In this article, updated approach to assess the impact of fiscal decentralization on economic development is offered. The relationship between the proper level of fiscal decentralization and economic growth for 27 advanced and emerging economies in Europe from 1992 to 2017 was evaluated using panel data. In the EU members, Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine expenditures decentralization was more essential than revenue decentralization. The vast majority of the counties from Central and Eastern Europe have increased the level of fiscal decentralization since 1992. It was found that revenue decentralization was associated with lower growth rates, while expenditures decentralization could slightly encourage economic development. The overall decentralization indicator adversely affected the growth, but that interconnection was not robust. The empirical investigation showed significant role of demographic structure and sustainability to ensure economic development. The authors propose the statements for the local authorities to develop the methodical bases of the fiscal policy’s design. In the survey, a balanced approach to the tax and public spending policy’s preparation and planning is presented.

The optimal taxation level and tax structure depend on numerous factors and enormously differ from country to country. However, the two mentioned tax policy instruments could ensure economic recovery and sustainable economic growth. This article aims to examine the effects of tax policy on economic development and evaluate the role of appropriate tax instruments in speeding up recovery. The results showed that tax level harms the GDP per capita growth rate in Central Europe and Baltic states over the 2000-2021 period. Another vital finding is the increase in both overall employment and investment to GDP ratio positively affected the real GDP per capita growth rates. In order to foster economic growth government might use tax cuts and other stimuli both for distortionary and non-distortionary taxes. The tax policy’s institutional potential should be improved to neutralize the adverse effects of COVID-19 impact and enhance macroeconomic sustainability. JEL Classification: H20, H21, O23

In this article, an updated approach to investigate the effects of demographic factors on economic growth is proposed. The initial hypothesis was that these factors significantly affected production proportions, determining development vectors. The predictable shifts in production dynamics are considered for the institutional framework. The article investigates the statistically significant relationships between the demographic variables and economic growth for the sample of the OECD countries (excluding Columbia) and Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Romania, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine, from 1990 to 2017; unbalanced panel data was used. The investigation aimed to highlight the intrinsic interconnection between the changes in demographic variables (e.g., the working‑age population growth rate and the average life expectancy growth rate) and economic growth. Our investigation focused on the issue of whether demographic influence on economics was the same for advanced and developing countries in the sample. Over the period, a significant increase in life expectancy adversely affected the real GDP per capita growth rate. However, the empirical study pointed out that life expectancy was strongly linked to nominal GDP per capita. In advanced countries, the demographic indicator was considerably higher than in emerging markets. We found that the rise in the working‑age stratum of the nation’s population radically reduced the output dynamics as well, but that interconnection was not robust. The institutional framework should be taken into account in order to achieve a favorable performance of public governance in the long‑run. The main demographic variables should be properly forecasted and calibrated for potential endogenous economic triggers. Both public and private investments are important when considering the economic growth rates that are achieved. We propose a balanced approach to macroeconomic policy regarding both demographic and institutional determinants.

The challenges of economic globalization, recession, and the essential changes in market conditions, as well as the financial institutionalization, determine the expediency of the new studies to explore the impact of fiscal instruments on the dynamics of economic growth and social stability. This paper examines the role of fiscal policy in the economic growth ensuring in advanced and emerging market economies over the period from 2001 to 2015. The research indicates the growing role of the state (in general) and the budget (in particular) in regulation of social and economic processes. Based on the methods of economic regression, the interrelations between government spending and GDP growth in different groups of countries were evaluated. The study emphasized the directions to increase the positive influence of budget policy on economic development for countries with emerging market economies. This can be achieved by harmonization of the tax burden and structure, improving the use of budget funds, conducting structural optimization of budget expenditures, further development of financial and budget institutions, implementation of the fiscal constraints and rules while forming the basic indicators of fiscal policy.

The Great Recession has imposed vital limitations on the policy maker’s ability to react to further economic challenges. In this article, the authors set a purpose to assess the expediency and the size of fiscal consolidation or expansionary measures for countries with emerging markets depending on economic dynamics. The data on the episodes of large changes in fiscal policy, representing both fiscal stimuli and consolidation in Ukraine and in the EU countries with emerging market economies from 2001 to 2017, were evaluated. The authors examined the main reasons of fiscal policy’s volatility and its impact on economic growth. The countries with low and medium level of institutional framework for fiscal policy formulation could face permanent deficit and public debt problem. Episodes of expansionary fiscal adjustments based on government revenues cuts and spending increases were more effective compared with those that were entirely based on spending increases. Empirical investigation showed that successful fiscal consolidation measures obligatory included the government primary spending reduction. In those cases, the budget deficit-to-GDP and public debt-to-GDP ratios were declined. Medium-term priorities to develop the methodical bases of fiscal policy design were justified.