Europe is putting in place a new system of fiscal rules following the euro area sovereign debt crisis and decades of … rising government to debt-to-GDP ratios. These include the so-called “six pack” to upgrade the Stability and Growth Pact to a … high debt levels in the past. A further tightening of budgetary Medium-Term Objectives is likely in 2012, which will in …

policy measures conducive to fiscal consolidation and debt stabilisation using probit, duration, truncated regression and … presence of fiscal rules – expenditure or budget balance rules – is associated with a greater probability of stabilising debt …-driven adjustments vis-à-vis revenue-driven ones are more likely to stabilise debt, it also reveals that large consolidations need …

With gross government debt surpassing 200% of GDP, Japan’s fiscal situation is in uncharted territory. In addition to … target a primary budget surplus large enough to stabilise the public debt ratio by 2020. The fiscal policy framework should …

, in particular the high level of public debt and low potential growth. The government has rightly aimed to halt the rise … in the public debt-to-GDP ratio and put it on a downward path. This could be achieved with either a balanced government …, it would be rewarded by faster debt reduction and lower risk of renewed financial-market reactions. In any case, the …

In many OECD countries debt has soared to levels threatening fiscal sustainability, necessitating its reduction over …, reflecting key characteristics of fiscally stressed OECD countries. Given the assumed objective to stabilise debt at a 60% of GDP … output gaps. The simulations highlight four issues. First, lowering the debt-to-GDP ratio within a finite horizon requires …

particular as a consequence of ageing populations. Since most OECD economies have very little scope for raising taxation or debt …