This paper provides new evidence on the effectiveness of expenditure rules. The analysis is based on a unique dataset covering all countries with national and supranational fiscal rules, including 33 expenditure rules, between 1985 and 2013. It contributes to the existing literature on fiscal...

The set of fiscal rules within the Euro area are based on the functionality of the automatic stabilizers as a main instrument of the fiscal stabilization. This non-discretionary approach should guarantee that the evolution of the current budget deficit is anti-cyclic and thus it should...