This study tests the hypothesis that balanced-budget rules (BBRs) that restrict public borrowing to investments in public infrastructure increase growth by increasing the productivity of debt, either because investments in public infrastructure are more productive than other uses for which...

Poverty and inequality around the world has been rising over the last three decades and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) seems a far fetched goal. In explaining underdevelopment, Classical Economics has offered many theories and models including but not limited to...

The paper provides an alternative explanation for the “resource curse” based on the income effect resulting from high government current spending in resource rich economies. Using a simple life cycle framework, we show that private investment in the non-resource sector is adversely affected...

This paper presents a macroeconomic model with some microfoundations for a small open economy. The main purpose is the simulation of external environment and fiscal policy shocks. The model includes sufficiently disaggregated public sector and household disposable income accounts and it...

This paper evaluates the main effects of the implementation of tax flat system in Romanian economy. If accompanying measures are not going to be enforced, the introduction of the flat rate of 16% in Romania will lead to unsustainable budgetary deficits and inflationist pressures. The flat tax...

The aim of this paper is to point out the shortcomings of propositions that deny economic policy any active role and propose a simple model by which public expenditure is still recognised as performing an active and positive function. The core of our thesis is that public deficit, because it...

This article analyses the redistributive efficiency of public spending and taxation in a panel of both advanced and developing economies during the last three decades (1984-2012). In order to explore how redistribution is achieved through fiscal policies, a two-stage approach is applied. First,...

This paper explains the early U.S. Department of Commerce estimates of national income and product during the 1930s and 1940s, focusing on how both economic theory and the needs of policymakers influenced the methods and concepts used. The paper explores the debate between Simon Kuznets, author...

In the recent years there has been an intense discussion whether the actual behaviour of fiscal authorities is consistent with cyclical stabilization objectives. The question of the appropriate fiscal policy is gaining recognition especially for the countries of the euro area after entering the...

This paper empirically analyzes the impact of budget deficit on the economic development of Romania. Using the OLS estimates for quarterly series for the period from 2001 to 2011, the results of the estimates prove that there is an indirect relationship between budget deficit and economic growth...