14th Annual Meeting of the
	OECD Network on Fiscal Relations across Levels of Government
	Including a Pre-Anniversary Event and Special Sessions
	19-20 November 2018
Opening	Junghun Kim, Chair of the Fiscal Network
Introductory Remarks	Angel Gurria, OECD Secretary General
Session 1.	Special Session on the High-level Roundtable in India
	Special guests from India presented the on-going work of the Fifteenth Finance Commission of India, notably approaches to the devolution of revenues across levels of government. This built on the discussion at the high-level roundtable earlier this year organised by the OECD Fiscal Network. Delegates were invited to comment and offer their views.
	Keynote speaker: N.K. Singh, Chairman, Fifteenth Finance Commission
Presentation	Fiscal Matrix: The Indian experience
Session 2.	Roundtable session on fiscal federalism reforms
	Proposed reforms of fiscal relations (Brazil) and the economic impacts of fiscal equalisation programmes (Australia) were discussed, followed by delegates’ roundtable interventions.
Presentation	Jonathan Coppel, Commissioner, Productivity Commission, Australia: The economic impacts of HFE: lessons from Australia
Background paper	The economic impacts of HFE: lessons from Australia
Presentation	Renato Motta, General Coordinator of the States and Municipalities Area, Brazil: Reforms of Fiscal Relations in Brazil
Background paper	Reforms of Fiscal Relations in Brazil
Presentation	Belgian roundtable presentation: Recent reforms of fiscal relations in Belgium
Presentation	Finnish roundtable presentation: Finnish reform of health and social services and establishing the new regional level
Presentation	Swiss roundtable presentation: Recent reforms in Switzerland
Session 3	Spending power and performance across key sectors of subnational government service delivery
	New work by the Fiscal Network examines a recent questionnaire and indicators of spending power and performance across five key sectors of sub-national government service delivery, including education. The new indicators reveal unique insights about how responsibilities are assigned across levels of government. Differences in characteristics across sectors and types of countries may have important consequences for intergovernmental fiscal relations.
Presentation	Lead speaker: France (Ihssane Slimani, Chief of Tax & Expenditure Policy Division, DG Trésor): Spending power and performance across key sectors of subnational government service delivery
Presentation	Secretariat paper on measuring spending power (Sean Dougherty)
Presentation	Secretariat paper on education performance (Carlos Xabel & Sonia Mukherjee)
Session 4	Health sector decision-making and performance measurement across levels of government
	Joint work with the OECD Joint Network of Senior Budget and Health Officials is examining how central governments can ensure health services are delivered efficiently and equitably, in an often-decentralised context, where health spending and standards of delivery are influenced by central government regulation, legislation and convention. Qualitative and quantitative information on the organisation of health systems and hospitals was analysed, including how the degree of decentralisation affects cost and quality outcomes.
Presentation	Lead speaker: Denmark (Søren H. Thomsen, Head of Department, Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Interior): Decentralisation vs centralisation
Presentation	Secretariat paper on decentralisation and performance measurement in healthcare (Chris James)
Presentation	Secretariat paper on health system and hospital performance (Luca Lorenzoni and Alberto Marino).
Session 5	Preparatory Session for the Fiscal Network’s 15th Anniversary
	In preparation of the 15th anniversary of the Fiscal Network, a number of retrospective and prospective studies are being undertaken. Network Chair Junghun Kim made an introduction based on his own experience with the Network. Then former IMF director Teresa Ter-Minassian gave an overview of the significance of the Network’s contributions to policymaking and knowledge of fiscal federalism. Professor Chris Heady, who was involved in the founding of the Network, discussed its origins and its contributions in the tax policy area, including in measuring fiscal autonomy. This was followed by a discussion with delegates, led by Switzerland (Werner Weber).
	Moderator: Luiz de Mello, OECD Director of Policy Studies
Presentation	Junghun Kim, Chair of the Fiscal Network: Retrospective and Prospect on the OECD Network on Fiscal Relations
Presentation	Teresa Ter-Minassian, former Director of Fiscal Affairs, IMF: The OECD Fiscal Federalism Network: Main accomplishments so far, and challenges ahead
Presentation	Prof. Chris Heady, School of Economics, University of Kent: The founding and development of the Fiscal Network
Presentation	Werner Weber, Head of Fiscal Equalization Section, Swiss Federal Finance Administration: Preparatory Session for the Fiscal Network’s 15th Anniversary - Discussion
Session 5 (continued)	Preparatory Session for the Fiscal Network’s 15th Anniversary
	The discussion will be continued with a look at comparing fiscal institutions, by Jonathan Coppel on the usefulness of benchmarking federal systems with the Fiscal Network. Daniel Plaatijes (South Africa) will relate the usefulness for emerging economies. Then the Secretariat (Sean Dougherty & Hansjörg Blöchlinger) will discuss new and previous work on fiscal institutions, fiscal rules and inclusive growth. Finally, Dorothée Allain-Dupré will present the forthcoming OECD Handbook on Multi-level Governance. This will be followed by a discussion with delegates, led by Austria (Philipp Päcklar).
Presentation	Jonathan Coppel, Commissioner, Productivity Commission, Australia: The role of benchmarking in federal systems
Presentation	Professor Daniel Plaatjies, Chair, South Africa’s Financial and Fiscal Commission of South Africa
Presentation	Secretariat presentation on the forthcoming OECD Handbook on Multi-level Governance (Dorothée Allain-Dupré)
Presentation	Secretariat presentation on new and previous work on fiscal institutions, fiscal rules and inclusive growth (Sean Dougherty)
Background paper	Independent Oversight Bodies: Lessons from Fiscal, Productivity and Regulatory Institutions
Session 6	Special Session on Conditional Grants “Conditional grants: Value for Money? Targeting the right recipients’”
	Conditional transfers are tools used by many countries for intergovernmental fiscal relations. However, the design and governance of such grants is complex and experience varies across OECD countries. Selected countries will share their experiences with grant design and implementation – including how to prevent misuse – and draw lessons for the future.
Presentation	Introduction: Junghun Kim (Korea), Fiscal Network Chair
Case studies	Based on the experiences of:
Presentation	Peter Berkowitz, Head of Unit for Smart and Sustainable Growth in the Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG-REG): Conditional grants: Value for Money? Targeting the right recipients: The experience of EU cohesion policy
Presentation	David Rowe, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget, Office of Management and Budget, United States Conditional Grants: Value for Money? Targeting the Right Recipients?
Presentation	Geert de Joode, Policy Coordinator, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, The Netherlands: The Dutch Dilemma: Restructuring the grant system
Presentation	Ulrich Hörning, Deputy Mayor, City of Leipzig, Saxony, Germany: Special session on conditional grant: a city perspective
Panel discussion with delegates	Led by both Australia (Russell Campbell) and India (N.K Singh).
Presentation	Russell Campbell, Minister-Counsellor (Economic) and Senior Treasury Representative, Permanent Delegation of Australia to the OECD: Conditional Grants
Presentation	N.K. Singh, Chairman, Fifteenth Finance Commission: Inclusive Growth: Design of Inter-Governmental Transfers