In this paper we use a vector autoregressive approach to analyze the effects of infrastructure investment on economic performance using a newly developed data set for Portugal. We find that investments in other transportation infrastructures – railroads, ports and airports – and social...

In this paper we analyze the effects of infrastructure investment on economic performance in Portugal using a newly developed data set. We employ a vector autoregressive approach to estimate the elasticity and marginal products of investments on twelve different types of infrastructure...

Public wages are a large share of the public budget in Portugal and, therefore, hiring freezes are a central feature of the efforts to control the public deficit. The system of public career advancement, however, may lead to increases in the wage bill even in the presence of hiring freezes. We...

This paper estimates the long-term effects on output of different fiscal policies in Portugal in the context of unrestricted VAR models that include several public spending and taxation variables. Empirical results suggest that the effects of fiscal policies are within the Keynesian paradigm for...

The ‘Stability and Growth Pact’ aims to constrain excessive fiscal deficits by member countries in the European Monetary Union. It identifies and prescribes sanctions for countries that breach the Maastricht deficit and debt ceilings. Under strong criticism for its apparent favoritism of...

This paper examines the economic and budgetary impacts of fuel prices using a dynamic general equilibrium model of the Portuguese economy which highlights the mechanisms of endogenous growth and includes a detailed modeling of the public sector. The fuel price scenarios are based on forecasts by...

The objective of this paper is to study CO2 taxation in its dual role as a climate and fiscal policy instrument. It develops marginal abatement cost curves for CO2 emissions using a dynamic general equilibrium model of the Portuguese economy which highlights the mechanisms of endogenous growth...

In a period of heightened concern about fiscal consolidation in the euro area a politically expedient way of controlling the public budget is to cut public investment. A critical question, however, is whether or not political expediency comes at a cost, in terms of both long-term economic...

The objective of this paper is to investigate the economic and fiscal impact of road infrastructure investment in Portugal, focusing on the effects for each administrative region of both local investments and investments in other regions. We estimate VAR models for the national economy as well...

The objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of public infrastructure on regional economic performance in Spain. The empirical results are based on VAR models relating output, employment, private capital, and public infrastructure. We estimate models at the aggregate level and for...