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Does Direct Democracy Reduce Public Debt? Evidence from Swiss Municipalities

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Author Info
 Feld, Lars P
Kirchgassner, Gebhard

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Abstract

Although some countries have managed to obtain balanced budgets or even budget surpluses in recent times, public debts of many OECD countries remain at high levels. Since structural reforms of public spending have only infrequently taken place in most countries, fiscal pressure will increase again in the future due to society's ageing and the accompanying increases in social transfer spending. Constitutional restrictions on debt levels and legal rules of the budgetary process, such as a strong role of the minister of finance, are supposed to be helping against the debt bias inherent in political decision-making procedures. In addition to such top down budgetary procedures, this paper investigates the impact of referendum approval of budget deficits by the voters on the level of public debt in a cross section of the 134 largest Swiss municipalities in 1990. Copyright 2001 by Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Springer in its journal Public Choice.

Volume (Year): 109 (2001)
Issue (Month): 3-4 (December)
Pages: 347-70
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Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:109:y:2001:i:3-4:p:347-70

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  1. Signe Krogstrup & Sébastien Wälti, 2008. "Do fiscal rules cause budgetary outcomes?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 123-138, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Lars P. Feld & Gebhard Kirchgässner, 2004. "Sustainable Fiscal Policy in a Federal System: Switzerland as an Example," Marburg Working Papers on Economics 200424, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Justina AV Fischer & Friedrich Schneider, 2008. "Protestantism and Government Spending: a Negative Relationship? An Empirical Application to Swiss Cantons," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2008 2008-03, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Lars P. Feld & Gebhard Kirchgassner, 2006. "On the Effectiveness of Debt Brakes: The Swiss Experience," CREMA Working Paper Series 2006-21, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
  5. Lars P. Feld & Justina A.V. Fischer & Gebhard Kirchgässner, 2006. "The Effect of Direct Democracy on Income Redistribution: Evidence for Switzerland," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Feld, Lars P. & Fischer, Justina A.V. & Kirchgaessner, Gebhard, 2007. "The Effect of Direct Democratic Institutions on Income Redistribution: Evidence for Switzerland," Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 689, Stockholm School of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  7. Gebhard Kirchgässner, 2002. "Auswirkungen der direkten Demokratie auf die öffentlichen Finanzen: Empirische Ergebnisse für die Schweiz," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 138(IV), pages 411-426, December. [Downloadable!]
  8. Fiorino, Nadia & Ricciuti, Roberto, 2006. "Risk Determinants of direct democracy across Europe," P.O.L.I.S. department's Working Papers 66, Department of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS. [Downloadable!]
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