Factors in the choice of fiscal governance: A systematic literature review and future research agenda

Abstract

The fiscal governance framework includes the rules and regulations that discipline the preparation, approval, and implementation of public budgets. It results from the power struggle of the actors that participate in the process of allocating public resources. Despite relevant studies published on the subject, this study aimed to provide background information on determinant factors in the choice and effects of fiscal governance framework adopted by governments in the scholarly conversation. For this, the systematic literature review method was adopted with the development of five steps: selecting a review topic, searching the literature, gathering, reading, and analyzing the scientific papers published in the last 10 years on the subject. Results show that fiscal crises and pressures and rewards of external bodies were the preponderant factors for reforms in the framework of fiscal governance adopted by governments. In another view, impacts of this framework on national public finances were investigated primarily by analysis of numerical fiscal rules. The research gaps identified indicate directions for future research.