Fiscal Institutions and Fiscal Performance probes the role that budgetary institutions play in explaining the size of a country's financial deficit and, within that framework, explores the range of likely corrective actions that might limit the size of such deficits. This far-reaching collection considers the design and operation of fiscal institutions; it scrutinizes the effect of budgetary rules and procedures on fiscal-policy outcomes around the world; and it examines those combinations of institutional structure and fiscal policy that might best restrict the advance of budget deficits, limit the growth of national debt, and ensure fiscal responsibility.