The study looks at primary expenditure developments in the euro area, its three largest members and four “macro-imbalances” countries for the period 1999-2009. It compares actual expenditure trends with those that would have prevailed if countries had followed neutral policies based on...

We study fiscal behaviour and the sovereign yield curve in the U.S. and Germany in the period 1981:I-2009:IV. The latent factors, level, slope and curvature, obtained with the Kalman filter, are used in a VAR with macro and fiscal variables, controlling for financial stress conditions. In the...

We use a threshold VAR analysis to study whether the effects of fiscal policy on economic activity differ depending on financial market conditions. In particular, we investigate the possibility of a non-linear propagation of fiscal developments according to different financial market stress...

Public deficit figures are subject to revisions, as most macroeconomic aggregates are. Nevertheless, in the case of Europe, the latter could be particularly worrisome given the role of fiscal data in the functioning of EU’s multilateral surveillance rules. Adherence to such rules is judged...

This paper investigates fiscal sustainability in an overlapping generations economy with endogenous growth coming from human capital formation through educational spending. We assess how budgetary imbalances affect economic dynamics and the outlook for economic growth, thereby providing a...

Of all the future challenges facing labour markets in Europe, none is more certain than the demographic imbalances resulting from the lower birth cohorts after the post-war ‘baby boom’ and the continual increase in life expectancy. Indeed, this has already led to a significant shift in the...

Current Issues The Current Issues series, formerly Frankfurt Voice, treats economic and societal topics of fundamental importance. Currently, the main focus is on issues such as global growth centres, questions and problems relating to demographic developments world-wide, as well as China's and...

The European Year 2012 was, to a certain extent, a framework for raising awareness of the contribution that older people make to society and mobilising stakeholders and policymakers at all levels to promote active ageing and solidarity between generations.To coordinate its activities during the...

This publication gives an overview of the most important demographic developments in the EU Member States, candidate countries, EFTA countries as well as some EU neighbourhood countries. Information is provided by the national statistical institutes and covers the main demographic issues on...