Recent developments in public financial management in the European Community: A comparative analysis

This article identifies major public financial management developments in the European Community (EC). Despite a certain degree of disparity, the EC member countries have had a number of common developments in public financial management. In general, central governments of most EC member countries were faced with resource constraints, growing spending demands and large budget deficits. Moreover, fiscal changes had to be made in order to reach the single European market goal targeted by 1992. Thus, several fiscal policy and management initiatives were developed including tax reforms, changes in spending programs, improvements of government performance, and fiscal harmonization. The results of these initiatives are reflected in the patterns of central government receipts and outlays in the EC member countries.