Ireland’s banking crisis, one of the most severe in the OECD area, and the associated economic recession have taken a heavy toll on public finances. Large public deficits have accumulated since 2008 and net public debt, which had been eliminated, has soared once again. The rapid deterioration...

We look into Brazil`s public sector accounts during the two administrations of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso: 1995-98 and 1998-2002. We underline the fact that the authorities` attitude was as important as the pace of the structural reforms for understanding the dynamics of the public...

Based on probit estimates, this paper analyzes the effects of fiscal consolidation on the proba-bility of sovereign defaults in the short run. Using a panel of 104 developing countries from 1980 to 2009 and controlling for various economic, fiscal and political factors, we find that fiscal...

Under the President’s proposed budget for 2016, CBO estimates, the federal budget deficit would decline from $486 billion in 2015 to $384 billion in 2016, but then climb in subsequent years, reaching $801 billion in 2025. Federal debt held by the public would remain in the vicinity of 72...

Under current law, CBO estimates the deficit will total $486 billion in 2015, about the same as in 2014. However, because the nation’s output has increased, the projected deficit for 2015 represents a slightly lower percentage of GDP—2.7 percent. If current laws generally remain unchanged,...

The volume collects the essays presented at the 15th Workshop on Public Finance organised by Banca d'Italia in Perugia from 4 to 6 April 2013. The workshop focused on the link between fiscal policy and macroeconomic imbalances and comprised four sessions. The first session concentrated on the...

The President's proposals would, relative to CBO's current-law baseline, boost deficits from 2014 through 2016 but reduce them from 2017 through 2024, CBO and JCT estimate. Deficits would total $6.6 trillion between 2015 and 2024, $1.0 trillion less than the cumulative deficit in CBO's baseline....

Although federal deficits have shrunk markedly in recent years, growing spending for Social Security and major health care programs, along with increasing interest costs, would cause them to rise steadily over the long term. The larger deficits would cause federal debt to grow faster than the...

This paper starts off explaining the arguments put forward to defend the need to reduce the State’s budgetary activity and minimize fiscal deficit in accordance with the institutionalized consensus reached under the Maastricht Treaty and the Stability and Growth Pact. Secondly, it sheds light...

This paper presents a brief overview of the extant fiscal situation in South Asian countries. In particular, I emphasize low tax/GDP ratios and inelastic expenditure/GDP ratios which then lead to structurally entrenched fiscal deficits. The paper also reports on the sustainability of fiscal and...