Do political institutions shape the structure of public spending? Based on a sample of 141 elections in eighteen Western European countries over the period 1970-1998, this paper shows that governments’ margin of maneuverability to design and implement fiscal policies depends on the level of...

. The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, a data set corresponding to Galician municipalities is used to test asymmetries in the effects of cuts and increases in grants on total spending. Then political factors (electoral cycle, colour and political strength of local governments) and...

. The search for political support leads ultimately to upward deviations from forecasted public deficits when i) budget procedures are soft, ii) breaking promises made on higher expenditures and the lowering of taxes is costly in political terms, and iii) ex-post control by voters and political...