Political and Economic Determinants of Budget Deficits in the Industrial Democracies

Political and Economic Determinants of Budget Deficits in the Industrial Democracies PDF Author: Nouriel Roubini
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Budget deficits
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description
This paper focuses on the management of fiscal deficits and the public debt in the industrial democracies. Given the large deficits in many OECD countries in recent years, and the resulting sharp rise in the public debt, it is important to determine the economic and political forces leading to such large deficits. We find only partial support for the "equilibrium approach to fiscal policy", which assumes that tax rates are set over time in order to minimize the excess burden of taxation. Tax rates do not seem to be smoothed, and budget deficits in many countries in recent years appear to be too large to be explained by appeal to transitory increases in government spending. We suggest that in several countries the slow rate at which the post-'73 fiscal deficits were reduced resulted from the difficulties of political management in coalition governments. There is a clear tendency for larger deficits in countries characterized by a by a short average tenure of government and by the presence of many political parties in a ruling coalition

Political and Economic Determinants of Budget Deficits in the Industrial Democracies

Political and Economic Determinants of Budget Deficits in the Industrial Democracies PDF Author: Nouriel Roubini
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Budget deficits
Languages : en
Pages : 76

Get Book

Book Description
This paper focuses on the management of fiscal deficits and the public debt in the industrial democracies. Given the large deficits in many OECD countries in recent years, and the resulting sharp rise in the public debt, it is important to determine the economic and political forces leading to such large deficits. We find only partial support for the "equilibrium approach to fiscal policy", which assumes that tax rates are set over time in order to minimize the excess burden of taxation. Tax rates do not seem to be smoothed, and budget deficits in many countries in recent years appear to be too large to be explained by appeal to transitory increases in government spending. We suggest that in several countries the slow rate at which the post-'73 fiscal deficits were reduced resulted from the difficulties of political management in coalition governments. There is a clear tendency for larger deficits in countries characterized by a by a short average tenure of government and by the presence of many political parties in a ruling coalition

Deficits and Debt in Industrialized Democracies

Deficits and Debt in Industrialized Democracies PDF Author: Eisaku Ide
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317575873
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
Since the global financial crisis, government debt has soared globally by 40 percent and now exceeds an astonishing $100 trillion. Not all countries, though, have fared the same. Indeed, even prior to the financial crisis, the fiscal fates of countries have been diverging, despite predictions that pressures from economic globalization push countries toward more convergent fiscally conservative policies. Featuring the work of an international interdisciplinary team of scholars, this volume explains patterns of fiscal performance (persistent patterns of budget deficits and government debt) from the 1970s to the present across seven countries – France, Italy, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, and the United States. Employing a comparative case study approach, seldom employed in studies of fiscal performance, contributions illuminate the complex causal factors often overlooked by quantitative studies and advances our theoretical understanding of fiscal performance. Among other things, the cases highlight the role of taxpayer consent, tax structure, the welfare state, organization of interests, and labor and financial markets in shaping fiscal outcomes. A necessary resource to understand a broader array of factors that shape fiscal outcomes in specific national contexts, this book will reinvigorate the study of fiscal performance.

The Political Economy of Budget Deficits

The Political Economy of Budget Deficits PDF Author: Mr.Alberto Alesina
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1451850689
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
This paper provides a critical survey of the literature on politico-institutional determinants of the government budget. We organize our discussion around two questions: Why did certain OECD countries, but not others, accumulate large public debts? Why did these fiscal imbalances appear in the last 20 years rather than before? We begin by discussing the “tax smoothing” model and conclude that this approach alone cannot provide complete answers to these questions. We will then proceed to a discussion of political economy models, which we organize in six groups: (i) models based upon opportunistic policymakers and naive voters with “fiscal illusion;” (ii) models of intergenerational redistributions; (iii) models of debt as a strategic variable, linking the current government with the next one; (iv) models of coalition governments; (v) models of geographically dispersed interests; and (vi) models emphasizing the effects of budgetary institutions. We conclude by briefly discussing policy implications.

Deficits, Debt, and Democracy

Deficits, Debt, and Democracy PDF Author: Richard E. Wagner
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 0857934600
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
This timely book reveals that the budget deficits and accumulating debts that plague modern democracies reflect a clash between two rationalities of governance: one of private property and one of common property. The clashing of these rationalities at various places in society creates forms of societal tectonics that play out through budgeting. The book demonstrates that while this clash is an inherent feature of democratic political economy, it can nonetheless be limited through embracing once again a constitution of liberty. Not all commons settings have tragic outcomes, of course, but tragic outcomes loom large in democratic processes because they entail conflict between two very different forms of substantive rationality; the political and market rationalities. These are both orders that contain interactions among participants, but the institutional frameworks that govern those interactions differ, generating democratic budgetary tragedies. Those tragedies, moreover, are inherent in the conflict between the different rationalities and so cannot be eliminated. They can, as this book argues, be reduced by restoring a constitution of liberty in place of the constitution of control that has taken shape throughout the west over the past century. Economists interested in public finance, public policy and political economy along with scholars of political science, public administration, law and political philosophy will find this book intriguing.

Politics, Institutions, and the Economic Performance of Nations

Politics, Institutions, and the Economic Performance of Nations PDF Author: Clemens L. J. Siermann
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
This text explores the issues of politics, institutions and the economic performance of nations from an in-depth perspective, challenging conventional theory which claims that democracy promotes economic growth.

Fiscal Institutions and Fiscal Performance

Fiscal Institutions and Fiscal Performance PDF Author: James M. Poterba
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226676307
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
The unprecedented rise and persistence of large-scale budget deficits in many developed and developing nations during the past three decades has caused great concern. The widespread presence of such deficits has proved difficult to explain. Their emergence in otherwise diverse nations defies particularistic explanations aimed at internal economic developments within a specific country. Fiscal Institutions and Fiscal Performance shifts emphasis away from narrow economic factors to more broadly defined political and institutional factors that affect government policy and national debt. This collection brings together new theoretical models, empirical evidence, and a series of in-depth case studies to analyze the effect of political institutions, fiscal regulations, and policy decisions on accumulating deficits. It provides a fascinating overview of the political and economic issues involved and highlights the role of budgetary institutions in the formation of budget deficits.

The Political Economy of Industrial Democracies

The Political Economy of Industrial Democracies PDF Author: Douglas A. Hibbs
Publisher: Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description


The Motives to Borrow

The Motives to Borrow PDF Author: Antonio Fatás
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1498312101
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 53

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Book Description
Governments issue debt for good and bad reasons. While the good reasons—intertemporal tax-smoothing, fiscal stimulus, and asset management—can explain some of the increases in public debt in recent years, they cannot account for all of the observed changes. Bad reasons for borrowing are driven by political failures associated with intergenerational transfers, strategic manipulation, and common pool problems. These political failures are a major cause of overborrowing though budgetary institutions and fiscal rules can play a role in mitigating governments’ tendencies to overborrow. While it is difficult to establish a clear causal link from high public debt to low output growth, it is likely that some countries pay a price—in terms of lower growth and greater output volatility—for excessive debt accumulation.

Economic Policy and Performance in Industrial Democracies

Economic Policy and Performance in Industrial Democracies PDF Author: Takayuki Sakamoto
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135976384
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
This book is the first systematic study of how the interdependence of fiscal and monetary policies and the interaction of party governments and central banks affect the fiscal-policy mix in eighteen industrial democracies in North America, Western Europe, Japan and Oceania. Sakamoto argues that central banks influence on economic policy is far mor

Monetary and Fiscal Policy in an Integrated Europe

Monetary and Fiscal Policy in an Integrated Europe PDF Author: Barry Eichengreen
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642798179
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
In this volume, a group of distinguished economists and political scientists analyze the political economy of European integration, evaluating recent developments in European monetary and fiscal policy. They consider the current situation, as well as the prospects for an Integrated Europe. The book is unique in combining perspectives from economics and political science and provides an in-depth analysis of the new European institutions. The book will be of great interest to observers, scholars, and students of European economic and political affairs, macroeconomic policy, institutional analysis, and comparative and international political economy. Published in conjunction with "Politics and Institutions in an Integrated Europe" by the same editors.