Fiscal transparency practice, challenges, and possible solutions: lessons from Covid 19

IMPACT

The extraordinarily fast-paced growth in government spending during Covid 19 highlights the need for effective measures to ensure fiscal transparency during emergencies. Governments must improve emergency fiscal transparency by disclosing more detailed information on the types and conditions of funding sources, extra- and off-budget revenue sources, and recipients and impacts of spending. Institutional procedures should be established to safeguard fiscal transparency during emergencies, and to increase the effective involvement of legislatures, auditing agencies, and citizens in the management of fiscal rescue packages.

ABSTRACT

This article revisits the concept of fiscal transparency in an emergency context. Examining the fiscal reporting practices of 120 national governments during Covid 19, as compiled by the International Budget Partnership, the authors found under-reporting of critical information on external funding sources; limited reporting on spending levels and impacts on vulnerable groups and areas; and lack of sufficient institutional safeguards to ensure fiscal transparency. They discuss the theoretical implications of their findings and provide policy recommendations for improvement.

KEYWORDS:

• Covid 19
• crisis management
• emergency fiscal rescue policies
• fiscal transparency
• information production
• institutional procedures and relationship
• International Budget Partnership

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the editors’ support and the anonymous reviewers’ feedback to enhance the quality of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).