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Abstract
The European Fiscal Board (EFB) is an independent body mandated to advise the European Commission on the application of EU fiscal rules and the overall direction of fiscal policy.
Join this seminar with Professor Roel Beetsma, one of the EFB's members, to learn about the Board's upcoming Annual Report.
The structure of the Report closely follows the mandate of the EFB. Chapter 1 discusses recent macroeconomic and fiscal developments in the EU. Chapter 2 reports on the European Commission's surveillance of the EU fiscal framework, especially focusing on the horizontally equivalent treatment of countries. Chapter 3 explores the experience of two independent fiscal institutions (IFIs) in the EU and reviews some general issues pertaining to the EU-IFIs. Chapter 4 looks back at the euro-area aggregate fiscal stance.
Our guest speaker will explore Chapter 5 in more detail, which comments on the recent revision of the EU fiscal framework and points to a missing element from the revision, i.e. a capacity for the provision of European public goods.
About the presenter
Roel Beetsma is Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Amsterdam and Professor of Macroeconomics.
He is a Member of the European Fiscal Board and a Research Fellow of the CEPR and CESifo. He is a member of the Supervisory Board of ASR Vermogensbeheer and a former member of the Supervisory Board of the pension fund for the Dutch retail sector. He is also Visiting Professor at Copenhagen Business School.
He has held visiting positions at DELTA (Paris), the University of British Columbia (Vancouver), the University of California in Berkeley, and the EUI Florence. He has been a consultant for the ECB, the European Commission and the IMF. He was the Chair of a Dutch government commission on the European economy and member of a Dutch government commission on second-pillar pensions.
His research has been widely published in such journals as the American Economic Review, the Journal of Economic Literature and the Economic Journal.
Material and video recording
Presenters' slides and a video recording of the presentation will be made available here within a few days of the presentation. A transcript and captions for the video may take longer to prepare.
Fiscal Policy for the Future seminar series
New ideas, innovative concepts, research evidence and expert advice are all crucial to stimulate and inform the Treasury's economic analysis and advice. Our current theme for guest lectures - Fiscal Policy for the Future - explores the role of stabilising, sustainable and effective fiscal policy. Speakers will provide insights into how fiscal policy can be designed to support government to meet its current and future objectives and obligations while adapting to changing circumstances and delivering value to the New Zealand public.
Fiscal policy has a stabilising role in helping to smooth the business cycle, while sustainability in fiscal policy is foundational for resilience to both shocks and longstanding challenges, such as climate change, technological advancements and demographic trends. Ensuring effective and value for money expenditure is important so that fiscal policy contributes to the living standards of New Zealanders, both now and in the future.