International Differences in Fiscal Policy During the Global Crisis / Agustín S. Bénétrix, Philip R. Lane.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bénétrix, Agustín S.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Lane, Philip R.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w16346.

NBER working paper series no. w16346

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2010.

Summary:

We examine the cross-country dispersion in fiscal outcomes during 2007-2009. In principle, international differences in fiscal policy may be related to differences in optimal fiscal positions, funding constraints, political economy factors and fiscal control problems. We find that the decline in the overall and structural fiscal balances have been larger for those countries experiencing larger increases in unemployment and where credit growth during the pre-crisis period was more rapid. However, there is no systematic co-variation between fiscal outcomes and a larger number of other macroeconomic variables and country characteristics.

Notes:

Print version record

September 2010.