In this study we perform an analysis of the volatility of the budget deficit for EU countries. We address this issue starting from the new requirements of fiscal discipline imposed by the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance adopted by 25 European Union member states and taking into...

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...

Recently governments, economists, and international financial institutions have been debating the merits of further fiscal stimulus to combat the Great Recession versus fiscal austerity or “adjustment” – that is, higher taxes and/or lower government spending – to combat budget deficits....

With the economy suffering from near double-digit unemployment, public debate is dominated by concerns over the budget deficit and national debt. This discussion is unfortunate both because there is no reason for people to be concerned about the deficit at present, and more importantly, because...

The Great Recession has left tens of millions of families facing unemployment, underemployment and the threat of losing their home. However,concerns over the deficit threaten to derail efforts to turn around the economy and spur employment. This report attempts to correct many of the...

Many proponents of conservative fiscal policies talk of the budget deficit as being a matter of intergenerational equality. However, this paper shows the younger generations (and those yet to be born) will contribute more to the deficit than older generations. This analysis uses data from the...

A number of macroeconomic troubles led the Hungarian Government to the introduction of an adjustment program in July 2006.

This paper tests empirically the strategic explanation of budget deficits suggested by Tabellini and Alesina and Persson and Svensson. Tabellini and Alesina suggest that governments with di erent political orientation provide different public goods. The model predicts that: a) public good...

This paper empirically analyses the relationship between political leaders socioeconomic backgrounds and public budget deficits utilising panel data on 21 OECD countries from 1980 to 2008. Building on sociological, as well as economic, research, we argue that the socioeconomic status of...

Broad theoretical consensus and vast empirical evidence reinforce the view that prudent fiscal policy – also advocated by the fiscal institutions of the eurozone – can support the stable long term growth. After presenting some general principles of the optimal fiscal policy, the paper...