The literature on fiscal multipliers finds that spending-based fiscal consolidations tend to have more benign macro-economic consequences than revenue-based consolidations. By directly comparing ex-post data with consolidation plans, we present evidence of a systematically weaker follow-up of...

This paper analyzes the implications of a cost of deviating upwards from a public debt/output guideline, such as the 0.6 ratio in the Maastricht Treaty, in the context of a fiscal policymaking model. Given a preannounced timetable for enforcement, the dynamic paths of the tax rate and government...

The literature on fiscal multipliers finds that spending-based fiscal consolidations tend to have more benign macro-economic consequences than revenue-based consolidations. By directly comparing expost data with consolidation plans, we present evidence of a systematically weaker follow-up of...