Journal Article
Forecasting the PSBR outside government: the IFS perspective
| Date: | 01 February 1998 |
| Authors: | Christopher Giles and John Hall |
| ISSN: | Print: 0143-5671 Online: 1475-5890 |
| Published in: | Fiscal Studies, Vol. 19, No. 1, February 1998 , Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 83-100 |
| JEL classification: | E6, H1, H6. |
Expectations regarding the future state of the public finances are vital for public policy formation. The UK experience has been that forecasts of the PSBR have been beset with problems since the mid-1980s. Independent assessments of the accuracy and plausibility of public finance forecasts are an important check on government forecasts and serve to increase public debate over government finance issues. We examine the success of various possible methods available to those outside government.