IEB Report

Public Policies

The Challenges of Public Budgeting After the Great Fiscal Crisis: Where Improvements and Reform Can Be Made

IEB Report 3/2018 – The Challenges of Public Budgeting

According to the most recent economic and fiscal figures (IMF and EC 2018), the developed economies are characterized by high debt levels, exceeding 100% of GDP as a whole, and where more than one third have (in 2017) a debt exceeding 85% of GDP, three times as many as in 2000. Moreover, despite the current economic recovery and a marked correction of the structural budget deficits, expectations in the medium term are for a slow
reduction (a total of 5pp up to 2023, according to the IMF 2018), thus maintaining significant risks with regard to
sustainability. At the same time, and within this framework of restriction, the developed economies must begin to face the impacts derived from population aging (pensions, sociohealth services, etc.) and social changes that demand more transparency in the public actions of those who manage the citizens’ resources.