The sustainability of the Nigerian fiscal deficit along with the role of the dynamics of government revenues and spending in adjusting the size of the deficit is examined using annual data from 1961 to 2014. After allowing for structural breaks, the study finds evidence of a cointegration...

The paper analyses the medium-term objectives (MTOs) recently adopted by the EU Member States as a reference for the multilateral budgetary surveillance, assessing the ability of the new MTOs to promote long-term fiscal sustainability. The paper calibrates the (yet undisclosed) algorithm for...

The official position of the financial and political authorities of Europe is that there will never be any restructuring of Euro area sovereign debt. But the ability of governments to raise sufficient domestic resources to service their debts cannot be guaranteed; so this official position implies...

The need for fiscal consolidation and sustainability is one of the key macroeconomic issues confronting Indian economy. This paper attempts to understand India's current fiscal situation, its likely future development, and its impact on the economy in the context of a weak global recovery from...

This paper explains the various concepts of government debt in the euro area with particular emphasis on its size and composition. In terms of size, the paper focuses on different definitions that are in use, in particular the concept of gross general government debt used in the surveillance of...

We use real-time annual data on the fiscal balance, government current spending, current revenues and net capital outlays as published at a half yearly frequency in the OECD Economic Outlook for 25 OECD countries. For each fiscal year t we have a number of forecasts, a first release, and...

The global financial and economic crisis has revived the debate in the academic literature and in policy circles about the size and effectiveness of automatic fiscal stabilizers. Especially in the euro area where monetary policy is centralized and discretionary fiscal policy making is...

The sovereign debt problems in European countries have increased the interest in fiscal watchdogs. This paper discusses the world's oldest fiscal watchdog, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB). CPB was founded directly after World War II. It has built a reputation of...

This note characterises the evolution of Chile's public debt, and discusses its implications for the management of the country's monetary policy. Historically, the main issuer of public debt in Chile was the central bank. The government, in turn, has recently started to engage in a more active...

Comparing the two significant recessions Israel experienced over the last decade, we highlight the importance of sustained fiscal discipline and credible monetary policy during normal times for expanding the set of policy options available at a time of need. In the first recession Israel was...