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Independent Fiscal Councils: Recent Trends and Performance
Author:
Mr. Roel M. W. J. Beetsma null

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,
Mr. Xavier Debrun
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Xiangming Fang null

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Young-Bae Kim null

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Victor Duarte Lledo null

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Samba Mbaye null

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Xiaoxiao Zhang null

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Series:
IMF Working Papers
Volume/Issue:
Volume 2018: Issue 068
Language:
English
Publication Date:
23 Mar 2018
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5089/9781484348284.001
ISBN:
9781484348284
ISSN:
1018-5941
Pages:
28
Keywords:
WP; output gap; bond yield; interest rate; independent fiscal councils; fiscal rule compliance; fiscal forecasts; fiscal council; IFC dummy; government effectiveness; absolute value; EU law; council interaction; public finance; Fiscal councils; Fiscal rules; Fiscal stance; Budget planning and preparation; Europe; Global
Legal-disclaimer:
IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.
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Countries increasingly rely on independent fiscal councils to constrain policymakers’ discretion and curb the bias towards excessive deficits and pro-cyclical policies. Since fiscal councils are often recent and heterogeneous across countries, assessing their impact is challenging. Using the latest (2016) vintage of the IMF Fiscal Council Dataset, we focus on two tasks expected to strengthen fiscal performance: the preparation or assessment of forecasts, and the monitoring of compliance with fiscal rules. Tentative econometric evidence suggests that the presence of a fiscal council is associated with more accurate and less optimistic fiscal forecasts, as well as greater compliance with fiscal rules.
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Cover IMF Working Papers
IMF Working Papers
ISSN:
1018-5941
Publisher:
International Monetary Fund