scholarly journals Survey-Based Structural Budget Balances

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcell Göttert ◽  
Timo Wollmershaeuser
Keyword(s):  
Structural Budget

Fear and Loathing on Capitol Hill: The 99th Congress and Economic Policy

1986 ◽  
Vol 19 (01) ◽  
pp. 23-29
Author(s):  
Carl E. Van Horn
Keyword(s):  
Executive Branch ◽  
Social Program ◽  
Budget Deficits ◽  
Balanced Budget Act ◽  
Political Survival ◽  
Policy Positions ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
Capitol Hill ◽  
Political Realignment ◽  
Structural Budget

The first session of the 99th Congress was a year of wrenching institutional and political realignment. Facing monstrous structural budget deficits in excess of $200 billion a year. Congress struggled to adjust its distributive urges to the unpleasant realities of a redistributive era. Unlike previous budget crises that were caused by economic events beyond Congress's control, the current problem was created by an unwillingness to raise sufficient revenues to pay for the nation's defense and social program commitments. Frustration, gridlock, and partisan warfare eventually ended in surrender to the Executive Branch: a balanced-budget act was adopted that could radically alter Congress's power of the purse.During the 99th Congress, many Democratic members also continued to realign their policy positions in accordance with contemporary economic and political forces. Democrats in Congress searched for an appealing formula that would ensure political survival and continued control of the House. But the strain of reconciling their traditional public philosophy with conservative trends left Democrats demoralized and in disarray.

scholarly journals Enhanced Fiscal Governance in the European Union: The Fiscal Compact

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merike Kukk ◽  
Karsten Staehr
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Budget Deficit ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Upper Limit ◽  
Fiscal Compact ◽  
Domestic Legislation ◽  
European Debt Crisis ◽  
Fiscal Prudence ◽  
Structural Budget

AbstractSeveral reforms aiming to strengthen budgetary discipline in the European Union have been implemented since the outbreak of the European debt crisis. Arguably the most important one is the Fiscal Compact, which stipulates that each signatory country must enshrine in domestic legislation an upper limit on the structural budget deficit, that is, the deficit after cyclical and other temporary factors have been excluded. This paper analyses the contents of the Fiscal Compact and discusses challenges for its implementation and efficacy. The conclusion is that the Fiscal Compact may be challenging to implement and enforce because the rules are very complex and require complicated calculations that are subject to very large forecasting uncertainty. The Fiscal Compact could, however, lead to a stronger national commitment to fiscal prudence.

scholarly journals The European Union as a Trigger of Discursive Change: The Impact of the Structural Deficit Rule in Estonia and Latvia

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ringa Raudla ◽  
Aleksandrs Cepilovs ◽  
Rainer Kattel ◽  
Linda Sutt
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member State ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Budget Deficit ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Policy Actors ◽  
Fiscal Compact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Structural Budget

Abstract Our paper explores how a rule prescribed by the European Union can bring about changes in the policy discourse of a member state. Drawing on the literatures of discursive institutionalism and Europeanization, the theoretical part discusses the factors that influence discursive shifts. The empirical part examines the discursive impacts of the introduction of the structural budget deficit rule, required by the Fiscal Compact, in Estonia and Latvia. It demonstrates how the discursive shifts have been shaped by the localized translations offered by civil servants, the entrance of additional actors to the policy-making arena, crisis experience, and the strategic interests of policy actors.

scholarly journals Nonlinear Tax Elasticities And Their Implications For The Structural Budget Balance

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charl Jooste ◽  
Ruthira Naraidoo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Fiscal Sustainability ◽  
Economic Cycle ◽  
Contraction Phase ◽  
The Government ◽  
Fiscal Prudence ◽  
Structural Budget

<p>Research on tax elasticities in South Africa mainly employs linear models and shows that taxes evolve symmetrically irrespective of the economic cycle. This study extends this research to show that taxes behave asymmetrically and nonlinearly during expansions and contractions. Estimated linear elasticities imply that a one percent expansion in the cycle increases personal income tax, corporate income tax and value added tax by 1.43, 2.52 and 0.99 percent, respectively. However, estimated nonlinear elasticities are significantly different. During an expansion, the above elasticities increase by 1.89, 2.76 and 2.17 percent, respectively while during a contraction phase these elasticities increase by 0.89, 0.88 and 0.82 respectively. This finding of low tax collection during economic contractions has important implications for fiscal sustainability and overall fiscal prudence in South Africa. The findings of high tax elasticities during expansions might explain the underestimation of revenue by the government.</p>

Taylor's Fiscal Rule: An Exit to the Stability and Growth Pact Dead-end?

2006 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Etienne Farvaque ◽  
Florence Huart ◽  
Clément Vaneecloo
Keyword(s):  
Output Gap ◽  
Stability And Growth Pact ◽  
Budget Balance ◽  
Fiscal Discipline ◽  
Total Budget ◽  
Growth Pact ◽  
Dead End ◽  
Fiscal Rule ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Structural Budget

This study applies Taylor's (2000) proposed fiscal rule to EU-15 countries. We show that such a simple, flexible and transparent fiscal rule, if applied to individual EMU countries, could improve the enforceability of the Stability and Growth Pact. This rule is used to compute the structural budget balance consistent with a total budget position in balance, given national specificities concerning automatic stabilisers and the output gap. It is thus designed for being consistent with both fiscal discipline and flexibility.

Neoliberalismen som dominerende makroøkonomisk diskurs

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesper Jespersen
Keyword(s):  
Rational Expectation ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
Demand Management ◽  
Profit Maximization ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Neoliberal Ideology ◽  
Structural Budget

This paper demonstrates that mainstream General Equilibrium Models (GEM) are dominated by neoliberal ideology. These mathematical models are pre-designed to always converging full-employment equilibrium and private-sector equilibrium. The behavioural equations are derived from the assumption of individual utility and profit maximization and the rational expectation (full foresight) hypothesis. Accordingly, policy recommendations consistent with GEM are neoliberal as they advocate (1) avoiding demand management; (2) balancing the public sector’s (structural) budget; and (3) leaving monetary policy to an independent central bank with responsibility for price stability; while (4) distributional and environmental consequences for production are considered irrelevant. This is illustrated by examples from the Danish macroeconomic environment where GEM (ADAM and DREAM) employed by the Treasury and the Council of Economic Advisors are dominant when it comes to medium and long-term policy recommendations. Finally, the article challenges this logic and objective foundation of mainstream macroeconomics.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document