The release of the final draft of the Consultative Committee (Con-Com) to Review the 1987 Constitution, officially designated as “Bayanihan Federalism”, has spurred vigorous debate, with much discussion focusing on the fiscal repercussions of moving towards a federal form of government. This...

Expectations of transfers by central governments incentivize overborrowing by local governments. In this paper, we ask if fiscal rules can reduce overborrowing if central governments cannot commit. We study a model in which the central government's type is unknown and show that fiscal rules...

High debt autonomy and low tax autonomy often characterize evolving federations, making the bailout hypothesis very attractive in resolving subcentral government deficits. However, meeting both conditions is not enough to conclude that bailout expectations are the main reason for a potential...

Expectations of bailouts by central governments incentivize overborrowing by local governments. In this paper, we ask if fiscal rules can correct these incentives to overborrow when central governments cannot commit and if these rules will arise in equilibrium. We address these questions in a...

In the run-up to this week's European Council, Karel Lannoo offers his assessment of what has been put on the table so far in response to the euro crisis – and what more needs to be done. He starts with an assessment of the measures taken in the ‘six-pack' and the debate on the Euro-plus...

The introduction of a broad-based indirect tax at the State level is impractical for constitutional reasons. Attention has instead turned to the possibility of alternative new taxes at the State level, such as a State income tax