IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jrisks/v8y2020i3p79-d387481.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fiscal Responsibility Legal Framework—New Paradigm for Fiscal Discipline in the EU

Author

Listed:
  • Mihaela Tofan

    (Department of Finance, Money and Public Administration, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, 700505 Iasi, Romania)

  • Mihaela Onofrei

    (Department of Finance, Money and Public Administration, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, 700505 Iasi, Romania)

  • Anca-Florentina Vatamanu

    (Department of Finance, Money and Public Administration, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, 700505 Iasi, Romania)

Abstract

This paper aims at studying the legal aspects of the European Union (EU)’s fiscal policy, analyzing the statute of fiscal responsibility legal framework, the different measures undertaken in the last years with respect to European trends in fiscal governance and their implications for challenges in public finance sustainability. The research started from the presupposition that there is a lack of mechanisms capable of enforcing the area of public finance sustainability, and the implication of the events that created the economic conjuncture of recent years reveals that the solidity of public finances has reached an impasse and needs to be enhanced. The analyzed documents from the area of fiscal responsibility show formal respect for the legislative framework aimed at consolidating public finance sustainability and accentuate the need to use fiscal laws, independent institutions and mechanisms that put constraints on policymakers and determine them to spend more efficiently, invest more wisely, and obtain better results regarding public finance sustainability. We conclude that future policymaking processes need to consider the consolidation of independent fiscal institutions founded by Fiscal Responsibility Law framework, completed by fiscal rules and, therefore, need to redesign the fiscal risk management process.

Suggested Citation

  • Mihaela Tofan & Mihaela Onofrei & Anca-Florentina Vatamanu, 2020. "Fiscal Responsibility Legal Framework—New Paradigm for Fiscal Discipline in the EU," Risks, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-18, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jrisks:v:8:y:2020:i:3:p:79-:d:387481
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9091/8/3/79/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9091/8/3/79/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mr. Theodore M. Barnhill & Mr. George Kopits, 2003. "Assessing Fiscal Sustainability Under Uncertainity," IMF Working Papers 2003/079, International Monetary Fund.
    2. Mihaela Onofrei & Anca Gavriluţă (Vatamanu) & Ionel Bostan & Florin Oprea & Gigel Paraschiv & Cristina Mihaela Lazăr, 2020. "The Implication of Fiscal Principles and Rules on Promoting Sustainable Public Finances in the EU Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-21, April.
    3. Hallerberg,Mark & Rainer Strauch,Rolf & von Hagen,Jürgen, 2010. "Fiscal Governance in Europe," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521138260.
    4. Andrew Hughes Hallett & Svend E. Hougaard Jensen, 2016. "The Fiscal Framework in a Currency Union: Lessons from a Comparison between the Euro Area and the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(6), pages 803-823, June.
    5. András Bethlendi & Csaba Lentner, 2018. "Subnational Fiscal Consolidation: The Hungarian Path from Crisis to Fiscal Sustainability in Light of International Experiences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-16, August.
    6. F. Holm-Hadulla & S. Hauptmeier & P. Rother, 2012. "The impact of expenditure rules on budgetary discipline over the cycle," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(25), pages 3287-3296, September.
    7. António Afonso & João Jalles, 2014. "A longer-run perspective on fiscal sustainability," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 41(4), pages 821-847, November.
    8. Fabio Pammolli & Massimo Riccaboni & Laura Magazzini, 2012. "The sustainability of European health care systems: beyond income and aging," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 13(5), pages 623-634, October.
    9. Paweł Prędkiewicz & Agnieszka Bem & Paulina Ucieklak-Jeż & Rafał Siedlecki, 2019. "Public or Private? Which Source of Financing Helps to Achieve Higher Health System Efficiency?," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Krzysztof Jajuga & Hermann Locarek-Junge & Lucjan T. Orłowski & Karsten Staehr (ed.), Contemporary Trends and Challenges in Finance, pages 191-199, Springer.
    10. Foremny, Dirk, 2014. "Sub-national deficits in European countries: The impact of fiscal rules and tax autonomy," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 86-110.
    11. Aristovnik, Aleksander & Berčič, Boštjan, 2007. "Fiscal Sustainability in Selected Transition Countries," MPRA Paper 122, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Heiko T. Burret & Lars P. Feld, 2018. "Vertical effects of fiscal rules: the Swiss experience," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 25(3), pages 673-721, June.
    13. Joshua Farley & Matthew Burke & Gary Flomenhoft & Brian Kelly & D. Forrest Murray & Stephen Posner & Matthew Putnam & Adam Scanlan & Aaron Witham, 2013. "Monetary and Fiscal Policies for a Finite Planet," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(6), pages 1-25, June.
    14. Ms. Lusine Lusinyan & Aliona Cebotari & Ricardo Velloso & Mr. Jeffrey M. Davis & Mr. Amine Mati & Murray Petrie & Mr. Paolo Mauro, 2009. "Fiscal Risks: Sources, Disclosure, and Management," IMF Departmental Papers / Policy Papers 2009/001, International Monetary Fund.
    15. Mr. Ian Lienert, 2010. "Should Advanced Countries Adopt a Fiscal Responsibility Law?," IMF Working Papers 2010/254, International Monetary Fund.
    16. Heinemann, Friedrich & Moessinger, Marc-Daniel & Yeter, Mustafa, 2018. "Do fiscal rules constrain fiscal policy? A meta-regression-analysis," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 69-92.
    17. Asatryan, Zareh & Castellón, César & Stratmann, Thomas, 2018. "Balanced budget rules and fiscal outcomes: Evidence from historical constitutions," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 105-119.
    18. Robert Hagemann, 2011. "How Can Fiscal Councils Strengthen Fiscal Performance?," OECD Journal: Economic Studies, OECD Publishing, vol. 2011(1), pages 1-24.
    19. Teresa Ter-Minassian, 2007. "Fiscal Rules for Subnational Governments: Can They Promote Fiscal Discipline?," OECD Journal on Budgeting, OECD Publishing, vol. 6(3), pages 1-11.
    20. António Afonso & João Tovar Jalles, 2013. "Do fiscal rules matter for growth?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 34-40, January.
    21. Iara, Anna & Wolff, Guntram B., 2014. "Rules and risk in the Euro area," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 222-236.
    22. Bodo Herzog, 2016. "Modelling Monetary and Fiscal Governance in the Wake of the Sovereign Debt Crisis in Europe," Economies, MDPI, vol. 4(2), pages 1-11, May.
    23. Hauptmeier, Sebastian & Sanchez-Fuentes, A. Jesus & Schuknecht, Ludger, 2011. "Towards expenditure rules and fiscal sanity in the euro area," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 597-617, July.
    24. Nada Wasi & Aaron Flaaen, 2015. "Record linkage using Stata: Preprocessing, linking, and reviewing utilities," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 15(3), pages 672-697, September.
    25. ADAM, Alexandra, 2015. "Approaches Of Public Finance Sustainability Taking Into Account The Current Economic Context," Studii Financiare (Financial Studies), Centre of Financial and Monetary Research "Victor Slavescu", vol. 19(1), pages 93-101.
    26. Ryan S. Mattson & Rex Pjesky, 2019. "Approaching Modern Monetary Theory with a Taylor Rule," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-13, September.
    27. Sacchi, Agnese & Salotti, Simone, 2015. "The impact of national fiscal rules on the stabilisation function of fiscal policy," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 1-20.
    28. Cristiana Belu Manescu & Elva Bova, 2020. "National Expenditure Rules in the EU An Analysis of Effectiveness and Compliance," European Economy - Discussion Papers 124, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    29. Antonella Cavallo & Pietro Dallari & Antonio Ribba, 2018. "Fiscal Policies in High Debt Euro-Area Countries," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-319-70269-8, September.
    30. Michal Brzozowski & Joanna Siwinska Gorzelak, 2010. "The impact of fiscal rules on fiscal policy volatility," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 13, pages 205-231, November.
    31. Ashiqur Rahman & Jaroslav Belas & Tomas Kliestik & Ladislav Tyll, 2017. "Collateral requirements for SME loans: empirical evidence from the Visegrad countries," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(4), pages 650-675, July.
    32. Nicolo Andreula & Alberto Chong & Jorge Guillen, 2009. "Institutional Quality and Fiscal Transparency," Research Department Publications 4647, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    33. Bergman, U. Michael & Hutchison, Michael M. & Jensen, Svend E. Hougaard, 2016. "Promoting sustainable public finances in the European Union: The role of fiscal rules and government efficiency," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 1-19.
    34. Momi Dahan & Michel Strawczynski, 2013. "Fiscal Rules and the Composition of Government Expenditures in OECD Countries," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(3), pages 484-504, June.
    35. Hussam Musa & Viacheslav Natorin & Zdenka Musova & Pavol Durana, 2020. "Comparison of the efficiency measurement of the conventional and Islamic banks," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 11(1), pages 29-58, March.
    36. Ian Lienert, 2013. "Fiscal Responsibility Laws: Are They Needed?," Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy (JICEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 4(03), pages 1-32.
    37. Ales Krejdl, 2006. "Fiscal Sustainability - Definition, Indicators and Assessment of Czech Public Finance Sustainability," Working Papers 2006/3, Czech National Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Binh Bui & Charl de Villiers, 2021. "Recovery from Covid‐19 towards a low‐carbon economy: a role for accounting technologies in designing, implementing and assessing stimulus packages," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(3), pages 4789-4831, September.
    2. Ionel Bostan, 2021. "Special Issue “Audit and Financial Control Tools Aimed at Ensuring the Sustainable Performance of Organizations”," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-4, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Brändle, Thomas & Elsener, Marc, 2023. "Do fiscal rules matter? A survey on recent evidence," Working papers 2023/07, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    2. Amélie Barbier-Gauchard & Kea Baret & Alexandru Minea, 2021. "National fiscal rules and fiscal discipline in the European Union," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(20), pages 2337-2359, April.
    3. Niklas Potrafke, 2023. "The Economic Consequences of Fiscal Rules," CESifo Working Paper Series 10765, CESifo.
    4. López-Herrera, Carmen & Cordero, José M. & Pedraja-Chaparro, Francisco & Polo, Cristina, 2023. "Fiscal rules and their influence on public sector efficiency," MPRA Paper 119018, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Heinemann, Friedrich & Janeba, Eckhard & Todtenhaupt, Maximilian, 2022. "Incumbency and expectations of fiscal rule compliance: Evidence from surveys of German policy makers," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    6. Ryota Nakatani, 2021. "Fiscal Rules for Natural Disaster- and Climate Change-Prone Small States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-26, March.
    7. Sawadogo, Pegdéwendé Nestor, 2020. "Can fiscal rules improve financial market access for developing countries?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    8. Andrian, Leandro Gaston & Valencia, Oscar & Hirs, Jorge & Urrea Rios, Ivan Leonardo, 2022. "Fiscal Rules and Economic Cycles: Quality (Always) Matters," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12639, Inter-American Development Bank.
    9. Pirvu, Daniela & Dutu, Amalia & Enachescu, Carmen, 2019. "Analysing Of Government'S Fiscal Behaviour In The Eu Member States Through Clustering Procedure," UTMS Journal of Economics, University of Tourism and Management, Skopje, Macedonia, vol. 10(1), pages 23-39.
    10. Sacchi, Agnese & Salotti, Simone, 2015. "The impact of national fiscal rules on the stabilisation function of fiscal policy," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 1-20.
    11. Afonso, António & Huart, Florence & Tovar Jalles, João & Stanek, Piotr, 2022. "Twin deficits revisited: A role for fiscal institutions?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    12. Asatryan, Zareh & Castellón, César & Stratmann, Thomas, 2018. "Balanced budget rules and fiscal outcomes: Evidence from historical constitutions," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 105-119.
    13. Ryota Nakatani, 2019. "A Possible Approach to Fiscal Rules in Small Islands — Incorporating Natural Disasters and Climate Change," IMF Working Papers 2019/186, International Monetary Fund.
    14. Gootjes, Bram & de Haan, Jakob, 2022. "Procyclicality of fiscal policy in European Union countries," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    15. Picchio, Matteo & Santolini, Raffaella, 2020. "Fiscal rules and budget forecast errors of Italian municipalities," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    16. Hansen, Daniel, 2020. "The effectiveness of fiscal institutions: International financial flogging or domestic constraint?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    17. Julia del Amo Valor & Marcos Martín Mateos & Diego Martínez López & Javier J. Pérez, 2023. "Is the European economic governance framework too “complex”? A critical discussion," Working Papers 2023-06, FEDEA.
    18. Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, 2019. "Macroeconomic Institutions: Lessons from World Experience for MENA Countries," Working Papers 1311, Economic Research Forum, revised 21 Aug 2019.
    19. Gootjes, Bram & de Haan, Jakob, 2022. "Do fiscal rules need budget transparency to be effective?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    20. Bergman, U. Michael & Hutchison, Michael M. & Jensen, Svend E. Hougaard, 2016. "Promoting sustainable public finances in the European Union: The role of fiscal rules and government efficiency," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 1-19.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jrisks:v:8:y:2020:i:3:p:79-:d:387481. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.