OECD Economic Surveys: United States 2010
OECD's 2010 review of the US economy. This edition looks at rebalancing the economy following the crisis, restoring fiscal sustainability, and the special feature covers implementing cost-effective policies to mitigate climate change.
Also available in: French
- Click to access:
-
Click to download PDF - 2.73MBPDF
-
Click to Read online and shareREAD
Restoring fiscal sustainability
The United States faces challenging budgetary prospects, as do most other OECD countries. The federal budget deficit widened considerably during the recession, reaching about 10% of GDP in both 2009 and 2010, reflecting the operation of automatic stabilizers and the policy response to the crisis. Consequently, public debt now stands at its highest level since the early-1950s. The Administration has proposed the objective of stabilising the debt-GDP ratio by 2015, which is realistic in scope and ambition, though it requires fiscal tightening measures which are yet to be identified. In the next decade, the effects of population ageing on entitlement spending will be increasingly felt and the fiscal situation could deteriorate significantly in the absence of structural reforms of pension and, especially, healthcare programmes.
Also available in: French
- Click to access:
-
Click to download PDF - 459.90KBPDF
-
Click to Read online and shareREAD