28/11/2008 : Workshop "The quality of public finances and economic growth"

This question has emerged in recent years as a new focal point for EU policy makers and is often termed as "quality of public finances" (QPF), referring to all arrangements of fiscal policy that promote long-run growth. Improving the QPF reflects the need to prepare the European economies for a dual challenge: (i) their ageing populations that will put additional demands on public finances and (ii) globalisation which raises international competition, increases factor mobility and potentially heightens the exposure to external shocks. While the soundness and long-run sustainability of public finances are the basic building blocks of QPF in tackling these challenges, other QPF components also need to be considered. They include, for example, growth-supportive, non-distortionary tax systems, sound fiscal governance, efficient and effective public spending and investment and promotion of business-friendly regulations

The sessions of the workshop will cover the following topics:

• The composition of public expenditure and economic growth
• Taxation, public investment and growth
• The macroeconomic implications of QPF
• What role for quality of public finances in economic and fiscal surveillance?

Date and venue
28 November 2008, Charlemagne Building (170 rue de la Loi), Room (tbd), Brussels

Downloads

• Programme(131 kB)  

Contact
For any queries related to the programme or the organisation of the workshop, please contact the organising team by email or fax (+32-2-299 35 05)