The paper considers the response of a small, open dependent economy to a variety of fiscal and financial shocks. It also examines the influence of alternative budget-balancing rules on the response of the economy to external shocks, such as a change in the world interest rate. The approach...

This paper provides an explanation of the simultaneous occurrence in developing countries of a large accumulation of external debt, private capital outflows and relatively low domestic capital formation. We consider a general equilibrium model in which two types of government with conflicting...

The current control system for public expenditure in the United Kingdom dates from the Plowden Report in 1961 and was developed for a public utilities model. This paper presents detailed evidence on changes in the composition of public expenditure. A new control system is proposed that is better...

This Paper delivers a precise recommendation for how presidential candidates should allocate their resources to maximize the probability of gaining a majority in the Electoral College. A two-candidate, probabilistic-voting model reveals that more resources should be devoted to states which are...

Africa, while a major aid recipient, has had disappointing export performance. This paper argues for a causal link: aid, by being partially spent on non-traded goods, leads to real appreciation and reduced export competitiveness. I demonstrate the importance of this effect by presenting...

In this paper, we study the co-movement of the government budget balance and the trade balance at business cycle frequencies. In a sample of 10 OECD countries we find that the correlation of the two time series is negative, but less so in more open economies. Moreover, for the US the...

The paper develops a forward-looking comprehensive accounting framework for the public sector. By integrating the public sector budget constraint forward in time the government's present value budget constraint (PVBC) is obtained. In addition to the familiar financial assets and liabilities,...

This paper argues that a wealth target is an important feature of an economic policy package. A real exchange rate target can be used as an intermediate target to steer national wealth towards its desired value. Such a policy requires that fiscal policy be used to restrain inflation. This may be...

The possible emergence of a monetary union in Europe raises a number of new and difficult questions. A central concern is the implication for fiscal policy-making. Fiscal policy assumes an increased importance once the monetary policy instrument is lost. The Delors Report has suggested that...

This article provides an overview of recent research into the macroeconomic costs and benefits of monetary unification. We are primarily interested in Europe’s monetary union. Given that unification entails the loss of a policy instrument its potential benefits have to be found elsewhere....