We investigate the interactions between countries of the discretionary component of national fiscal policies (i.e. the cyclically- and interest-adjusted part of fiscal policy), therefore observing and investigating the part of public spending and tax receipts on which governments keep full...

This paper addresses the issue of whether and by how much public investment or public capital can enhance economic performance. In comparison with the literature on the subject, we apply many different methodologies to answer these questions. A VAR model (for France, Italy, Germany, the UK and...

The debate on public finances’ sustainability has long focused on the conditions for the accumulation of debt. This implied that, empirically, the analyses revolved around estimations of dynamic versions of the debt accumulation equation, through unit root tests and cointegration tests between...

In this paper, we develop an analysis of the reasons for the apparent failure of the “Lisbon strategy” (2000) so far. After having made the general case for a comprehensive “institutionalist perspective” on the European economy, we first try to formalise the objectives of “Lisbon” in...

This paper contributes to the debate on the French public finances'consolidation by investigating the long-term sustainability of France’s fiscal position. We trace the historical trends of government’s tax receipts and expenditures. We find that while the level of public expenditure in...

Debates on the appropriate response of fiscal policy to economic downturns, such as the debates on the merits of austerity measures in Europe, have been centered on the size of the fiscal multipliers. Indeed, empirical and theoretical evidence suggests larger multipliers at times of recession...

This work studies the interactions between income distribution and monetary and fiscal policies in terms of ensuing dynamics of macro variables (GDP growth, unemployment, etc.) on the grounds of an agent-based Keynesian model. The direct ancestor of this work is the "Keynes meeting Schumpeter"...

This paper contributes to the debate on fiscal governance for the European Monetary Union, assessing the different fiscal rules currently discussed. We simulate a small scale macroeconomic model with forward looking agents, augmented with a public finances block. We account for both the positive...

En raison de la crise des dettes publiques, les projets visant à instaurer des règles budgétaires sont revenus au premier plan. Le document analyse leurs justifications et les spécifications proposées, dans un cadre néo-classique, puis dans un cadre keynésien. Il n'y a aucune preuve que,...

This paper argues that the European Union has gone farther than any other country or institution in internalizing the prescriptions of the Washington Consensus.Embedding neo-liberal principles in the treaties defining its governance,the EU has enshrined a peculiar doctrine within its...