The sovereign debt crisis in the euro area has raised interest in early warning indicators, aimed at signalling the build-up of fiscal stress in advance and helping prevent crises by means of a timely counteraction of fiscal and macroeconomic policies. This paper presents possible improvements...

In this paper we reflect on the role that fiscal policy could play in the resolution of the crisis in Eurozone countries crippled by both public and private debt, and beset by growth and competitiveness problems. As an illustration, we revisit the Spanish case, a paradigmatic example of the...

Fiscal consolidations are currently in the agenda of fiscal authorities in many countries. Using Bayesian Model Averaging to overcome the problem of model uncertainty, we find that growth-enhancing policies and cuts in public wages are the most appropriate ingredients for successfully reducing...

This article describes some of the mechanisms by which oil price fluctuations produce changes in the long-run growth of the economy. The analysis suggests that a (permanent) increase in oil prices can significantly reduce potential output. From an economic policy point of view, this effect may...

The sovereign debt crisis in the euro area has increased the interest in early warning indicators, with the aim to indicate the build?up of fiscal stress early on and to facilitate crisis prevention by a timely counteraction of fiscal and macroeconomic policies. This paper presents possible...

This paper describes the revenue-raising capacity and structure of the Spanish tax system, in comparison with the economies of the European Union. Spain stands out for the low weight of its tax revenues in GDP relative to the EU27 average. This lower weight of tax revenue is mainly a consequence...

The economic crisis was initially associated with an increase in regional and local government payment periods and trade debt. Since 2012, central government has approved various extraordinary mechanisms for the payment of local and regional government suppliers that have significantly reduced...

This paper reviews the existing empirical evidence on the short term impact on prices of fiscal variables and assesses it against new results from harmonised simulations, conducted with six well established econometric models used by the ECB and five national central banks (NCBs) of the...