Iceland was badly hit by a fundamental mismatch between the assets and international liabilities of her banking system, with severe consequences for the welfare of the population. The country now has an International Monetary Fund programme. The paper asks three questions of the programme: Is it...

This paper sets up guidelines for the use of alternative summary measures in the appraisal of fiscal policy under differing conditions with respect to both the economy and the objectives of policy. The frequently employed budget balance rule for evaluating fiscal policy is rejected as being of...