S1. Public expenditure trends -- 1. Characterizing the expenditure uncertainties of industrial countries in the 21 century / Peter S Heller and David Hauner -- 2. Expenditure composition and institutional reform in Europe: a policy perspective / Peter Wierts -- 3. Expenditure growth, fiscal sustainability and pre-funding strategies in OECD countries / Blair Comley and Adam McKissack -- 4. Raising the age of retirement: an exapmple of political ratchet effect / Mathieu Lefb̈vre, Sergio Perelman, Pierre Pestiau and Jean-Pierre Vidal -- 5. Population ageing and public expenditure trends in Finland / Helvi Kinnunen and Marja Touvinen -- 6. Four long-term scenarios for the dutch government and the health care sector / Frits Bos, Rudy Douven and Esther Mot -- 7. Public expenditure in Slovenia: past trends and current issues / Andreja Strojan Kastelec -- 8. Identifying the political economic tide shaping major public expenditure trends in New Jersey during the last decade / Ranjana Madhusudhan -- S2. Evaluating the efficiency and effects of public spending -- 9. The role of the "Quality of public finances" in the context of the reformed stability and growth pact / Florian Hp̲pner and Christian Kastrop-- 10. Efficiency of public spendeing in developing countries: a efficiency frontier approach / Santiago Herrera and Gaobo Pang -- 11. Assenssing public sector efficiency: issues and methodologies / Francisco Pedraja-Chaparro, Javier Salinas-Jiménez and Peter C Smith -- 12. Assenssing education and health efficiency in OECD countries using alternative input measures / Antonio Alfonso and Miguel St. Aubyn -- 13. Public expenditure and optimal government size in a endogenous growth model: an analysis of the case of Argentina / Ernesto Rezk -- 14. Federal taxes and transfers across Canada: impact on families / Marie-Anne Deussing -- 15. The cross-cohort distribution of government non-retirement tranfers and its impact on working and earning / Jagadeesh Gokhale -- S3. Public spending and fiscal policy management -- 16. A fiscal policy framework to safeguard public investment / Annalisa Fedelino and Richard Hemming -- 17. How does the composition of public spending mater? A framework relating publis spending to growth, equity and poverty-reduction objetives / Stefano Paternostro, Anand Rajaram and Erwin R Tiongson -- 18. The effects of fiscal policy in Italy: estimates with a SVAR model / Raffaela Giordano, Sandro Momigliano, Stefano Neri and Roberto Perotti -- 19. Public expenditure and emerging fiscal policy scenario in India / Ranjit Kumar Pattnaik, Dhritidyuti Bose, Indranil Bhattacharyya and Jai Chander -- 20. Discretionary policy interactions and the fiscal theory of the price level: a SVAR analysis on french data / JérmÌ¥e Creel, Paola Monperrus-Veroni and Francesco Saraceno -- 21. Expenditure Ceilings and fiscal policy: swedish experiences / Urban Hansson Brusewitz and Yngve Lindh -- 22. Public expenditure management in a indebted country is fiscal consolidation viable? (The experience of Bulgaria in 1991-2004) / Mariela Nenova-Amar -- 23. Public expenditure and fiscal consolidation in Portugal / Jorge Correia da Cunha and Cláudia Rodriguez Braz -- 24. Framework for fiscal consolidation successes and falilures in Japan / Masato Miyazaki -- S4. Reforming public expenditure programmes -- 25. The reform of public expenditure management systems in OECD countries / JnÌ£ R Bln̲dal -- 26. Government-spending adjustment in latin american countries / Ricardo Martner and Varinia Tromben -- 28. Public pension reform in Europe and the USA / Maura Francese, Daniele Franco and Pietro Tommasino -- 29. Analysis of international health-related expenditure: lessons for France / Carine Bouthevillian and Karine Herv -̈- 30. Public investment in the UK / Pietro Toigo and Robert Woods.