PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT

EHLERS Gerd ¹

¹ German International Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Germany)

Strategies of reforms in public fi nance. National programs and international guidelines (IMF, EU, World Bank)

Objectives, main directions and tools of current strategies of public finance reforming are analyzed. It is defined that the aim of transformations in the financial sphere may be public finance consolidation, and the subject of fiscal consolidation programs is to improve the structure of public finance, in particular, reduction of public expenditures by abolition or limiting the growth of certain expenditures and tax revenues’ optimization. The aim of reforms may also be structural changes, examples of which are transformations in pension insurance system, adaptation of the public procurement system or the judicial system to the European standards. A comparative study of financial aid programs to Ukraine by the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the World Bank is made with a focus on social, legal and economic aspects of reformation of the general government sector. The author emphasizes that since the reform programs are usually connected with a significant burden on the population, their success depends on the strong political will aimed at proper implementation of appropriate measures to improve state fiscal structures in the long run and to inform timely the public about implemented reforms and their results.

Keywords: public finance, public financial management, reform programs, fiscal consolidation.

JEL: E61, E62, F35, H61

Ehlers G. . Strategies of reforms in public fi nance. National programs and international guidelines (IMF, EU, World Bank) / G. . Ehlers // Фінанси України. - 2014. - № 7. - C. 7-16.