Fiscal Stability in Political Discourse: The Romanian Case

Abstract

Abstract This article investigates the political resistance to fiscal stability institutions in Romanian context, as revealed in political discourse. To ascertain the a priori political predisposition against the fiscal stability framework, the theoretical findings of the public choice school of economics are utilized. Insights from the political discourse analysis body of literature are employed to the study of discourse against established fiscal stability institutions. Since the consensus arising from this literature is that politics is both acting and talking, the unit of analysis in our examination is the statement that can be classified as political discourse. After briefly analyzing the broader institutional context that provides the background for political discourse, the main storylines against fiscal stability recently emerged are reviewed. Seeking to determine the traits of the dominant political discourse against fiscal stability displayed by Romanian politicians in recent years, a quantitative assessment of the usage of these storylines is given. We find that publicly expressed disagreement with established fiscal stability institutions from the part of politicians and high-ranking bureaucrats has drastically increased over the analyzed period. The research has also revealed that the most employed storyline has been the one that belittles the significance of fiscal stability if the state uses the fiscal revenues for investing in transport infrastructure.