| Author (Corporate) | European Parliament: European Parliamentary Research Service |
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| Publisher | EU |
| Series Title | In-Depth Analysis |
| Series Details | April 2018 |
| Publication Date | April 2018 |
| Content Type | Report |
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1. How could the Stability and Growth Pact be simplified? Past reforms of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) have improved its economic rationale, but this progress has come at the expense of simplicity, transparency and, possibly, enforceability. This study surveys and evaluates reform models that could reduce complexity without compromising the SGP’s indispensable flexibility. From a holistic perspective, the greatest potential for simplification will result from a shift of discretionary power to an independent fiscal institution. Independence is a substitute for complexity. With a narrower focus on the potential streamlining of the SGP and a reduction of excess complexity, first, the preventive and corrective arms could be integrated into one procedure. Second, this integrated procedure should be centred on a net expenditure rule that is combined with a debt feedback mechanism and a memory for expenditure overruns. Third, further fiscal indicators that are currently treated as parallel targets (headline deficit rule and structural balance) could be downgraded to non-binding reference values. And fourth, the planned transposition of the Fiscal Compact into European law should follow SGP reforms in order to promote consistency between European and national fiscal rules. 2. How could the SGP be simplified? The complexity of the SGP, which may have contributed to its limited effectiveness, reflects largely the conflict between the need to make the original SGP rules more stringent and the desire to allow flexibility with respect to various country circumstances. Now that the effects of the largest economic shock since the 1930s are fading away, a major simplification of the system could be achieved by removing some margins of flexibility, while possibly relaxing some of the SGP long-term parameters. The coexistence of the MTO rule and the expenditure benchmark could also be reconsidered. A more radical solution would involve shifting to a single rule in which an “operational target” would respond to deviations of public debt from its long-term objective. 3. How could the Stability and Growth Pact be simplified? An assessment of the present SGP fiscal rules reveals a significant deterioration in simplicity, undermining their effectiveness. In fact, in both design and process, they have become the most complex worldwide. Three options for future reform are offered to correct this deficiency. Under the first, the structural balance and the debt convergence targets are replaced with a debt-stabilizing or -reducing primary surplus target, while retaining the expenditure benchmark. The second consolidates all current rules into a single operational debt rule by setting a limit on the discretionary budget deficit, derived from the debt reduction target. The third option consists of a market-based approach, inspired by the oldest and most successful subnational fiscal frameworks.The European Parliamentary Research Service published three separate studies in April 2018 examining aspects of how to simplify the Stability and Growth Pact. |
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| Source Link | http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/home.html |
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| Subject Categories | Economic and Financial Affairs |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
