We assess the existence of fiscal regime shifts in the U.K., Germany, and Italy, using Markov switching fiscal rules. On the basis of a newly built quarterly data set, our results show the existence of fiscal regimes shifts, sometimes coupled with regime switches also regarding monetary...

We assess the sustainability of public finances in OECD countries, over the period 1970-2010, using unit root and cointegration analysis, both country and panel based, controlling for endogenous breaks. Results notably show: lack of cointegration – absence of sustainability – between...

According to conventional macroeconomics, public debt has a significant effect on the economy since consumers see public debt as net wealth, however, according to the Ricardian Equivalence hypothesis, that effect would be absent. This paper's results, obtained from Euler equation estimations,...

The possibility of the so called "non-Keynesian" was illustrated by several fiscal episodes in Europe during the last two decades, giving rise to a growing body of both theoretical and empirical literature. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, a simple two period model for private...

With the fiscal theory of the price level (FTPL), Leeper-Sims-Woodford (LSW) argued that the government budget constraint plays a key role in determining the price level. Indeed, there could even be a dispute vis-a-vis the role of monetary policy in the formation of the price level. Apart from...

I conduct an analysis of the possible determinants of sovereign credit ratings assigned by the two leading credit rating agencies, Moody's and Standard and Poor's, by using both a linear and a logistic transformation of the rating scales. Of the large number of variables that can be used, the...

We assess the consequences of fiscal consolidation episodes on public sector efficiency (scores) for 35 OECD countries for the 2007-2020 period. We find that fiscal consolidations improve public sector efficiency and results are robust across efficiency models. Moreover, peripheral euro-area...

We review the main budgetary measures not accepted by the Portuguese Constitutional Court in the Budget Laws of 2012, 2013 and 2014. Considering the feedback effect of the fiscal impulse, the impact on the budget balance is -0.42% and of -0.34% of GDP respectively for 2013 and for 2014; in both...

We assess the effects of stock-flow adjustments (SFA) on short and long-term interest rates for 14 European countries between 1970 and 2015, in panel and SUR analysis. We conclude that an increase in SFA reduces long- and short-term interest rates, with higher reductions for short-term rates....