Discussion Paper
No. 2014-29 | July 07, 2014
Claire Reicher
Systematic Fiscal Policy and Macroeconomic Performance: A Critical Overview of the Literature
(Published in Survey and Overview)

Abstract

The literature on systematic fiscal policy and macroeconomic performance in industrialized countries is large but fragmented. Based on a broad overview of that literature, several patterns emerge. The empirical literature points toward strongly anticyclical policy, which consists of procyclical tax revenues, acyclical tax rates and government purchases, and countercyclical transfer payments. Consolidation in response to the debt has come primarily through adjustments to taxes and possibly purchases. Furthermore, a large government is associated with reduced macroeconomic volatility. The theoretical literature on anticyclical fiscal policy, meanwhile, has gone from mostly focusing on government purchases and tax rates toward beginning to focus on transfer payments, although more quantitative work remains to be done in linking theory with empirics. At the same time, a policy literature has begun to develop, which has applied lessons from the theoretical literature in order to understand different consolidation scenarios and different proposed fiscal rules, particularly in Europe.

JEL Classification:

E62, E63, H30

Links

Cite As

[Please cite the corresponding journal article] Claire Reicher (2014). Systematic Fiscal Policy and Macroeconomic Performance: A Critical Overview of the Literature . Economics Discussion Papers, No 2014-29, Kiel Institute for the World Economy. http://www.economics-ejournal.org/economics/discussionpapers/2014-29


Comments and Questions



Anonymous - Reader Comment
July 24, 2014 - 14:28
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Anonymous - Referee Report 1
August 25, 2014 - 10:02
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Anonymous - Referee Report 2
September 01, 2014 - 10:31
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Claire Reicher - Replies to Referee Reports
September 16, 2014 - 10:10
See attached file