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Will the new stability and growth pact succeed? An economic and political perspective

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  • Marco Buti

Abstract

While the Maastricht Treaty establishes the entry conditions for Member States to join the single currency, the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) aims to make budgetary discipline a permanent feature of EMU. Consequently, the Pact is commonly interpreted as a major building block of EMU's architecture: the SGP ‘must rank as one of the most remarkable pieces of policy coordination in world history. The purpose of this paper is to offer an initial evaluation of the SGP reform. Section Two reviews the main fiscal policy developments in the early years of EMU which were at the basis of the crisis of the SGP ‘mark I'. Section Three describes the reformed SGP and an assessment of its main features. Section Four presents some reflections on the political economy of the EU rules, comparing the new SGP with the Maastricht Treaty and the SGP ‘mark I'. The final section concludes.

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  • Marco Buti, 2006. "Will the new stability and growth pact succeed? An economic and political perspective," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 241, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    • Handle: RePEc:euf:ecopap:0241
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    Cited by:

    1. Iulia Andreea Bucur & Simona Elena Dragomirescu, 2013. "An Analysis Of The Fiscal Convergence Criteria In The European Union In Terms Of The Sustainability," Studies and Scientific Researches. Economics Edition, "Vasile Alecsandri" University of Bacau, Faculty of Economic Sciences, issue 18.
    2. Fiorella Kostoris Padoa Schioppa, 2006. "The 2005 Reform of the Stability and Growth Pact: Too Little, Too Late?," Bruges European Economic Research Papers 6, European Economic Studies Department, College of Europe.
    3. Onorante, Luca & Pedregal, Diego J. & Pérez, Javier J. & Signorini, Sara, 2010. "The usefulness of infra-annual government cash budgetary data for fiscal forecasting in the euro area," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 98-119, January.
    4. Nadine Leiner-Killinger & Víctor López Pérez & Roger Stiegert & Giovanni Vitale, 2007. "Structural reforms in EMU and the role of monetary policy – a survey of the literature," Occasional Paper Series 66, European Central Bank.
    5. Marco Buti & Werner Rüger & Alessandro Turrini, 2009. "Is Lisbon Far from Maastricht? Trade-offs and Complementarities between Fiscal Discipline and Structural Reforms," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo, vol. 55(1), pages 165-196, March.
    6. Győrffy, Dóra, 2008. "Költségvetési kiigazítás és növekedés az Európai Unióban. Tanulságok Magyarország számára [Budget adjustment and growth in the European Union lessons for Hungary]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(11), pages 962-986.
    7. Acocella, Nicola & Di Bartolomeo, Giovanni & Tirelli, Patrizio, 2009. "The macroeconomics of social pacts," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 202-213, October.
    8. Pavla Bednářová, 2011. "The Fiscal Position of Eurozone Countries under the influence of the global economic crisis [Fiskální pozice zemí eurozóny pod vlivem světové hospodářské krize]," Současná Evropa, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2011(1), pages 17-31.
    9. Groneck, Max, 2010. "A golden rule of public finance or a fixed deficit regime?: Growth and welfare effects of budget rules," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 523-534, March.
    10. Győrffy, Dóra, 2007. "Társadalmi bizalom és költségvetési hiány [Social confidence and budget deficit]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(3), pages 274-290.
    11. David Howarth & Lucia Quaglia, 2015. "The political economy of the euro area's sovereign debt crisis: introduction to the special issue of the Review of International Political Economy," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(3), pages 457-484, June.
    12. Wim Marneffe & Bas van Aarle & Wouter van der Wielen & Lode Vereeck, 2011. "The Impact of Fiscal Rules on Public Finances in the Euro Area," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 9(3), pages 18-26, October.
    13. Amy K. Filipek & Till Schreiber, 2010. "The Stability and Growth Pact: Past Performance and Future Reforms," Working Papers 97, Department of Economics, College of William and Mary.
    14. Wim Marneffe & Bas Van Aarle & Wouter van der Wielen & Lode Vereeck, 2011. "The Impact of Fiscal Rules on Public Finances in the Euro Area," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 9(03), pages 18-26, October.
    15. Ana Sabic, 2006. "Reform of the Stability and Growth Pact," Financial Theory and Practice, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 30(3), pages 283-293.
    16. Amy Verdun, 2007. "Economic Developments in the Euro Area," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45, pages 213-230, September.
    17. J. Ayuso-i-Casals & S. Deroose & E. Flores & L. Moulin, 2007. "The role of fiscal rules and institutions in shaping budgetary outcomes," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 275, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    18. Marco Buti & João Nogueira Martins & Alessandro Turrini, 2007. "From Deficits to Debt and Back: Political Incentives under Numerical Fiscal Rules," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 53(1), pages 115-152, March.
    19. Manfred Weber & Karl Knappe, 2007. "Fiscal policy in EMU after the reform of the european stability and growth pact," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 8(04), pages 45-51, January.
    20. Groneck, Max, 2008. "A Golden Rule of Public Finance or a Fixed Deficit Regime? Growth and Welfare Effects of Budget Rules," FiFo Discussion Papers - Finanzwissenschaftliche Diskussionsbeiträge 08-7, University of Cologne, FiFo Institute for Public Economics.
    21. repec:ces:ifodic:v:9:y:2011:i:3:p:16752088 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Alho, Kari E.O., 2006. "Structural Reforms in the EU and Political Myopia in Economic Policies," Discussion Papers 1050, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    23. Konrad Szelag, 2008. "A Single Fiscal Policy in the Euro Area: Vision or Utopia?," NBP Working Papers 46, Narodowy Bank Polski.

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