Strengthening Post-Crisis Fiscal Credibility: Fiscal Councils on the Rise — A New Dataset
IMF Working Papers, April 8, 2014
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Xavier Debrun, Tidiane Kinda
- Published: April 8, 2014
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781475516135.001
Summary
- Institutions aimed at constraining policy discretion to promote sound fiscal policies are once again at the forefront of the policy debate.
- Interest in “fiscal councils,” independent watchdogs active in the public debate, has grown rapidly in recent years.
- This paper presents the first cross-country dataset summarizing key characteristics of fiscal councils among IMF members.
- The data documents a surge in the number of fiscal councils since the crisis.
- The analysis illustrates that well-designed fiscal councils are associated with stronger fiscal performance and better macroeconomic and budgetary forecasts.
Key findings
- Surge in the number of fiscal councils since the crisis.
- Well-designed fiscal councils are associated with:
- Stronger fiscal performance.
- Better macroeconomic forecasts.
- Better budgetary forecasts.
Key features of effective fiscal councils
- Operational independence from politics.
- The provision or public assessment of budgetary forecasts.
- A strong presence in the public debate.
- Monitoring of compliance with fiscal policy rules.
Subject areas and keywords
- Subject: Budget planning and preparation, Fiscal councils, Fiscal policy, Fiscal rules, Fiscal stance, Public financial management (PFM)
- Keywords: Africa, background country note, Budget planning and preparation, council dataset, councils characteristic, Credibility of fiscal policy, Europe, fiscal council, fiscal councils, fiscal performance, fiscal rules, Fiscal stance, forecast errors, IMF country paper, public goods, WP