Description:
Cover Page; Title Page; Copyright Page; Contents; I. Introduction; II. What Are the Objectives and Coverage of a Fiscal Responsibility Law?; A. What is a Fiscal Responsibility Law (FRL)?; B. Accountability to Whom?; C. Transparency of Fiscal Policy Intentions; D. Ex Post Accountability of the Government to the Legislature and Public; E. Fiscal Stability and Public Debt Sustainability; F. Comprehensiveness of the Fiscal Framework and Institutions to Implement It; III. Assessment of Country Experience with Fiscal Responsibility Laws; A. Country Experience
1. Fiscal Responsibility Laws in OECD Countries1. United Kingdom: The Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2010; 1. Fiscal Responsibility Laws in Emerging and Developing Countries; B. Successes and Failures of FRLs; 2. New Zealand: Strengths and Weakness of the 1994 Fiscal Responsibility Act; IV. Why Most OECD and Advanced Countries Have Not Adopted a FRL; A. Adequacy of Existing Legal Framework for Budget System; 3. Constitutional Constraints on Budget Management; 4. Iceland: Government Financial Reporting Act, No. 88/1997; B. Law Perceived to be Less Necessary or Unnecessary for FRL
C. Independent Institutions Contribute to the Accountability of Government5. Roles of Independent Fiscal Councils; D. Supranational Fiscal Rules and Fiscal Stability Laws in EU countries; 6. Content of Stability and Convergence Programs of EU countries; 7. Austria and Italy: National and Domestic Stability Pacts; E. Role Played by Coalition Agreements; 2. Coalition Agreements in Selected European Countries; F. The Limited Success of Including Quantitative Fiscal Rules in Law; 8. United States: FRL-type legislation in the 1980s and 1990s; G. The Political Difficulty of Adopting FRLs
H. Strong Legislatures Reject Executive Dominance in Budget MattersI. Freedom of Information Laws Set Tone for Transparency; V. Conclusions; I. Australia's Charter of Budget Honesty, 1998; II. Japan: Experiences with Legislated Fiscal Rules; III. Experiences of FRLs in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka; IV. Germany: Legal Basis for Budget System; V. Fiscal Stability Laws in Spain and Portugal; VI. Brazil-Features of Legal Framework, including the FRL; Bibliography; Footnotes
Fiscal Responsibility Laws (FRLs) appear to be more popular in middle-income countries than advanced countries, even though their success is limited. The reasons why few advanced countries have a FRL include: the existing legal framework for the budget system is adequate; supranational rules and political agreements in EU countries; failed attempts to include quantitative fiscal rules in laws; lack of consensus or interest in attaining the goals of FRL-type legislation; and lack of need for a law to regulate fiscal transparency, accountability and macro-fiscal stabilization. Without commitment