Short-Term Pain for Long-Term Gain : The Impact of Structural Reform on Fiscal of Outcomes in EMU

The 2005 reform of the EU Stability and Growth Pact has provided leeway for governments to let their fiscal deficit temporarily breach the 3% rule to finance the immediate budgetary cost of structural reform, such as compensation schemes to offset redistributive effects. Against this backdrop, it is useful to dispose of empirical estimates of the effect of structural reform on fiscal outcomes, not only the short term cost but also the long-run fiscal gain stemming from changes in spending parameters and better economic performance. Based on econometric estimates for a pool of 21 OECD countries, this study finds a significant net fiscal gain of structural reform.