This paper examines the policy option of providing government assistance to families with young children and financing it by increasing income taxes when the children leave home and the parents' wages rise due to their tenure in the labor market. We examine the expenditure composition and the...

While economists argue that lower budget deficits are required in the developed countries, there is a widely held perception that expansionary fiscal policy helps incumbents to get reelected, an assumption that undelies the view that political budget cycles are widespread. However, this view has...

While economists argue that lower budget deficits are required in the developed countries, there is a widely held perception that expansionary fiscal policy helps incumbents to get reelected, an assumption that underlies the view that political budget cycles are widespread. However, this view...