Previous OECD publications have tracked the fiscal policy responses adopted by OECD governments during the early years of the crisis (2007-2012). This book takes stock of how these responses have evolved in recent years, up to 2014/15.

This report examines the influence of trust on policy making and explores some of the steps governments can take to strengthen public trust.

This report investigates how tax structures can best be designed to support GDP per capita growth.

The State of Public Finances 2015 provides a record of the strategies pursued by OECD countries to correct, consolidate and stabilise their public finances in the period to 2015, and in particular of how these strategies have evolved over the entire period of the economic and financial crisis from 2007-08 onwards. The report also provides an insight into the future plans for public finances over the coming years. Importantly, the report does not confine itself to the challenges of managing public finances, but encompasses a broad range of related policy themes including: the use of fiscal rules, the strategies adopted in various countries to sustain economic growth during fiscal consolidation, the developing role of independent fiscal institutions, how the role of parliaments and citizens in budgeting has been affected, and the degree to which fiscal consolidation has been accompanied by broader-based budgetary reforms.

This paper explores how fiscal policy can affect medium- to long-term growth. It identifies the main channels through which fiscal policy can influence growth and distills practical lessons for policymakers. The particular mix of policy measures, however, will depend on country-specific conditions, capacities, and preferences. The paper draws on the Fund’s extensive technical assistance on fiscal reforms as well as several analytical studies, including a novel approach for country studies, a statistical analysis of growth accelerations following fiscal reforms, and simulations of an endogenous growth model.

The Global Financial Crisis has led to a renewed attention for the management of public debt and deficits of advanced and developing industrial states. To successfully deal with such problems of public finances raises particular concerns in federal states where fiscal competencies are split between two levels of government. This book offers comparative in-depth knowledge of political struggles related to fiscal consolidation policies in eleven federal states since the 1990s, including the Global Financial Crisis and its aftermath. It identifies conditions that lead to "robust" solutions that can both commit federal actors to prudent fiscal policy-making and avoid conflicts between federal actors that cause federal instability. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of political economy and comparative politics in general and comparative federalism and EU Politics in particular.

This 2016 OECD Economic Survey of the Euro Area examines recent economic developments, policies and prospects. The special chapter cover: Making public finances more growth and equity-friendly.