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Fiscal Policy Rules And The Sustainability Of Public Debt In Europe

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  • Stefan Collignon

Abstract

The sustainability of public debt is interpreted as the result of the interaction of fiscal policy with the economic environment, and not as a statistical concept as in most of the recent literature. If debt is not to explode over time, policymakers have to respond to the changing conditions in the macroeconomic environment. This article defines the conditions that will ensure compliance of fiscal policy with the intertemporal budget constraint in the context of Europe's fiscal policy rules. The empirical part of the article reveals that European public debt is sustainable in this respect, but questions regarding long‐run liquidity requirements remain unresolved.

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  • Stefan Collignon, 2012. "Fiscal Policy Rules And The Sustainability Of Public Debt In Europe," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 53(2), pages 539-567, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:iecrev:v:53:y:2012:i:2:p:539-567
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2354.2012.00691.x
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    1. Steven P. Cassou & Hedieh Shadmani & Jesús Vázquez, 2017. "Fiscal policy asymmetries and the sustainability of US government debt revisited," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 1193-1215, November.
    2. Afonso, António & Alves, José, 2019. "Short and long-term interest rate risk: The sovereign balance-sheet nexus," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    3. Ahmad Hassan Ahmad & Olalekan Bashir Aworinde, 2021. "Fiscal and External Deficits Nexus in GIIPS Countries: Evidence from Parametric and Nonparametric Causality Tests," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 27(3), pages 171-184, August.
    4. Robertson, D. & Tambakis, D., 2016. "Long-Run Debt Ratios with Fiscal Fatigue," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1674, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    5. Tronzano, Marco, 2017. "Testing Fiscal Sustainability In The Transition Economies Of Eastern Europe: The Case Of Poland (1999-2015)," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 70(1), pages 103-132.
    6. David Umoru & Harrison Ogbeide Eromosele, 2020. "Growth Stabilisation Effects of Macroeconomic Policy Coordination in Nigeria: An Econometric Analysis," Academic Journal of Economic Studies, Faculty of Finance, Banking and Accountancy Bucharest,"Dimitrie Cantemir" Christian University Bucharest, vol. 6(1), pages 51-60, March.
    7. Ryo Arawatari & Tetsuo Ono, 2023. "International coordination of debt rules with time‐inconsistent voters," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 25(1), pages 29-60, February.
    8. Ismet GOCER & Mehmet MERCAN, 2016. "Which country after Greece? Sustainability of budget deficits in selected EU countries: A panel cointegration analysis with multiple structural breaks under cross-section dependence," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(3(608), A), pages 205-220, Autumn.
    9. Giorgio Bellettini & Paolo Roberti, 2020. "Politicians’ coherence and government debt," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 182(1), pages 73-91, January.
    10. Ngan Tran, 2019. "Asymmetric effects of fiscal balance on monetary variables: evidence from large emerging economies," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 1045-1076, September.
    11. Jacob Engwerda & Davoud Mahmoudinia & Rahim Dalali Isfahani, 2016. "Government and Central Bank Interaction under Uncertainty: A Differential Games Approach," Iranian Economic Review (IER), Faculty of Economics,University of Tehran.Tehran,Iran, vol. 20(2), pages 225-259, Spring.
    12. Julia del Amo Valor & Marcos Martín Mateos & Diego Martínez López & Javier J. Pérez, 2023. "Is the European economic governance framework too “complex”? A critical discussion," Working Papers 2023-06, FEDEA.
    13. Huang, Zhen & Gao, Weiwei & Chen, Liying, 2020. "Does the external environment matter for the persistence of firms' debt policy?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 32(C).
    14. Dumbraveanu Andrada-Alexandra, 2016. "The More, the Better: Life Satisfaction in the Bitter Welfare State," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(3), pages 1015-1038, December.
    15. María Lorena Marí del Cristo & Marta Gómez-Puig, 2013. "“Fiscal sustainability and fiscal shocks in a dollarized and oil-exporting country: Ecuador”," IREA Working Papers 201306, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Apr 2013.
    16. Soldatos, Gerasimos T., 2014. "A Fiscal-Monetary Policy Scheme against Greek Indebtedness and Impoverishment - Un programma di politica fiscale-monetaria contro l’indebitamento e l’impoverimento della Grecia," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 67(2), pages 243-261.
    17. repec:hal:journl:dumas-00909907 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Pompeo Della Posta, 2018. "Fiscal austerity and monetary easing: which one is to be praised for ending the euro area crisis?," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 15(1), pages 165-189, June.
    19. George PETRAKOS, 2014. "Economic Crisis In Greece. European And Domestic Market And Policy Failures," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 39, pages 9-33.
    20. Maureen Were, 2024. "Emerging public debt challenges in sub-Saharan Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2024-36, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    21. Pompeo Della Posta & Enrico Marelli & Marcello Signorelli, 2020. "A market‐financed and growth‐enhancing investment plan for the euro area," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(3), pages 604-632, July.

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