Greater Independence for Fiscal Institutions

Abstract

The paper is intended to broadly reflect an OECD perspective. Nevertheless, examples are taken particularly, though not exclusively, from the Australian experience. 2. Fiscal Policy and the Characteristics of Economic Reform An important theme of economic reform in the last two decades has been ensuring that decisions are made by the appropriate actors in the economy. Where official trade barriers once influenced the way in which the private sector allocated its resources, today such decisions are made within a much more competitive market framework with firms deciding where they can make the highest return from the deployment of their resources.