Introduction: debt, deficits and austerity -- We must live within our means -- Governments must balance their books -- We must tighten our belts -- Don't go into debt -- Taxes are a burden -- Austerity: there is no alternative -- Always an alternative.

"Public expenditure is an essential tool for governments to underpin prosperity, opportunities and freedom in our advanced countries. But discontent is spreading at a time when high spending, debt and new challenges risk overwhelming many governments. This book's four themes are, therefore, as...

This paper develops indices of fiscal transparency for a broad range of countries based on the IMF''s Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency, using data derived from published fiscal transparency modules of the Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs). The indices covers...

This paper develops indices of fiscal transparency for a broad range of countries based on the IMF's Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency, using data derived from published fiscal transparency modules of the Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs). The indices covers...

This paper presents an agent based model that investigates the possible outcomes of different fiscal and regulatory policies in a financially fragile economy. We analyse the consequences of the attempt by the government to counteract a downturn ignoring the debt dynamics as modelled by Fisher...

Given high government spending, debt and the new challenges on the horizon, the themes of this work are more relevant than ever: the essential tool of spending by the state, its 'value for money', likely risks in the future, and the remedies to create lean, efficient and sustainable government....