Instead of relying on descriptive statistics to evaluate the permanence of a fiscal contraction, this paper suggests that this issue should be studied using tests for structural breaks in cointegrating relationships between taxes and spending. We label a fiscal contraction as 'permanent' if a...

In this paper we examine, by means of Monte Carlo simulation, the properties of the so called 'Pantula principle' for the simultaneous determination of rank and deterministic components in a vector error correction model. Examining the five models contained within the Johansen methodology, we...