Rady fiskalne jako innowacyjne instytucje budżetowe
Fiscal councils as innovative budget institutions

Summary/Abstract: The lack of fiscal discipline over the last few decades has led to the exacerbation of the problemsarising from the excessive accumulation of public debt in many countries. The global financial andeconomic crisis in 2008–2010 has caused further sharp deterioration in fiscal indicators and the existingfiscal rules have proven to be ineffective in most countries.The purpose of this paper is to present the role of fiscal councils as independent budget institutionscurrently considered the most innovative and effective solution designed to reduce the burden ofpublic debt and to promote accountability and fiscal transparency. The paper also outlines the rationaleand conditions of appointment of fiscal councils in Poland.The analysis shows that the fiscal council may be an effective complement to other budgetaryinstitutions, moreover, it can increase the effectiveness of numerical fiscal rules. However, to ensure tothat the appointment of a fiscal council has contributed to the strengthening of budgetary discipline, itshould have strict operational and financial independence from the government and have guaranteedlegal access to all public data necessary to assess the draft budget and the state of public finances, toprepare independent analysis and macroeconomic forecasts, to formulate recommendations on the desiredcharacter of fiscal policy, as well as the possibility of the assessment of the costs of governmentprojects and monitoring compliance with fiscal rules. The choice of the type of independent institutionsshould depend on the type of fiscal problems of the country and its political system including the constitutionalfoundations, legislative traditions and political customs.Under conditions of the structural determinants of the lack of fiscal discipline in Poland, the establishmentof an independent fiscal council would bring many benefits. However, the effectiveness of thisinstitution will be closely dependent on the ability to assure it the real operational and financial independencefrom politics.

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