Die deutsche Fiskalpolitik während der Wirtschaftskrise 2008/2009

This article reviews the discretionary fiscal policy in Germany during the economic crisis of 2008/2009. After discussing the arguments for and against a fiscal stabilization program, I discuss several features a reasonable program should have. Applying those criteria to the German fiscal package, I find that while it satisfies most of them, it has two major flaws. First, the fiscal stimulus is likely to come too late, and second, the political marketing of the policy was disastrous. As a consequence the policy is likely to stabilize the economy in the second half of 2009 and in 2010, but did little to soften the initial blow of the recession. Copyright 2009 die Autoren Journal compilation 2009, Verein für Socialpolitik und Blackwell Publishing Ltd.