Should fiscal consolidations be front-loaded or proceed at a more steady pace, and how does this affect growth? We make an attempt to address this question using a three-step methodology. First, we modify a standard regression of growth on consolidation size to allow speed to affect the...

This paper discusses the short- and medium-term fiscal implications of government wage bill spending. Working with a sample of 137 advanced, emerging and low-income countries, we use a panel VAR approach to identify differences in the dynamic behavior of revenues, non wage expenditures, and the...

While the U.S. tax system is progressive, the distribution of government spending makes the overall fiscal system more progressive than is apparent from tax distributions alone. Using a microdata model we estimate the distribution of federal, state and local taxes and spending between 1991 and...

This policy note presents an assessment of the EU budgetary package for 2021-2027, including the European Union Recovery Instrument 'Next Generation EU' (EURI-NGEU), with an introduction to the EU decision-making process and the state of play of the relevant legislation as well as an annexed...

The current European fiscal framework is highly complex. The multitude of fiscal rules and the discretion in their enforcement precludes an effective oversight and weakens the effectiveness of fiscal rules substantially. Against this background, we present a proposal for a careful refocusing of...

This paper investigates the interaction between fiscal policy transmission and fiscal sustainability, captured through the concept of fiscal space. In order to measure the evolution of fiscal space over time we propose four indicators, drawing from different concepts available in the literature....

Nach der Bundestagswahl schlägt die Stunde der finanzpolitischen Wahrheit. Wer auch immer die nächste Bundesregierung stellt: Der Kassensturz nach der Wahl wird zeigen, dass kaum noch finanzpolitischer Handlungsspielraum besteht. Die öffentlichen Haushalte haben sich im Zuge der Rezession...

The study looks at primary expenditure developments in the euro area, its three largest members and four “macro-imbalances” countries for the period 1999-2009. It compares actual expenditure trends with those that would have prevailed if countries had followed neutral policies based on...

Die vorliegende Studie wurde im Auftrag der Robert Bosch Stiftung im ifo Arbeitsbereich "Sozialpolitik und Arbeitsmärkte" erstellt und im Juni 2005 abgeschlossen, um die Arbeit der von der Bosch Stiftung initiierten Kommission "Familie und demographischer Wandel" zu unterstützen. Gegenstand...