Economists are widely familiar with the Ricardian equivalence thesis. It maintains that, given the time-path of government spending, a change in taxation does not alter the set of feasible life-time consumption plans of the households and affects neither the demand for commodities and services...

We examine the historical dynamics of government debt in Post-Unification Italy, from 1861 to 2009. Unit root tests for the debt-GDP ratio are unable to reject either the non stationarity or the stationarity null hypothesis. Controlling debt dynamics for fiscal feedback policies of the...

This paper presents a structural model of optimal fiscal policy in a multiparty system which allows the existence of coalition governments. The paper shows how political effects weaken stabilizing feedback rules from inherited public debt to the current poicy instruments of government...

On 16-17 September 2010, the Banque de France’s Directorate General Economics and International Relations and the Bureau d’économie théorique et appliquée (BETA) of Strasbourg University jointly hosted a conference on the topic “New challenges for public debt in advanced economies”...

The strict assumptions of Ricardian Equivalence Hypothesis hoist the debates on this issue among different school of thoughts. Its validity entails certain assumptions which raise the doubts on its validity especially in the context of developing countries like Pakistan. The aim of this study is...

Although the convergence criteria in the Maastricht Treaty led to the creation of the EMU and the euro area has resisted more than some of its critics believed, in the context of major macroeconomic imbalances, the issue of nominal convergence has been the subject of numerous research. This...

We survey recent theories of public debt that incorporate political decision making in rich dynamic environments. These theories provide a new framework with which to interpret empirical evidence and to assess institutional reforms that may help control political inefficiencies. We discuss the...

Credible fiscal plans that aim at restoring fiscal sustainability will be essential to counter the present increase in debt levels all across Europe. The macroeconomic scenario of such plans will be crucial. This paper assesses whether there is any advantage in delegating (part of) such power to...

Based on the conceptual framework developed by the European Commission for linking the quality of public finances and economic growth, this study examines empirically the key channels through which fiscal policy impacts economic growth in the Mediterranean partner countries of the EU. The...

Die derzeit hohen Überschüsse in den öffentlichen Haushaltenwerden deutlich zurückgehen: Bereits im kommenden Jahr sinkt der Finanzierungssaldo von 26 Milliarden auf vier Milliarden; im Jahr 2018 werden die öffentlichen Haushalte mit einem leichten Defizitabschließen. In der mittleren und...