02111cas a2200241 a 4500 AALejournalIMF019137 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781498302937 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Cevik, Serhan. Anchor Me : The Benefits and Challenges of Fiscal Responsibility / Serhan Cevik. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2019. 1 online resource (20 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students This paper discusses the benefits and challenges of implementing a rule-based fiscal responsibility framework, using the Philippines as a case study. It estimates structural measures of the fiscal stance over the period 1980-2016 and applies a stochastic simulation model to determine the optimal set of fiscal rules. The empirical analysis indicates that discretionary fiscal policy has been procyclical, and the degree of procyclicality has increased in recent years. While the national government's non-binding ceiling on the overall budget deficit is helpful, it does not constitute an appropriate operational target to guide fiscal policy over the economic cycle and necessarily ensure that the fiscal stance meets the government's intertemporal budget constraint. To this end, using stochastic simulations, this paper makes the case for a well-designed fiscal responsibility law that enshrines explicit fiscal rules designed for countercyclical policy and long-term debt sustainability, and an independent fiscal council to improve accountability and transparency. Mode of access: Internet IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2019/070 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2019/070/001.2019.issue-070-en.xml IMF e-Library