Local governments are facing large losses in revenues and increased expenditures because of the COVID-19 crisis. We document a causal relationship between fiscal pressures induced by COVID-19 and the layoffs of state and local government workers. States that depend more on sales tax as a source...

Vor dem Hintergrund der aktuellen Steuersenkungsdebatte werden die finanzpolitischen Risiken großzügiger Steuersenkungen beispielhaft für das Konzept der Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsvereinigung der CDU/CSU (MIT) illustriert. Hierfür werden die mit dem Konzept verbundenen Steuerausfälle...

The text analyzes how the Brazilian states' fiscal position evolved between 2006 and 2015, with the data revealing a clear deterioration in state-level public finances during that period. The rating methodology developed by the Ministry of Finance is used to show that, when comparing 2006-2008...

During the most recent recession, many state governments faced substantial budget shortfalls.State politicians often blame the fiscal crises created by those shortfalls on factors largely outside their control, such as the declining economy or reductions in federal aid. Others have suggested...

Does fiscal governance affect government borrowing costs? We operationalize fiscal governance as the ability of governments to pass a budget on time and, using a unique data set on budget enactment dates, analyze the effect of such late budgets on government bond yield spreads. Based on a sample...