ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the public financial management reforms implemented in V4 countries for the past ten years. In particular, it reviews the responses of governments of this region to international trends in PFM reforms, including expansion of performance-oriented budgeting, introduction of special mechanisms safeguarding fiscal discipline (e.g. public debt thresholds), and strengthening institutional setup by establishing independent fiscal councils. The V4 countries generally followed the international trends in PFM reforms and most of these new instruments have been already implemented in this region. However, the quality of implementation and actual effectiveness of these mechanisms have posed a major challenge. In particular, the shift away from classical input-oriented budgeting towards performance-based planning and control requires more commitment from political level and a broader evolution of the bureaucratic administrative culture. The effectiveness of measures safeguarding fiscal discipline is hampered by a rising wave of populism in the region marked by dismantling numerous institutional and procedural arrangements curbing the governments.
