"In this book, nineteen experts examine topics ranging from constitutional reform and debt fatigue to fiscal rules and zero-based budgeting. Together, these contributions inform a multifaceted, nuanced argument for the need to formalize spending restraint and redefine state debt to include...

Against the commonly accepted view that in the run-up to EMU the Maastricht fiscal restraints were quite effective in re-aligning public finances in Member States that were showing large excessive deficits, Strauch and von Hagen stress that there are some objections concerning this initial sign...