Fiscal ceilings and targets for an MTEF Allan Gustafsson Seoul, March 16, 2004
What ceilings and targets? Budget balance Public debt Size of total budget
Why a ceiling on the total budget? Process Dead-weight loss of taxation Diminishing tax returns Inefficient administrative allocation Sustainability Laffer curve Dead-weight loss Marginal tax rate
Institutional coverage General government? Central government? Special accounts Statutory funds? Definition? GFS
What flow to cap? Tr T a x e s Borrowing Fees etc Loans Appr. Payments /
What outlays / costs? Discretionary spending? Mandatory spending? Social security? Interest? Externally funded spending?
Measure Cash? (Modified cash?) Accrual?
Scale Nominal terms? Real terms? In proportion to GNP / GNI?
Update Fixed period? Rolling?
Time horizon 3 year? 5 year? Longer?
Level? Economic arguments Political arguments Laffer curve Dead-weight loss Marginal tax rate
Nominal GNI and gov’t spending
Public spending as share of GNI
Firmness Definitive / indicative? Escape clause?
Budget margin External shocks? New inititatives? Size?
Why a limit on public debt? Accelerating costs Vulnerability Inter-generational fairness
Public debt Gross financial? Net financial? Net worth?
Level Long-term net worth = 0 Medium-term +/-
Budget balance Upper boundary budget balance -4,00% -3,00% -2,00% -1,00% 0,00% 1,00% 2,00% 3,00% 4,00% 5,00% 6,00% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 Upper boundary budget balance Desired long-term trend budget balance Business cycle adjusted budget balance – ex post Lower boundary budget balance Stability pact floor
Thank you!