The paper investigated the significance of fiscal rules and fiscal institutions, with the objective of achieving fiscal sustainability and growth in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is currently faced with unsustainable expenditures which have resulted in fiscal macroeconomic imbalances. To achieve the study...

Using a panel of 40 advanced economies over the period 1990-2020 this paper investigates the effect of various characteristics of fiscal councils and fiscal rules on the probability of starting a fiscal adjustment, as well as on the probability that this fiscal adjustment will be successful. The...

This paper explores the political economy of fiscal adjustment. It begins with an examination of the evidence for, and sources of, ‘deficit bias', including political and governance factors, public attitudes, the role of financial markets and imprecision about which debt targets should be...

This paper estimates the causal effect of fiscal rules on fiscal balances in a panel of 142 countries over the period 1985-2015. Our instrumental variable strategy exploits the geographical diffusion of fiscal rules across countries. The intuition is that reforms in neighboring countries may...

Fiscal rules enhance the credibility of economic policy, allow countercyclical and sustainable fiscal policies, and contribute to macroeconomic stability and economic growth. The Colombian government has used fiscal rules to limit the growth of expenditure and the indebtedness of sub-national...

The European Union’s fiscal rules have been suspended until at least the end of 2021. When they are reinstated, they will need to be modified, if only because of the high levels of debt. Proposals have been made—and more are to come—suggesting various changes and simplifications. In this...

This paper explores the political economy of fiscal adjustment. It begins with an examination of the evidence for, and sources of, ‘deficit bias’, including political and governance factors, public attitudes, the role of financial markets and imprecision about which debt targets should be...

The European Union's constitutional balanced-budget amendment, the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), dictates that EU member states keep their budget deficits within three percent of GDP and that government debt be kept at or below 60 percent of GDP. After 20 years, unintended consequences of the...

In recent years, many countries have adopted Fiscal Responsibility Laws to strengthen fiscal institutions and promote fiscal discipline in a credible, predictable and transparent manner. Still, results on the effectiveness of these laws remain tentative. In this paper, we test empirically...

The challenge for fiscal policy in Slovakia is to achieve fiscal consolidation in a way which supports the fragile recovery and protects spending on areas which are important for re-embarking on a trajectory of high trend growth and underpinning a catch-up in living standards. While the recently...