This paper describes the budgetary reforms that took place over the last 20 years in Latin America. Using a newly developed index of budgetary institutions, it shows that numerical limits, procedural rules, and transparency help to explain fiscal results in Latin America

Rainy Day Funds (RDFs) have an important role in the USA. They allow States - which usually have rules requiring a balanced budget for current revenue and spending - to limit pro-cyclical fiscal policies. This paper examines the possible role of RDFs in the European fiscal framework. The...

Continuous federal budget deficits and a rising public debt have been presented in terms that have produced mounting dissatisfaction with government. One solution offered to deal with this discontent has been a constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget. In a working paper, Charles...

There is a growing interest in the role of independent fiscal councils in strengthening the incentives for fiscal discipline and improving fiscal performance. This paper discusses the motivation for the establishment of such councils and draws on the existing literature and the range of fiscal...

Die Schuldenbremse verbietet den Bundesländern in wirtschaftlichen Normalzeiten die Aufnahme von Schulden selbst zur Finanzierung langfristiger Zukunftsprojekte. Dies wird ökonomischen Überlegungen zur Rechtfertigung einer Schuldenaufnahme nicht gerecht. Wie in der betrieblichen...

This paper examines the links between asset price movements and fiscal adjustments. Our findings suggest that a pick up in asset prices increases the probability of initiating a fiscal adjustment, but it does not necessarily lead to a sustainable correction of fiscal imbalances. However, higher...

Angesichts der bestehenden Herausforderungen, insbesondere der Transformation zur Klimaneutralität, erscheinen die bestehenden Grenzwerte der Schuldenbremse als zu eng. Dies gilt umso mehr nach dem Urteil des Bundesverfassungsgerichts vom 15. November 2023, in dem die Haushaltsprinzipien der...

The financial crisis and recession have left a legacy of unusually large fiscal deficits and growing sovereign debt levels in most advanced economies. The paper uses recent research from the IMF to throw light on two questions: how much fiscal space is available to advanced countries before they...

In the first part of the paper are presented general aspects regarding budgetary priority establishment. The yearly achievable budgetary revenues cannot cover entirely the expenditures, being necessary the sorting of them in concordance with budgetary priorities from the Government’s program....