From Containment to Rationalization: Increasing Public Expenditure Efficiency in France
IMF Working Papers, January 21, 2016
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Jean-Jacques Hallaert, Maximilien Queyranne
- Published: January 21, 2016
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513540139.001
Summary
- Achieving France’s medium-term fiscal targets will require significant expenditure efforts.
- The paper identifies areas where there is scope for increasing expenditure efficiency, with a view to achieving higher quality and more sustainable fiscal consolidation.
- Based on results, the paper provides policy options for expenditure reform in each area, drawing on successful reform episodes in other countries.
- 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.
Methodology
- The methodology is based on a triple benchmarking:
- First, the level of public expenditure in different categories is compared to other European countries.
- Second, the impact of spending is assessed against other European countries.
- Third, the input mix is analyzed to understand what components are responsible for the level of spending and for the quality of outcomes.
- This assessment is done for various categories of spending and policies.
Key findings and focus areas
- The paper assesses public expenditure categories and policies to identify scope for efficiency improvements across:
- Expenditure
- Health and Health care spending
- Labor and labor market
- Total expenditures
- Wages, including wage bill, wage drift, and General government wage
- Family allowance
- Local government expenditures
- Retirement age and unemployment rate implications
- Poverty rate considerations
Policy options and recommendations
- Provides policy options for expenditure reform in each assessed area.
- Draws on successful reform episodes in other countries to inform recommendations.
- Emphasizes moving from a containment approach to rationalization to achieve higher-quality and more sustainable fiscal consolidation.
Subject and keywords
- Subject: Expenditure, Health, Health care spending, Labor, Total expenditures, Wages
- Keywords: bill containment, central government, containment approach, Efficiency, EU average, Europe, family allowance, Fiscal consolidation, Fiscal Policy, France, General government wage, Health care spending, labor market, local government, poverty rate, Public Expenditure, retirement age, Total expenditures, unemployment rate, wage bill, wage drift, Wages, WP
Content derived from "From Containment to Rationalization: Increasing Public Expenditure Efficiency in France", IMF Working Papers, January 21, 2016.