Beyond military sales: The market premium on dual-use research and development
The sharp rise in European defence spending – driven by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, President Trump’s re-election and the weakening of US security guarantees,
The European Union’s new fiscal rules: A fine line between brilliant masterpiece and another chapter of déjà vu
The 2024 reform of the European Union’s fiscal framework promises long-term sustainability through greater national ownership and country-specific medium-term expenditure paths. This column argues, however,
Swedish household debt is not too high: Look at solvency and liquidity, not debt to income
The Swedish authorities and international organisations often claim that household debt poses a threat to financial and macroeconomic stability, with reference to a high debt-to-income
Spending smarter: A powerful growth strategy
With high public debt and weak medium-term growth, finance ministries seek to do more with less. This column argues that efficiency gaps in public spending
The hidden cycle: How informality shapes fiscal policy and sovereign default
The informal sector tends to expand during economic downturns and contract in recoveries, and is also highly sensitive to fiscal policy. This column explores the
Reimaging public finance management: From spending control to delivering outcomes
For as long as governments have existed, so has public financial management (PFM). This approach has always been explicitly designed to ensure the efficiency and
What Germany’s medium-term fiscal plan means for Europe
EU leniency on Germany’s fiscal plan highlights rule rigidity and the need for reform to support investment. Germany’s July 2025 medium-term fiscal-structural plan exposes the
Dangling fiscal surveillance: EU fiscal policies in 2024
Effectively suspended since the onset of the Covid pandemic, the EU fiscal rules were set to make a comeback in 2024. At the same time,
Keeping an eye on budgetary forecasts: The new Forecast Tracker of the Secretariat of the European Fiscal Board
Forecasts underpinning budgetary plans have a well-documented impact on fiscal performance especially when policymakers view the world through rosy lenses. Combined with inertia in the
Do governments adhere to their approved budgets? Insights from PEFA assessments
Why budget reliability matters Accurate revenue and expenditure forecasting is crucial for effective budgeting to ensure that governments can adequately plan for public services, infrastructure
