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The quality of public finances and economic growth

Author

Listed:
  • Salvador Barrios
  • Andrea Schaechter

Abstract

Improving the quality of public finances (QPF) has become a new focus for European policy makers. This focus is largely a response to preparing the European economies for the dual challenge of ageing populations and increased exposure to global competition. At the EU level, the Stability and Growth Pact and the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs provide, in principle, the appropriate tools for fostering a greater role of QPF in fiscal surveillance but this has not yet fully materialised in practice. This is partly because a broad-based conceptual framework on what makes up QPF has been missing. This paper attempts to close this gap by developing a multi-dimensional approach on QPF. Moreover, it reviews how EU Member States fare in each dimension and summarises empirical findings on the links between QPF and growth, including through a growth-accounting approach using discriminant analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Salvador Barrios & Andrea Schaechter, 2008. "The quality of public finances and economic growth," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 337, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    • Handle: RePEc:euf:ecopap:0337
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    File URL: https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/pages/publication13101_en.pdf
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fabiana Rocha & Veronica Orellano, Karina Bugarin, 2016. "Local public finances in Brazil: are mayoral characteristics important?," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2016_04, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    2. Győrffy, Dóra, 2008. "Költségvetési kiigazítás és növekedés az Európai Unióban. Tanulságok Magyarország számára [Budget adjustment and growth in the European Union lessons for Hungary]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(11), pages 962-986.
    3. Ibrar Hussain & Zahoor Khan & Muhmmad Rafiq, 2017. "Compositional Changes in Public Expenditure and Economic Growth: Time Series Evidence from Pakistan," Business & Economic Review, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-20, March.
    4. Djedje Hermann YOHOU, 2015. "In Search of Fiscal Space in Africa: The Role of the Quality of Government Spending," Working Papers 201527, CERDI.
    5. Miguel Viegas & Ana Paula Ribeiro, 2011. "Welfare-improving Government Behaviour and Inequality - Inspection Using a Heterogeneous-agent Model," CEF.UP Working Papers 1103, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    6. Dan Lupu & Mihai Bogdan Petrisor & Ana Bercu & Mihaela Tofan, 2018. "The Impact of Public Expenditures on Economic Growth: A Case Study of Central and Eastern European Countries," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(3), pages 552-570, February.
    7. Alessandra Cepparulo & Gilles Mourre, 2020. "How and How Much? The Growth-Friendliness of Public Spending through the Lens," European Economy - Discussion Papers 132, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    8. Leonor Coutinho, 2012. "Determinants of Growth and Inflation in Southern Mediterranean Countries," CASE Network Studies and Analyses 436, CASE-Center for Social and Economic Research.
    9. Salines, Marion & Glöckler, Gabriel & Truchlewski, Zbigniew & del Favero, Paola, 2011. "Beyond the economics of the euro - analysing the institutional evolution of EMU 1999-2010, September 2011," Occasional Paper Series 127, European Central Bank.
    10. Debra Bloch & Jean-Marc Fournier, 2018. "The deterioration of the public spending mix during the global financial crisis: Insights from new indicators," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1465, OECD Publishing.
    11. Salines, Marion & Glöckler, Gabriel & Truchlewski, Zbigniew & del Favero, Paola, 2011. "Beyond the economics of the euro - analysing the institutional evolution of EMU 1999-2010," Occasional Paper Series 127, European Central Bank.
    12. Amanda Carmignani & Francesco Bripi & Raffaela Giordano, 2011. "The quality of public services in Italy," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 84, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    13. Hans Pitlik & Margit Schratzenstaller, 2022. "Kurzexpertise zu Abgabensystem und Ausgabenstrukturen im internationalen Vergleich. Ausgangssituation und Reformbedarf," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 67988.
    14. Slawomir Franek & Marta Postula, 2020. "Does Eurozone Membership Strengthen the Significance of Fiscal Instruments?," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 21(1), pages 131-151, May.
    15. Coutinho, Leonor, 2012. "Determinants of Growth and Inflation in Southern Mediterranean Countries," CEPS Papers 6736, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    16. Hans Pitlik & Margit Schratzenstaller-Altzinger, 2011. "Growth Implications of Structure and Size of Public Sectors," WIFO Working Papers 404, WIFO.
    17. Irena Szarowská, 2016. "Quality of Public Finance and Economic Growth in the Czech Republic," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 64(4), pages 1373-1381.
    18. Viegas, Miguel & Ribeiro, Ana Paula, 2013. "Welfare-improving government behavior and inequality in a heterogeneous agents model," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 146-160.
    19. Veronica Ines Fernandez Orellano & Fabiana Rocha & Karina Bugarin, 2018. "Local Public Finances In Brazil: Are Mayoral Characteristics Important?," Anais do XLIV Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 44th Brazilian Economics Meeting] 70, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics].
    20. Péter Halmai & Viktória Vásáry, 2012. "Convergence crisis: economic crisis and convergence in the European Union," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 297-322, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public finances; fiscal policy; public spending; fiscal governance; expenditure efficiency; revenue systems; growth accounting; Barrios; Schaechter;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H50 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - General
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • H60 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - General
    • H61 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Budget; Budget Systems

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