Pakistan has been pursuing an active albeit expansionary fiscal policy since 1970s. In the mid-1970s to early-1980s, such policy choice was manifested in externally financed development spending, primarily in the form of investment in public enterprises. Despite excessive deficit financing,...

Defining the welfare state is not a simpleminded task. Actually, there are numerous definitions which try to reflect at least some of the basic characteristics of the welfare state or its objectives and its functions. For some, there is primarily an institutional parameter, for others there are...

Despite the Founding Fathers' careful planning, the reason for the public's lack of confidence in Congress is that elections, like the institutional checks and balances of federalism and separation of powers, are necessary but not sufficient to ensure that Congress acts in the best interests of...

Austerity is a concept that is often used in the public debate. It refers to fiscal policy measures that reduce government spending and raise taxes for the purposes of closing a government budget deficit. This paper analyzes the concept in the context of the current European economic crisis and...

Consecutive years of primary deficits have led to mounting public debt of almost 50% of GDP, one of the fastest increases in Latin America over the last decade. Government attempts to restore fiscal health have been undermined by a gridlocked Congress. While only minor reforms have been enacted...

Over the past several decades, public debt has increased substantially in many OECD countries, particularly in the aftermath of recessions. The extent of this increase and the resulting debt levels varied across countries, partly reflecting differences in average budget balances. Despite rising...

This paper assesses the adequacy and effectiveness of the WAEMU fiscal framework along three pillars that have proven to effectively support fiscal discipline in monetary unions—common fiscal rules (including adequacy of numerical ceilings as well as elements of design and enforcement), shared...

For more than 25 years, the Social Security Trust Fund has been projected to run out of money in 2033 (give or take a few years), potentially causing benefits to be severely reduced in the absence of corrective legislative action. Today (February 2024), projections are made by the Social...

This systematic review examines the association between fiscal policy and monetary policy, focusing on their interactions, channels of influence, policy coordination challenges, and the macroeconomic effects of their interactions. The review highlights the importance of time lags, policy mix,...

In this paper, we compare growth and welfare effects of various budget rules within an endogenous growth model with productive public capital, utility enhancing public consumption and public debt. We find that a fixed deficit regime does not affect the long run growth rate compared to a balanced...