The Political Economy of Fiscal Policy Under Monetary Union

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter has three objectives: first, to outline the ways in which the fiscal dimension is likely to change the nature of domestic politics in European states; second, to place these changes in a comparative context by reference to the experience of established federal states; and third, to speculate on the ways in which fiscal changes are likely to change the ways in which domestic political actors operate in the context of the institutional framework of the EU. Space limitations preclude a comprehensive coverage of these points. It is not intended to draw systematic distinctions between member states; the country chapters in this volume help provide this detail. Instead, the purpose is to draw on those theoretical perspectives generated by recent research in economics and political science that provide the basis for informed judgements on the effects of EMU on national polities in general and on national fiscal regimes in particular.