Following up the budget policy targets and estimating the expenditure ceiling

The budget policy targets consist of a surplus target for the entire general government sector, a central government expenditure ceiling and sound financial management and balanced budget requirements for municipalities and county councils. The surplus target and expenditure ceiling provide bounds on what measures the Government can take. In addition to these two restrictions, the Government also has to ensure that there is a buffer for unexpected events and that the measures are prudent, given current economic conditions. Twice a year the Government assesses whether fiscal policy is prudent vis-à-vis these targets.

Net lending and indicators

	Outcome 2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Net lending	2.5	-2.2	-3.4	-2.1	-1.1
Average	1.6	1.2	0.8	0.5	0.4
cyclically adjusted*	1.2	1.2	1.1	1.1	1.0
Seven-year average	0.3	-0.1	-	-	-
cyclically adjusted*	1.2	1.1	-	-	-
Structural balance	2.3	1.4	0.2	0.7	0.6
GDP-gap	0.0	-6.4	-6.5	-5.0	-3.0
Average from 2,000	0.6	-0.1	-0.6	-1.0	-1.2
Seven-year average	-1.6	-2.2	-	-	-