Search results for "Fiscal federalism"

Is the budget deficit sustainable when fiscal policy is non-linear? The case of Spain

2006

In this paper, we re-examine the long-run sustainability of budget deficits, when fiscal policy is conducted as a non-linear process. Our empirical methodology makes use of recent developments on threshold cointegration that consider the possibility of a non-linear relationship between government expenditures and revenues. The analysis is applied to the case of Spain, a country that has recently accomplished an important fiscal consolidation. Overall, our results suggest the presence of significant non-linear effects in Spanish fiscal policy, so that fiscal authorities would cut deficits only if they are ‘large’, which would assure in turn their long-run sustainability.

Assessing Long-Term Fiscal Developments: A New Approach

2009

We use a new approach to assess long-term fiscal developments. By analyzing the time-varying behaviour of the two components of government spending and revenue - responsiveness and persistence - we are able to infer about the sources of fiscal behaviour. Drawing on quarterly data we estimate recursively these components within a system of government revenue and spending equations using a Three-Stage Least Square method. In this way we track fiscal developments, i.e. possible fiscal deteriorations and/or improvements for eight European Union countries plus the US. Results suggest that positions have not significantly changed for Finland, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the US,…

THE NEW ARCHITECTURE OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE AND ITS CONSTITUTIONAL IMPLICATIONS AT THE EU AND NATIONAL LEVEL

La tesi analizza la nuova architettura costituzionale della governance economica europea come ridefinita dalle più recenti riforme europee predisposte al fine di contrastare la crisi economico-finanziaria dell’area euro e il suo impatto sull’assetto costituzionale dell’Unione europea e degli Stati Membri. La tesi, articolata in quattro capitoli e redatta interamente in lingua inglese, ripercorre le tappe salienti dell’evoluzione dell’Unione Economica e Monetaria, analizza le principali disposizioni della “costituzione economica” dell’Unione europea e contiene un’esposizione, in chiave critica, delle principali misure adottate dall’Unione europea per contrastare la crisi economica della zona…

Local vs. National Environmental Spending: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis

2012

This work studies the impact of public environmental spending in a fiscal federalist framework. The main question is studying when the centralization of this public economic function is welfare improving. Applying the Stochastic Frontier Approach (SFA) on Italian, Portuguese and Slovakian data, the paper tries to test this issue. Our results highlight the superiority of centralized environmental spending with respect to the decentralization of this particular public good.

The Economic Rationale of Fiscal Rules in OCAs: The Stability and Growth Pact and the Excessive Deficit Procedure

2013

This chapter examines the case of different regions within a single country that wish to share a common currency, even though they have divergent trends in unemployment, inflation, wages, non-wage costs and productivity. This situation compares with the case of a group of EU countries, each with its own decentralised national budget, that have established a monetary union and that are facing asymmetric shocks. As such an economic context requires fiscal commitments from national governments, we analyse the economic rationale of setting fiscal rules for a common currency area and the resulting EU institutional frame for the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) and the Excessive Deficit Procedure …

The Advisable Coordination of the Autonomic Environmental Taxation as Reluctance to the Development of Fiscal Federalism

2013

Approval of the “Ley Organica 3/2009” of the 18th of December and modification of the “Ley Organica 8/1980” of the 22nd of September, which concern the financing of the autonomic regions (LOFCA), reforms the regulation of the exercise of the financial system of the autonomic communities, modifying the article 6.3 LOFCA.

How significant is yardstick competition among governments? Three reasons to dig deeper

2013

22 pages; The significance of yardstick competition among governments is now confirmed with regard to fiscal variables. This is an important result but the significance of the mechanism must also be sought in a context broader than that of fiscal federalism and without limitation to relations and processes fully observable. Three points are made. Even in the case of governments trying to mimic each other over a single variable, additional variables are involved in an important way. Yardstick competition can be latent without being ineffective. Its major effect, then, is to set bounds to the choices that office-holders could think of making. Finally, the mechanism is a hidden albeit essentia…

New Public Management y federalismo fiscal: oportunidades y riesgos.

2010

The Introduction of the “Balanced Budget” Principle into the Italian Constitution: What Perspectives for the Financial Autonomy of Regional and Local…

2013

This paper analyses the impact on regional and local authorities of Articles 117 and 119 of the Italian Constitution as amended by Constitutional Law no. 1/2012. In particular, it attempts to verify whether the new formulation of these constitutional provisions materializes the risk of a significant reduction in the financial autonomy of both Regions and Local Governments. With the constitutional reform the legislative competence of “harmonization of public account” has become an exclusive State competence, the “balanced budget” principle has been extended to Regions and local authorities and public borrowing has been broadly prohibited. What is the actual significance of the changes introd…

The Importance of a Medium-term Budgetary Framework in Enhancing the Sustainability of Public Finances in Romania

2014

Abstract The reform that the romanian fiscal system should follow aims to increase the quality of public finances and fiscal governance and strengthening fiscal discipline through better management of budgetary resources. This can be achieved by taking legislative and institutional measures, such as a new law on fiscal responsibility, developing a long-term fiscal strategy, moving to a multi-annual budget programming by implementing a medium-term budgetary framework, the introduction of strict fiscal rules and the establishment of an Independent Fiscal Council. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of adopting a medium-term budgetary framework by Romania and the role that…