, Expenditure, External debt, Fiscal governance, Fiscal policy, Inflation, Interest payments, Prices, Public financial management (PFM)

Keywords: Budget expenditure, Budget planning and preparation, Central government, Expenditure category, Expenditure ceiling, Expenditure ceiling in the Netherlands, Expenditure ceilings, Expenditure ceilings regime, Expenditure development, Expenditure forecast, Expenditure level, Expenditure-reducing measure, Fiscal governance, Fiscal policy, Fiscal rules, Government expenditure, Government finances, Inflation, Interest payments, Investment expenditure, Medium-term expenditure ceiling, Structural surplus, Time horizon, WP

Publication Details

  • Pages:

    55

  • Volume:

    ---

  • DOI:

    ---

  • Issue:

    ---

  • Series:

    Working Paper No. 2008/282

  • Stock No:

    WPIEA2008282

  • ISBN:

    9781451871401

  • ISSN:

    1018-5941