Revisiting the Government Revenue-Expenditure Nexus: Evidence from 15 OECD Countries Based on the Panel Data Approach

This paper utilizes panel unit root, panel cointegration, and panel Granger causality test techniques to examine the inter-temporal relationship between government revenues and government expenditures in a panel of 15 OECD countries over the period 1992–2006. The authors find evidence of bidirectional causality between government revenues and government expenditures, supporting the fiscal synchronization hypothesis. The findings of this paper have important implications for fiscal policy decision-making in these 15 OECD countries after the signing of the EU Treaty in Maastricht on February 7, 1992.