This paper investigates the macroeconomic effects of tax changes. Using annual data from 1870 to 2013 for a panel of seventeen OECD economies, the empirical findings show that changes in the tax rate have temporary effects on the real growth rate but permanent effects on the level of output. The...

This paper decomposes output fluctuations during the 1913 to 1940 period into components resulting from aggregate supply and aggregate demand shocks. We estimates a number of different models, all of which yield qualitatively similar results. While identification is normally achieved by assuming...

This paper investigates the relationship between the Great Moderation and two measures of inflation performance: trend inflation and inflation volatility. Using annual data from 1970 to 2011 for a large panel of 180 developed and developing economies, the results show that, as expected, both...

While various theoretical models predict that openness to international trade accelerates productivity and promotes economic growth, the empirical evidence has been mixed or imprecise. This paper investigates the issue using two panel data sets: one of 56 countries covering the period 1951-1998,...

Using data from 29 European countries over 2002Q1-2019Q4, we estimate automatic stabilizers using various techniques, and show that the use of simple measures of government size as proxies is based on assumptions that are unrealistic and potentially misleading. Relaxing these assumptions allows...

This paper shows that the Solow model's predictions are consistent with the data. The standard of living is correlated positively with saving rates and negatively with population growth rates, while just these two variables explain jointly 67% to 73% of the sample's cross-country variation. The...

This paper investigates the cyclical properties of the average effective tax rate in 26 OECD countries over 1965-2003 in order to test the validity of three theories of fiscal policy: (i) the standard Keynesian theory which recommends that tax policy should be counter-cyclical, (ii) the Tax...