In this paper, we explore the output-volatility reducing role of automatic stabilizers in the nine EMU member states comprising Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Spain for the period 1995-2017. Overall, the empirical results obtained by using the...

Recently, some have wondered whether a fiscal stimulus plan could reduce the government's budget deficit. Many also worry that fiscal austerity plans will only bring higher deficits. Issues of this kind involve endogenous changes in tax revenues that occur when output, real wages, and other...

The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) in EMU urges governments to achieve a position close to balance or surplus over the medium term. So far, the fiscal framework has successfully contributed to the EMU public financial sustainability and may have contributed to financial stability, as well as to...

The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) in EMU urges governments to achieve a position close to balance or surplus over the medium term. So far, the fiscal framework has successfully contributed to the EMU public financial sustainability and may have contributed to financial stability, as well as to...

Using data from 29 European countries over 2002Q1-2019Q4, we estimate automatic stabilizers using various techniques, and show that the use of simple measures of government size as proxies is based on assumptions that are unrealistic and potentially misleading. Relaxing these assumptions allows...

This paper presents strong empirical evidence that automatic stabilizers and countercyclical fiscal policy decrease output volatility. The conducted empirical analysis proves the economic intuition that the automatic fiscal stance is countercyclical, regardless of the size and the prosperity of...

The current economic crisis teaches us a very important lesson. In periods of economic boom, it is indicated that the economic policies to be more cautious to prevent the accumulation of imbalances and to ensure the safety margins that would allow an appropriate response in cases of large...

This paper incorporates an uncoordinated struggle for extra fiscal favors into an otherwise standard Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium model. This reflects the popular belief that interest groups compete for privileged transfers and tax treatment at the expense of the general public...

We construct and calibrate a general equilibrium business cycle model with unemployment and precautionary saving. We compute the cost of business cycles and locate the optimum in a set of simple cyclical fiscal policies. Our economy exhibits productivity shocks, giving firms an incentive to hire...

We construct and calibrate a general equilibrium business cycle model with unemployment and precautionary saving. We compute the cost of business cycles and locate the optimum in a set of simple cyclical fiscal policies. Our economy exhibits productivity shocks, giving firms an incentive to hire...