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Compliance with Fiscal Sustainability and the Euro

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  • António Afonso
  • Catarina Farinha Miranda

Abstract

Through fiscal reaction functions, we investigate fiscal sustainability for five European country-group panels and check for a change in fiscal behaviour after countries adopted the euro as their currency. Using annual data for the period between 1990 and 2021, we identify evidence of average compliance with sustainability restrictions among Eurozone nations. However, for the Eurozone countries there is a smaller response, 0.046 percentage points (pp), to an increase in the debt ratio than in the case of the European economies without euro, where the response is around 0.1036 pp. Conversely, the euro membership has decreased the average responsiveness of primary balances to debt shocks as compared to the period before the implementation of the euro.

Suggested Citation

  • António Afonso & Catarina Farinha Miranda, 2025. "Compliance with Fiscal Sustainability and the Euro," CESifo Working Paper Series 11749, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11749
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fiscal sustainability; debt; primary budget balance; fiscal reaction functions; euro area;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H62 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Deficit; Surplus

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