Institutions for Fiscal strongStabilitystrong - ies.berkeley.edu.pdf

Working Paper PEIF-6 Institutions for Fiscal Stability (Prepared for the Munich Economic Summit, 2-3 May 2003) by Barry Eichengreen May 3, 2003 Abstract This paper reviews the controversy over Europe’s Stability and Growth Pact and offers a proposal for its reform. It argues that Europe would be best served by focusing on the fundamental problems for fiscal policy — public enterprises that are too big to fail, unfunded public pension schemes that are too big to ignore, inefficient and costly labor market and social welfare problems, and budget making institutions that create common pool and free-rider problems — rather than on arbitrary numerical indicators like whether the budget deficit is above or below 3 per cent of GDP. It proposes defining an index of institutional reform with, say, a point for pension reform, a point for labor market reform, and a point for revenue sharing reform. Countries receiving three points would be exempt from the Pact’s numerical guidelines, since there is no reason to think that they will be prone to chronic deficits. The others, whose weak institutions render them susceptible to chronic deficits, would in contrast still be subject to its warnings, sanctions and fines. Barry Eichengreen, George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Professor of Economics and Political Science; Director, Institute of European Studies, University of California, Berkeley 1 1 Institutions for Fiscal Stability Barry Eichengreen