Robust GDP growth, declining unemployment, low and stable inflation, and a string of fiscal and current account surpluses -- it's a record to be envied. These outcomes in Canada owe much to sound macroeconomic policies, as well as to a favorable external environment. This book focuses on these...

This paper jointly and separately examines the redistributive and poverty effects of tax and public expenditures (education and health) in Cameroon. The tax system is generally progressive but less so than the benefits of public expenditure. While overall public spending is mostly progressive in...

We provide an estimate of the burden that current policies impose to present and future generations of Italians. Based on our computations, we argue that current fiscal policies are neither financially sustainable nor fair to future generations, due to the generous treatment awarded to past and...

This paper considers a Ramsey model of linear capital and labor income taxation in which a benevolent government cannot commit ex-ante to a sequence of taxes for the future. In this setup, if the government is allowed to borrow and lend to the consumers, the optimal capital income tax is zero in...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that following a strong performance in 2004, Israel’s economic expansion accelerated in 2005, supported by a relatively favorable global economic environment, an improvement in the security situation, and prudent policies. Real GDP grew at an...

We use a new panel dataset of credit card accounts to analyze how consumer responded to the 2001 Federal income tax rebates. We estimate the monthly response of credit card payments, spending, and debt, exploiting the unique, randomized timing of the rebate disbursement. We find that, on...

The global financial crisis has lead to a renewed interest in discretionary fiscal stimulus. Advocates of discretionary measures emphasize that government spending can stimulate additional private spending the so-called Keynesian multiplier effect. Thus, we investigate whether the discretionary...

There are two ways of analyzing the efficacy of fiscal policy: the VAR approach and the nonlinear approach. The important difference between them is that the former assumes a linear effect of fiscal policy whereas the latter assumes a nonlinear effect. However, it has never been tested whether...

The macroeconomic literature has found puzzling effects of government spending on private consumption, the real exchange rate and the terms of trade. Some authors find that private consumption increases after a shock to government spending, while others report a decrease. The same ambiguity can...