This paper explores how fiscal policy can affect medium- to long-term growth. It identifies the main channels through which fiscal policy can influence growth and distills practical lessons for policymakers. The particular mix of policy measures, however, will depend on country-specific conditions, capacities, and preferences. The paper draws on the Fund’s extensive technical assistance on fiscal reforms as well as several analytical studies, including a novel approach for country studies, a statistical analysis of growth accelerations following fiscal reforms, and simulations of an endogenous growth model.
The book has many merits, and represents an important contribution to the controversial topic of European fiscal policy. I appreciated in particular the high quality and rigor of the analysis and the fact that the pros and cons of the contending opinions are presented in a fair way. It is a rewarding reading. EAEPE Newsletter Buti and Franco present a series of interesting analytical information which should be read by as broad an audience as possible. . . the book is a good buy. László Csaba, Acta Oeconomica This book explores the origins, rationale, problems and prospects of the European fiscal policy framework. It provides the reader with a roadmap to EMU s budgetary framework by exploring its theoretical and empirical foundations, uncovering its historical roots and emphasising its supranational nature. The authors, who have been at the forefront of the academic and policy debate on economic policy in Europe, argue that fiscal policy has always been at the core of the EMU debate. The Maastricht criteria and the Stability and Growth Pact are the most contentious building blocks of EMU s institutional architecture: they have aroused heated controversies between academics and policymakers ever since their adoption. As EMU s budgetary rules undergo their first severe shock, Europe is still searching for its fiscal soul. The book s basic premise is that one cannot fully understand EMU s fiscal framework and the recent debate on its reform without placing them in a historical and institutional perspective and abstracting from the uniqueness of EMU, where sovereign countries retain a large degree of fiscal independence, and monetary policy is entrusted to an independent central bank with the overriding mission of maintaining price stability. Analysing all aspects of EMU s fiscal rules and institutions, this book will strongly appeal to students, academics and researchers of macroeconomic policy and European integration. Policymakers and fiscal policy experts at both national and international levels will also find the book to be of great interest.
This paper reviews empirical and theoretical work on the links between banks and their governments (the bank-sovereign nexus). How significant is this nexus? What do we know about it? To what extent is it a source of concern? What is the role of policy intervention? The paper concludes with a review of recent policy proposals.
This report examines the stance of fiscal policy in Europe since the 1980s, and the attempts that have been made to restrain the excessive deficits that have built up over the past 15 years. Some attempts to impose discipline have been successful, but many have not. The authors examine the reasons for this, and draw lessons for fiscal policy-making in the future. Current policies could weaken the euro. When the effects of a high deficit in one state are spread across the whole currency union, there is an incentive to run a more expansionary fiscal policy. Unsustainable debt paths can therefore be inflationary. Moreover, the loss of national monetary policies may have caused many governments to rely on fiscal policies to reach their goals. Fiscal discipline has therefore weakened visibly since EMU started, and this has undermined the institutional structure that was set up to enforce that discipline. A new structure will eventually be needed. A key point seems to be that a significant consolidation did take place as countries tried to meet the Maastricht criteria. But having qualified, many member states then relaxed their fiscal policies.The results suggest that, within five years of the launch of the euro, this 'Maastricht Effect' of greater discipline will have been eroded. The authors also find evidence that the smaller countries have shown more discipline than their larger neighbours. In addition, they find that governments have attempted to expand their economies for electoral gain. Finally, they emphasise the crucial role of growth. In fact, the report finds that the reductions in debt that have been achieved so far have been created almost exclusively through economic growth. This appears to be true even under regimes with the strictest expenditure controls. As a result, the Stability and Growth Pact appears not to have produced much discipline; but it has created pro-cyclical pressures and generated uncertainty when its enforcement has been uneven. These results show that it may be preferable to have growth-friendly policies, and to give a more prominent place to debt reductions in a regime of fiscal restraint.
The recent recession has brought fiscal policy back to the forefront, with economists and policy makers struggling to reach a consensus on highly political issues like tax rates and government spending. At the heart of the debate are fiscal multipliers, whose size and sensitivity determine the power of such policies to influence economic growth. Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis focuses on the effects of fiscal stimuli and increased government spending, with contributions that consider the measurement of the multiplier effect and its size. In the face of uncertainty over the sustainability of recent economic policies, further contributions to this volume discuss the merits of alternate means of debt reduction through decreased government spending or increased taxes. A final section examines how the short-term political forces driving fiscal policy might be balanced with aspects of the long-term planning governing monetary policy. A direct intervention in timely debates, Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis offers invaluable insights about various responses to the recent financial crisis.
The European economy is emerging from its deepest recession since the 1930s. This volume, which brings together economic analysis from the European Commission services, explains how swift policy response avoided a financial meltdown. Europe also needs an improved co-ordinated crisis-management framework to help it respond to any similar situations that may arise in the future. Economic Crisis in Europe is a much-anticipated volume which shows that the beginnings of such a crisis-management framework are emerging, building on existing institutions and legislation and complemented by new initiatives.
Top economists provide a concise and accessible evaluation of majordevelopments in trade and trade policy. Economic Policy has earned a reputation around the worldas the one publication that always identifies current and emergingpolicy topics early Papers are specially commissioned from first-class economistsand experts in the policy field The editors are all based at top European economic institutionsand each paper is discussed by a panel of distinguishedeconomists This unique approach guarantees incisive debate and alternativeinterpretations of the evidence
The enlargement process, the creation of the Monetary Union and the need to promote further the political and economic integration of Europe have ignited an intense debate at the European level among researchers and policy-makers. Examining the effects that political, legal, and regulatory institutions have on economic development, this book provides new contributions on the political economy of the European constitution. It covers many issues including social protection, fiscal reform and regional policies that are on the table of European policy makers. Furthermore, it provides ideas and analysis of such issues as the problem of voting reform, the centralization and decentralization of the policy process and the allocation of new policy prerogatives at the EU level which are crucial for the design of a new European constitution.
With the advent of the third and final phase of European and Monetary Union (EMU), the debate over European monetary unification is at the top of the political and economic agenda. Much has been written over the past five years about whether EMU is justified given the various expected benefitsand prospective costs, but there has been little detailed material on how EMU will work and what the practical implications of it will be for Europe as a whole. Economic Policy in EMU is a comprehensive look at the mechanisms involved, likely effects on monetary and budgetary policy, and the ways in which monetary union will deal with and affect business cycles and regional differences. It combines rigorous analysis of how the European economy works withan insider view of how this will change after 1999: as such, it is vital reading for all involved in the most important topic facing Europe today.
Fiscal policy in Latin America has been guided primarily by short-term liquidity targets whose observance was taken as the main exponent of fiscal prudence, with attention focused almost exclusively on the levels of public debt and the cash deficit. Very little attention was paid to the effects of fiscal policy on growth and on macroeconomic volatility over the cycle. Important issues such as the composition of public expenditures (and its effects on growth), the ability of fiscal policy to stabilize cyclical fluctuations, and the currency composition of public debt were largely neglected. As a result, fiscal policy has often amplified cyclical volatility and dampened growth. 'Fiscal Policy, Stabilization, and Growth' explores the conduct of fiscal policy in Latin America and its consequences for macroeconomic stability and long-term growth. In particular, the book highlights the procyclical and anti-investment biases embedded in the region's fiscal policies, explores their causes and macroeconomic consequences, and asesses their possible solutions.
