This paper aims to evaluate fiscal policy as a macroeconomic stabilization tool in the new EU member countries using a vector autoregression (VAR) framework. The combined results of the analysis of impulse response functions and of the aggressiveness of fiscal discretion suggest that: 1. Shocks...

It is a generally documented fact that political cycles are a phenomenon of new democracies. In this paper we deepen the evidence for the new EU member countries that are a prominent example of recently established democratic systems. We show that, in line with the opportunistic theory, primary...