This textbook equips instructors and students with an overview of the existing literature so that the latter can attain an overall understanding of macroeconomic and microeconomic public finance. The literature on public finance has grown dramatically with theoretical studies and empirical...

This book probes the hollow rhetoric of debt, deficits and austerity. It explores the decisions of parties of the left which have attempted to deflect criticisms of economic mismanagement and gain trust by depoliticising the budget process and financial management with various rules, albeit with...

This book presents alternative macroeconomic perspectives, primarily open economy, on the limitations of discretionary fiscal policy, with a focus on government spending. Following an overview on the post-crisis Keynesian revival and of the macro-foundations needed for subsequent analysis,...

The European public debt problem was in the making long before the 2007-2009 recession, as budget deficits had become endemic. A similar crisis is now developing in America, where the same fundamental causes have been at work. The Public Debt Problem analyzes the situation of public debts in...

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of national fiscal policies in the European Union and in the European Monetary Union. Adopting a critical perspective, the book offers a deep insight into the consequences of the current strategy of national fiscal policies on economic activity

One of the most striking macroeconomic developments during the last three decades is the rise and persistence of large fiscal deficits in a number of countries. Despite recent major fiscal reforms around the world, many countries suffer from recurrent large fiscal imbalances that often reflect...

Starting point of this book is the observation that an increase in public debt must be accompanied by a rise in the primary surplus of the government to guarantee sustainability of public debt. The book first elaborates on that principle from a theoretical point of view and then tests whether...

The Closed Economy: Absence of a Deficit Target. -- Monetary Policy -- Fiscal Policy -- Monetary and Fiscal Interaction -- Monetary and Fiscal Cooperation -- The Closed Economy: Presence of a Deficit Target -- Fiscal Policy -- Monetary and Fiscal Interaction -- Monetary and Fiscal Cooperation --...

1. Eurozone Crises -- 2. An 'Optimal' Currency Area: What Could it Mean? -- 3. Why was the EMU Established?: Different Perspectives -- 4. Balance of Payments Imbalances have Become the Achilles Heel of the EMU -- 5. Public Sector Deficit and Debt: Cause or Effect? -- 6. Macroeconomic Imbalances:...