This paper examines the distributional and efficiency effects of different debt reduction schemes in Italy. To finance a given deficit reduction path, we introduce the so-called Eurotax and endogenously adjust either the consumption tax rate or lump-sum transfers in order to balance the budget....

In this paper we ask who bears the burden of recent deficit reduction schemes in Italy. We implemented a reduction of the public deficit to 3 per cent of the GDP, the value that would allow Italy to meet the Maastricht Treaty criteria. The cut-down is financed by the so-called Eurotax...

The aim of our paper is to contribute to the debate on optimal fiscal rules in a monetary union: in terms of global budgetary deficit, of structural budgetary deficit, or of public debt. Indeed, these rules seem to be mixed in the framework of the European Economic and Monetary Union, with the...