OECD Working Papers on Fiscal Federalism
This series covers issues related to intergovernmental fiscal relations and local/regional public finance, such as: tax and spending assignment across government levels; intergovernmental grants; fiscal equalization; local and regional public service efficiency; inter-jurisdictional tax competition; and macroeconomic issues such as intergovernmental fiscal management and sub-central fiscal rules. Many of these working papers are outputs of the OECD Network on Fiscal Relations Across Levels of Government. Related working papers on fiscal federalism issues are also published in other OECD working paper series on tax policy, economics, public governance and regional development. An integrated list of key papers produced by the Fiscal Network can be found at http://oe.cd/fiscalnetwork.
(Note: numbers 1, 6 and 8 are available in the OECD Economics Department Working Papers, as numbers 465, 626 and 705.)
- ISSN: 22265848 (online)
- https://doi.org/10.1787/22265848
The past and future of subnational fiscal rules
An analysis of fiscal rules over time
Fiscal rules are increasingly used at state and local levels to promote fiscal sustainability in OECD countries. Following the Global Financial Crisis, multiple reforms to fiscal rule frameworks were made so that governments could better tackle crises and build buffers for future downturns. This paper examines recent trends in the adoption of fiscal rules across levels of government and empirically assesses their effects with the purpose of providing lessons for the post-COVID-19 period. Beyond addressing the deterioration in public finances after the pandemic, the challenges include addressing the impact of population ageing, climate change and the energy transition, as well as growing regional inequalities. Evolution of the rules employed at the central level are contrasted to those at the subnational levels, including design features and institutional elements, together with their goals and limitations.
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