Abstract
At the end of the 1980s, large public deficits and increasing public debt-to-GDP ratios coupled with the regionalization of the state constrained Belgian authorities to establish institutions providing independent inputs, analyses and recommendations in the area of fiscal policy. Although this is difficult to assess empirically, these institutions have undoubtedly contributed to the successful consolidation process of Belgian public finances over the past 13 years. This chapter analyses the role of these so-called fiscal councils in the budgetary planning process and emphasizes the role played by the High Council of Finance in coordinating budgetary policy in a federal context and by the Federal Planning Bureau in producing independent, politically neutral short-term macroeconomic forecasts and medium-term projections.
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© 2009 Igor Lebrun
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Lebrun, I. (2009). Fiscal Councils, Independent Forecasts and the Budgetary Process: Lessons from the Belgian Case. In: Ayuso-i-Casals, J., Deroose, S., Flores, E., Moulin, L. (eds) Policy Instruments for Sound Fiscal Policies. Finance and Capital Markets Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230271791_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230271791_15
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