asked the Minister for Finance whether budget expenditures and receipts are calculated on a constant employment basis, as outlined in the ESRI Quarterly Economic Commentary in January, 1976; and, if so, if he will give details of the actual Exchequer borrowing requirement and the estimated Exchequer borrowing requirement on a constant employment basis for the five most recent years for which figures are available.
Written Answers. - Exchequer Borrowing.
348.
Calculations on a constant employment basis would not contribute usefully to the existing process for formulating budgetary policy. Accordingly no such calculations have been undertaken.
349.
asked the Minister for Finance the amount by which employment would be reduced for every percentage point reduction in the Exchequer borrowing requirement.
Changes in the Exchequer borrowing requirement result from the interaction of all the factors which influence the level of both public expenditure and tax revenue. Some of these factors are discretionary changes determined by Government policy. However, the actual levels of public expenditure and tax revenue are also affected by changes in overall income, in the rate of inflation and in the level of unemployment. Even on the assumption that a reduction in the Exchequer borrowing requirement only reflected discretionary changes in Government policy, the direct impact on employment could vary considerably depending on whether the reduction in borrowing was brought about by increasing revenue or by cutting expenditure, or by a combination of both measures.