This ambitious book seeks both to revive and revise the idea of 'functional finance'. Followers of this doctrine believe that government budgets should concentrate solely on their macroeconomic impact on the economy, rather than reflecting a concern for sound finance and budgetary discipline....

COVID-19 has quickly emerged as a novel risk, generating feverish behavior among investors, and posing unprecedented challenges for policymakers. The empirical analysis provides evidence for a significant negative effect on stock markets of COVID-19-related measures announced in the Euro Area...