This book examines existing problems in the European economy, focusing on labour markets, including labour market reform and outsourcing, as well as macroeconomic issues, such as macroeconomic stabilization in the Euro area and convergence and divergence in economic growth in the EU.

This volume contributes to empirical research on the role of national fiscal rules and institutions in shaping fiscal policies. It provides original, policy-oriented analysis on a number of questions and gives illuminating conclusions about the devices which promote sound and sustainable policy....

The International Handbook of Public Financial Management is a virtual encyclopedia of public financial management, written by topmost experts, many with a background in the IMF and World Bank. It provides the first comprehensive guide to the subject that has been published in more than ten...

Can the European Economic and Monetary Union survive as an institution providing the highest degree of monetary integration? Can it withstand crises in international markets and contribute to the stability of the global financial system? This book addresses these questions, emphasising the need...

This book focuses on the distributional consequences of the public sector and examines and documents, theoretically and empirically, the effects of government spending and taxation on personal distribution, and includes chapters investigating the relationship between the public sector and...

This book assesses the performance of the first Lula government (2002-06) from different perspectives including economics, politics, history and social policy. While the focus is on Brazil, it also refers to the experiences of similar countries both for comparative purposes and for evidence of...

This book examines how Japan should cope with fiscal challenges, as demands on the budget from an ageing society have necessitated the reigning in of public debt and the revamp of the pension and healthcare systems. It combines insights from academic research with the views of policymakers to...

This book focuses on the construction of the economic policies of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and its institutions. It reviews the faltering economic performance of the EMU countries before and after the onset of the financial crisis.

Dollar, Euro's and Debt discusses the recent financial, economic, and fiscal crisis. It argues that the focus that has been put on cyclical aspects of the crisis has missed the fundamental point, that the crisis is largely structural, even though cyclical factors (the sub-prime problem) may have...

Inspired by the experience of some advanced economies, a number of emerging market economies have recently adopted rules limiting the budget deficit, expenditure level, or indebtedness of the public sector, while others consider them for eventual adoption. This volume brings together policy...