OECD Economics Department Working Papers

ISSN :
1815-1973 (en ligne)
DOI :
10.1787/18151973
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Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.
 

Restoring Fiscal Sustainability in Spain You or your institution have access to this content

Auteur(s):
Pierre Beynet1, Andrés Fuentes1, Robert Gillingham, Robert Hagemann1
Author Affiliations
  • 1: OCDE, France

Date de publication
18 mars 2011
Bibliographic information
N°:
850
Pages
48
DOI
10.1787/5kgg9mc37d8r-en

Cacher / Voir l'abstract

Spain’s government has introduced ambitious consolidation measures, which should yield a sizeable improvement in discretionary fiscal efforts. Should budgetary outcomes fall short of targets, the government should stand ready to introduce further measures, as announced. Such measures could include subjecting more goods and services to the standard value added tax rate. They could also be used to fund a reduction in some social security contributions paid by employers. Once sufficient progress towards fiscal consolidation has been achieved, a further reform of the tax system towards more growth-friendly taxes should be contemplated. Spain also faces a dramatic increase in ageing-related public spending, mostly on account of pensions. The pension reform plan is welcome, but further reforms in the pension system will be necessary to contain expenditure growth. Rules on the budget balances for each level of government should be reviewed so as to induce regional governments to run larger budget surpluses when activity exceeds potential.
Mots-clés:
pension reform, discretionary fiscal effort, fiscal sustainability, Spain, taxation, fiscal federalism, fiscal policy
Classification JEL:
  • H20: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / General
  • H21: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
  • H53: Public Economics / National Government Expenditures and Related Policies / Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
  • H55: Public Economics / National Government Expenditures and Related Policies / Social Security and Public Pensions
  • H60: Public Economics / National Budget, Deficit, and Debt / General
  • H77: Public Economics / State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations / Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism; Secession