Design Choices for Fiscal Policy Rules

Abstract

This article discusses issues regarding budget process rules in the context of the current pattern of rising fiscal deficits. It begins by explaining the premise that budget process rules have multiple objectives, and so must be judged according to multiple criteria. Prominent among those criteria, given the apparent economic sluggishness of the early years of the 1990s and the resulting fiscal deficits, are how any particular set of rules might facilitate economic recovery and growth, but also maintain fiscal responsibility and public credibility.