Fiscal Policy, Stabilization, and Growth : Prudence or Abstinence

This volume covers the conduct of fiscal policy in Latin America, and its consequences for macroeconomic stability and long-term growth. The volume's chapters examine different aspects of these problems, ranging from the purely economic to the institutional and political economy dimensions. The book is organized as follows. This chapter offers an integrated overview of the themes covered in the rest of the volume. The chapter guides the reader through the rest of the volume, but it has been written as a self-standing essay for the benefit of those readers who may not have the time to indulge in the details of every chapter. The rest of the volume is organized in two parts. The first part deals with the pro-cyclical bias of fiscal policy, and the second part with the anti-investment bias of fiscal discipline -- popularly (albeit somewhat confusingly) known as the fiscal space problem. The rest of this introductory chapter consists of four sections. Section II examines recent trends in fiscal policy in the region and introduces the two main themes of the book. Sections III and IV present an overview of the topics covered in the two parts of the book, as well as the conclusions of the corresponding chapters. Section V summarizes the implications for future fiscal analysis and policy management.