Unsustainability and procyclicality of fiscal policy are problems that many developed countries face. The public debt crisis revealed that fiscal rules are a useful but insufficient instrument for mitigating them. A large and growing group of economists are calling for the creation of ‘fiscal...

Pomysł powołania niezależnej instytucji, opiniującej prowadzoną przez rząd politykę budżetową oraz nakładającej w tym zakresie ograniczenia, nie jest nowy. Często powraca w świetle kłopotów budżetowych. Niniejszy artykuł wprowadza w zagadnienie takiej instytucji jak rada...

The Swedish Fiscal Policy Council (FPC) set up in 2007 is one example of the recent international trend to create independent fiscal watchdogs. The FPC has established itself as an important participant in the Swedish economic policy discussion. The FPC has small resources and a broad remit...

The paper analyses theoretically what role fiscal councils could play and surveys empirically the activities of existing councils. Case studies of the Swedish Fiscal Policy Council and the UK Office for Budget Responsibility are done. It is concluded that fiscal councils should be advisory,...