We use a rich dataset of regional government expenditures for Japan during the 1990-2000 period to estimate from within-prefecture variation the multiplier of government investment and government consumption expenditures. Our main finding is that government spending did not have multipliers...

Generally, during financial crisis benefits liable to taxation represented by revenues which have been generated, consumed or saved that create fiscal prelevation are variably reduced. An element that can have an influence is tax payers’ conformation degree, which is lower in these times and...

This paper summarizes recent international evidence on the design, functioning and effects of fiscal rules. Special attention is paid to small open economies such as the Czech Republic. This paper (1) discusses pros and cons of the rules focusing on different types of fiscal constraints (e.g.,...

We provide a test of the sustainability of the Spanish government deficit over the period 1850-2000, from the estimation of a cointegration relationship between government expenditures and revenues derived from the intertemporal budget constraint. The longer than usual span of the data allows us...

The current financial and economic crisis seems to be unprecendentely in the last half century. The economic downturn extented in the USA, Europe and Japan seems to be much more painful than the economic downturn in 1981-1982. A massive drop of confidence is under way, both across the business...

As governments and economists worldwide reflect on the unprecedented peacetime build-ups of government deficits and debts since 2008 and the Great Recession, the importance of fiscal and monetary policy interactions and their sustainability is key. This involves both thorough theoretical and...

An analysis of the impact from stabilizing instruments important to macroeconomic policy on output in the US is presented. A simple approach to identify the influence of macroeconomic-policy instruments, based on the St. Louis equation, is clearly presented and examined using annual US data from...

With variations across countries, Latin America’s economic agenda will change over the next few years. Fiscal policy will be monitored more independently, and may lean more against cycles. Financial regulation will be heavier, and less attuned with a single international model. Innovation will...

Fiscal policy is an important government tool for managing the economy, having the ability to affect the total amount of output produced - GDP. Changes in the instruments of fiscal policy have impact on aggregate demand, the pattern of resource allocation, and the distribution of income. The...

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was intended to stimulate the U.S.economy and to create jobs. But at what cost? In this paper, we discuss the range of potential benefits and costs associated with counter-cyclical fiscal policy. Benefits and costs may be social, macroeconomic,...