Fiscal Institutions and Fiscal Performance

by Poterba, James M.

• ISBN13: 9780226676234
• ISBN10: 0226676234
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-05-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

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.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	1	(12)
James M. Poterba
Jurgen von Hagen
1. Budget Deficits and Budget Institutions	13	(24)
Alberto Alesina
Roberto Perotti
2. A Model of Endogenous Fiscal Deficits and Delayed Fiscal Reforms	37	(22)
Andres Velasco
3. Consumption Smoothing through Fiscal Policy in OECD and EU Countries	59	(22)
Adriana Arreaza
Bent E. Sorensen
Oved Yosha
4. Government Fragmentation and Fiscal Policy Outcomes: Evidence from OECD Countries	81	(22)
Yianos Kontopoulos
Roberto Perotti
5. Institutional Arrangements and Fiscal Performance: The Latin American Experience	103	(32)
Ernesto Stein
Ernesto Talvi
Alejandro Grisanti
6. Politics, Institutions, and Public-Sector Spending in the Argentine Provinces	135	(16)
Mark P. Jones
Pablo Sanguinetti
Mariano Tommasi
7. Public Debt and Budgetary Procedures: Top Down or Bottom Up? Some Evidence from Swiss Municipalities	151	(30)
Lars P. Feld
Gebhard Kirchgassner
8. State Fiscal Institutions and the U.S. Municipal Bond Market	181	(28)
James M. Poterba
Kim Rueben
9. Electoral Institutions, Cabinet Negotiations, and Budget Deficits in the European Union	209	(24)
Mark Hallerberg
Jurgen von Hagen
10. Budgetary Institutions and the Levels of Expenditure Outcomes in Australia and New Zealand	233	(32)
J. Edgardo Campos
Sanjay Pradhan
11. Budgetary Procedures--Aspects and Changes: New Evidence for Some European Countries	265	(36)
Jakob de Haan
Wim Moessen
Bjorn Volkerink
12. Subnational Budgetary and Stabilization Policies in Canada and Australia	301	(48)
Thomas J. Courchene
13. Coping with Fiscal Stress: Illusion and Reality in Central Government Budgeting in Japan, 1975-1997	349	(28)
Maurice Wright
Contributors	377	(2)
Author Index	379	(4)
Subject Index	383