This paper analyses the smoothing of asymmetric shocks to output for a sample of OECD countries. It also examines whether the private capital markets will be able to replace the government in providing output smoothing in the euro-area, in the near future. The research finds no evidence of large...

Ever since its inception EMU has been subject to controversy. The fiscal policy rules embedded in the Treaty on European Union, and clarified in the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), are probably the most contentious. The SGP is being accused of being too rigid and of forcing pro-cyclicality in...

Egypt has presented important budget imbalances. This paper tries to evaluate whether Egypt's public deficit has had any impact on current account imbalances, examining the validity of the twin-deficit hypothesis for Egypt. We conclude for the presence of a (weak) long-run relationship between...

Credible fiscal plans that aim at restoring fiscal sustainability will be essential to counter the present increase in debt levels all across Europe. The macroeconomic scenario of such plans will be crucial. This paper assesses whether there is any advantage in delegating (part of) such power to...

Credible fiscal plans that aim at restoring fiscal sustainability will be essential to counter the present increase in debt levels all across Europe. The macroeconomic scenario of such plans will be crucial. This paper assesses whether there is any advantage in delegating (part of) such power to...

Entre 1986 (adesão à União Europeia) e 2010 (ano anterior ao terceiro pedido de assistência financeira externa), Portugal apresentou défices orçamentais persistentes. A combinação entre a consequente acumulação de dívida e a década de 2000 de estagnação económica culminou na perda...

It is the purpose of this paper to focus on the consequences of the Ricardian offset to the conduct of stabilising fiscal policies. If equivalence prevails there is no scope for effective stabilising fiscal policies. A review of the theoretical requirements of Ricardian equivalence reveals that...

It is the purpose of this paper to focus on the consequences of the Ricardian offset to the conduct of stabilising fiscal policies. If equivalence prevails there is no scope for effective stabilising fiscal policies. A review of the theoretical requirements of Ricardian equivalence reveals that...

This paper sheds new light on the effects of the minimum wage on employment from a two-sided theoretical perspective, in which firms’ job offer and workers’ job acceptance decisions are disentangled. Minimum wages reduce job offer incentives and increase job acceptance incentives. We show...

This article contributes to the literature on stock market integration by developing and estimating a capital asset pricing model with segmentation effects in order to assess stock market segmentation and its effects on risk premia at the regional level. We show that the estimated degrees of...