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On the Effectiveness of Debt Brakes: The Swiss Experience

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Author Info
Lars P. Feld
Gebhard Kirchgassner

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Abstract

The Swiss fiscal system is characterised by an extensive fiscal federalism with high fiscal autonomy at all governmental levels, by direct popular rights which include fiscal referenda at the cantonal and local levels, and by particular constitutional and/or statutory fiscal restraints in order to prevent excessive public debt. In this paper, the effects of these constitutional clauses on public deficit and debt are investigated. Using a panel of the 26 Swiss cantons from 1980 to 1998, we provide evidence that fiscal constraints significantly reduce budget deficits, while direct democracy leads to significantly lower public debt.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA) in its series CREMA Working Paper Series with number 2006-21.

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Date of creation: Jun 2006
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Handle: RePEc:cra:wpaper:2006-21

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Related research
Keywords: Direct Democracy; Referenda; Initiatives; Public Debt; Budget Deficits;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
H74 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Borrowing
H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism
D78 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Positive Analysis of Policy-Making and Implementation

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Christoph A. Schaltegger & Lars P. Feld, 2004. "Do Large Cabinets Favor Large Governments? Evidence from Swiss Sub-federal Jurisdictions," CREMA Working Paper Series 2004-15, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Lars Feld & Christoph Schaltegger, 2005. "Voters AS A Hard Budget Constraint: On the Determination of Intergovernmental Grants," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 123(1), pages 147-169, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Lars P. Feld & Emmanuelle Reulier, 2005. "Strategic Tax Competition in Switzerland: Evidence from a Panel of the Swiss Cantons," CREMA Working Paper Series 2005-19, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Feld, Lars P. & Matsusaka, John G., 2003. "Budget referendums and government spending: evidence from Swiss cantons," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(12), pages 2703-2724, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Kiewiet, D Roderick & Szakaly, Kristin, 1996. "Constitutional Limitations on Borrowing: An Analysis of State Bonded Indebtedness," Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 62-97, April.
  6. Gramlich, Edward M, 1990. "U.S. Federal Budget Deficits and Gramm-Rudman-Hollings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 75-80, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Lars Feld & Gebhard Kirchgaessner & Christoph A. Schaltegger, 2003. "Decentralized Taxation and the Size of Government: Evidence from Swiss State and Local Governments," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  8. Peltzman, Sam, 1992. "Voters as Fiscal Conservatives," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(2), pages 327-61, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Roubini, Nouriel & Sachs, Jeffrey D., 1989. "Political and economic determinants of budget deficits in the industrial democracies," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 903-933, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Prof. Dr. Lars P. Feld & Prof. Dr. Gebhard Kirchgässner, 2004. "Sustainable Fiscal Policy in a Federal System Switzerland as an Example," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2004 2004-09, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen. [Downloadable!]
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  11. James M. Poterba, 1997. "Do Budget Rules Work?," NBER Working Papers 5550, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Buti, Marco & Eijffinger, Sylvester C W & Franco, Daniele, 2003. "Revisiting the Stability and Growth Pact: Grand Design or Internal Adjustment?," CEPR Discussion Papers 3692, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Feld, Lars P & Kirchgassner, Gebhard, 2001. " Does Direct Democracy Reduce Public Debt? Evidence from Swiss Municipalities," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 109(3-4), pages 347-70, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Frey, Bruno S. & Stutzer, Alois, 2000. "Happiness, Economy and Institutions," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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  15. Nouriel Roubini & Jeffrey Sachs, 1988. "Political and Economic Determinants of Budget Deficits in the IndustrialDemocracies," NBER Working Papers 2682, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Bohn, Henning & Inman, Robert P., 1996. "Balanced-budget rules and public deficits: evidence from the U.S. states," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 13-76, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  17. Lars P Feld & Gebhard Kirchgässner, 2001. "The political economy of direct legislation: direct democracy and local decision-making," Economic Policy, CEPR, CES, MSH, vol. 16(33), pages 329-367, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Christoph A. Schaltegger & René L. Frey, 2003. "Finanzausgleich und Föderalismus: Zur Neugestaltung der föderalen Finanzbeziehungen am Beispiel der Schweiz," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 4(2), pages 239-258, 05. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Sébastien Wälti & Signe Krogstrup, 2006. "Women and budget deficits," Trinity Economics Papers tep0307, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics, revised Apr 2007. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Signe Krogstrup & Sébastien Wälti, 2007. "Do fiscal rules cause budgetary outcomes?," HEI Working Papers 15-2007, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies, revised May 2007. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Gebhard Kirchgässner & Silika Prohl, 2006. "Sustainability of Swiss Fiscal Policy," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Frank Bodmer, 2006. "The Swiss Debt Brake: How it Works and What Can Go Wrong," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 142(III), pages 307-330, September. [Downloadable!]
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