Fiscal rules are laws aimed at reducing the incentive to accumulate debt, and many countries adopt them to discipline local governments. Yet, their effectiveness is disputed because of commitment and enforcement problems. We study their impact applying a quasi-experimental design in Italy. In...

We study the consequences of a large-scale austerity program targeting financially-constrained municipalities in Germany. For identification, we exploit the quasi-random assignment of treatment among equally-distressed municipalities using a difference-in-differences design. The policy helped...

This article provides empirical evidence on the effect of fiscal consolidation in decentralized countries. The focus on Spain is justified for three reasons. First, it is one of the OECD countries that has been the most affected by the Great Recession in terms of both GDP and public deficit....

This article brings empirical evidence on the effect of fiscal consolidation in decentralized countries. The focus on Spain is justified by three reasons. First, it is one of the OECD countries most affected by the Great recession in terms of both GDP and public deficit. Second, Spain is one of...

We study the consequences of a large-scale austerity program targeting financially-constrained municipalities in Germany. For identification, we exploit the quasi-random assignment of treatment among equally-distressed municipalities using a difference-in-differences design. The policy helped...

An increasing proportion of greenhouse gas emissions is produced in urban areas in industrializing and developing countries. Recent research shows that per capita emissions in cities like Bangkok, Cape Town or Shanghai have already reached the level of cities like London, New York or Toronto....

Auf den verschiedenen Stufen des Länderfinanzausgleichs wird die Finanzkraft der Länder relativ deutlich angeglichen. Dennoch haben sich die Länder sehr unterschiedlich stark verschuldet. Ab 2020 wird die Schuldenbremse für die Länder wirksam. Wie die unterschiedliche Finanzkraft bisher...

In the present paper a discussion will be made about the crucial topic of fostering entrepreneurship as the cornerstone of capitalism (by avoiding too hard austerity measures and helping instead entrepreneurship in various ways) so as to make corporations profitable and ultimately create jobs,...

Municipal (muni) bonds are an important source of funding for state and local governments. During the Covid-19 pandemic, muni debt markets became severely distressed. In response, the Federal Reserve established the Municipal Liquidity Facility (MLF). Meanwhile, Congress enacted extensive fiscal...