The political economy of fiscal policy in EMU

This paper treats low inflation in EMU as a collective action problem for Ecofin. The SGP and more broadly the BEPG, operating against a background of the ECB and wage-setting, are the instruments for this. The ECB delegates sanctioning to the member-states while preserving the authority to set interest rates. Labour relations systems in different countries pursue disinflationary wage settlements. The BEPG (including the SGP) therefore have to be understood as a critical element in a signalling game between the ECB, Ecofin and the wagesetting systems.