Economists from across OECD gather at Scottish Parliament to discuss government budget scrutiny

Scottish Parliament - Image credit: Holyrood

Influential economists from across the world will meet in the Scottish Parliament today to discuss how parliaments can better scrutinise government budgets and produce economic and fiscal forecasts.

The ninth annual meeting of the OECD Network of Parliamentary Budget Officials and Independent Fiscal Institutions will take place at Holyrood on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 April. 

More than one hundred financial experts from independent bodies with responsibility for scrutinising the tax and spending plans of governments and producing independent economic and fiscal forecasts will gather for the conference.

RELATED CONTENT

Making the numbers add up: interview with Lady Susan Rice of the Scottish Fiscal Commission

'Fragile' economic growth while Brexit and indyref uncertainties persist, warns Fraser of Allander

The conference’s opening ceremony will include a keynote speech from Alice M Rivlin, the founding director of the United States’ Congressional Budget Office in 1975.

Rivlin served in the first Clinton administration as director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Lady Susan Rice, Chair of the Scottish Fiscal Commission, and Robert Chote, Chairman of the UK Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), will also attend the conference.

Scottish Parliament Deputy Presiding Officer Christine Grahame MSP will chair the opening ceremony.

Grahame said: “By hosting this conference, we hope to raise and embed the profile of the Scottish Parliament amongst some of the OECD’s most influential economists.

“Holyrood’s own Financial Scrutiny Unit already has well-developed links with its counterparts across the globe.

“This conference is a rich opportunity to develop these links further.

“This will pay dividends in enhancing our own in-house capacity for analysing government budgets and tax and spending plans.”