Figure 4 - Number of numerical fiscal rules by sub-sector of general government
0
5
10
15
General Government Central Government Social Security Regional Government Local Government
General government sub-sector
Number of rules
Budget Balance rule Debt rule Expenditure rule Revenue rule
Source: Commission services.
There is also a large diversity as regards the aggregates targeted by the various types of rules (see Table
2). One third of budget balance rules in force target a balanced budget while one quarter are golden rules.
Interestingly, only few budget balance rules, all of them applying to the general and central governments,
are defined in structural (or cyclically-adjusted) terms. About half of debt rules, generally applied to local
governments, establish debt limits depending on the repayment capacity (e.g. limit to total indebtedness
in relation to current revenues). Expenditure rules are evenly distributed between those defining ceilings
and those targeting expenditure growth rates. While ceilings are generally expressed in nominal terms,
targeted growth rates are equally divided between nominal and real increases. Finally, more than half of
revenue rules establish pre-defined principles for the allocation of higher-than-expected revenues.
Table 2- Target definitions by type of rule^17
Golden rules budget rulesBalanced Nominal ceiling Ceiling as a % GDP
Rules in
structural
terms
Total
5851322
Debt ceiling in
nominal terms
Debt ceiling as
a % of GDP
Debt ceiling
related to
repaiment
capacity
Other Total
5271 15
Nominal
expenditure
ceiling
Real
expenditure
Ceiling
Expenditure
growth rate
(nominal)
Expenditure
growth rate
(reall)
Other Total
5233215
Tax burden as
a % GDP
Rule related to
tax rates
Allocation of
extra revenues Other Total
0131 5
Budget Balance
Rules
Debt Rules
Expenditure
Rules
Revenue rules
Source: Commission services.
The characteristics of the rules depending on the level of government to which they apply
Numerical fiscal rules in EU Member States are evenly divided between those that are incorporated into
a multi-annual budgetary framework and those applied on an annual basis. Rules applied to regional and
local governments rely preponderantly on annual schemes while most of those concerning the general
(^17) Without disaggregating fiscal rules according to number of sub-sectors concerned. Only rules in force in 2005 were
considered in this table (57 rules).