Dispelling Fiscal Illusions: How Much Progress Have Governments Made in Getting Assets and Liabilities on Balance Sheet?

Timothy Irwin ()

No 2016/095, IMF Working Papers from International Monetary Fund

Abstract: When rights and obligations are not recognized as assets and liabilities on a government’s balance sheet, the government’s deficit can be reduced by selling off-balance-sheet assets or incurring off-balance-sheet liabilities. This paper examines how much progress has been made in recognizing assets and liabilities and thus dispelling the fiscal illusions that such transactions create. Looking at the accounts, government-finance statistics, and long-term fiscal projections produced in 28 advanced economies in the period since 2003, it finds good progress in the recognition of some assets and liabilities, such as accounts payable and simple financial assets, but much less in others, such as civil-service pensions.

Keywords: WP; government; country; deficit; government balance sheets; accounts payable; nonfinancial asset; accrual accounting; balance sheets; fiscal illusions; summary GFS balance sheet; summary balance sheet; GFS asset; pension assets; Financial statements; Government finance statistics; Pensions; Fiscal accounting and reporting; Global (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 17
Date: 2016-04-21
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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