The functions of the financial system of a developed economy are often badly understood. This can largely be attributed to free-market ideology, which has spread the belief that leaving finance to its own devices would provide the best possible mechanism for allocating savings. The latest...

This note discusses how to design subnational fiscal rules, including how to select them and calibrate them. It expands on the guidance provided at the national level on rule selection and calibration in IMF (2018a) and IMF (2018b). Thinking on subnational fiscal rules is still evolving,...

Nachdruck mit einem Vorwort und einer ausführlichen Einleitung von Heinz-J. Bontrup. Heinz-J. Bontrup und der Duncker & Humblot Verlag würdigen mit dem Nachdruck dieses Buches aus dem Jahr 1992 das Lebenswerk des herausragenden deutschen Ökonomen Helmut Arndt zu seinem 110. Geburtstag. In...

This paper surveys the recent literature on the theory of macroeconomic policy. We study the effect of various incentive constraints on the policy making process, such as lack of credibility, political opportunism, political ideology, and divided government. The survey is organized in three...

A significant source of risk arises from uncertainty concerning future government policy. Government action - - tax reform, deregulation, judicial decisions, budgetary shifts - - produces gains and losses for those who invested under preexisting rules. The effects of government relief - -...