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The Costs and Benefits of Fiscal Rules: Evidence from U.S. States

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Author Info
Alberto Alesina
Tamim Bayoumi

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Abstract

This paper shows that in American states balanced budget rules are effective in enforcing fiscal discipline but they have no costs in terms of increased output variability. More specifically, we show that tighter fiscal rules are associated with larger average surplus and lower cyclical variability of the budget balance. However, the lower flexibility of the budget balance does not affect state output variability.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 5614.

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Date of creation: Jun 1996
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:5614

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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. Lucas, Robert Jr. & Stokey, Nancy L., 1983. "Optimal fiscal and monetary policy in an economy without capital," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 55-93. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Alberto Alesina & Roberto Perotti, 1996. "Budget Deficits and Budget Institutions," IMF Working Papers 96/52, International Monetary Fund.
    Other versions:
  3. Barro, Robert J, 1979. "On the Determination of the Public Debt," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(5), pages 940-71, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Henning Bohn & Robert P. Inman, . "Constitutional Limitations and Public Deficits: Evidence from the U.S. States," University of California at Santa Barbara, Economics Working Paper Series 18-95, Department of Economics, UC Santa Barbara.
  5. Alberto Alesina & Ricardo Hausmann & Rudolf Hommes & Ernesto Stein, 1996. "Budget Institutions and Fiscal Performance in Latin America," NBER Working Papers 5586, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Poterba, James M, 1994. "State Responses to Fiscal Crises: The Effects of Budgetary Institutions and Politics," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(4), pages 799-821, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Barry Eichengreen & Ricardo Hausmann & Jürgen Von Hagen, 1999. "Reforming Budgetary Institutions in Latin America: The Case for a National Fiscal Council," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 415-442, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(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. Antonio Fatas & Ilian Mihov, 2009. "The Euro and Fiscal Policy," NBER Working Papers 14722, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Jean-Paul Lam & William Scarth, 2002. "Alternative Public Spending Rules and Output Volatility," Working Papers 02-37, Bank of Canada. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Linda Gonçalves Veiga, 2002. "The Political Economy of Local Governments' Expenditures," NIPE Working Papers 8/2002, NIPE - Universidade do Minho. [Downloadable!]
  4. António Afonso & Peter Claeys, 2006. "The dynamic behaviour of budget components and output – the cases of France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain," Working Papers 2006/26, Department of Economics at the School of Economics and Management (ISEG), Technical University of Lisbon.. [Downloadable!]
  5. Bent E. Sorensen & Lisa Wu & Oved Yosha, 1999. "Output fluctuations and fiscal policy : U.S. state and local governments 1978-1994," Research Working Paper 99-05, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. 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:
  7. Bayar, Ali H., 1999. "Entry and Exit Dynamics of 'Excessive Deficits' in the European Union," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  8. de Mello, Luiz, 2006. "Fiscal responsibility legislation and fiscal adjustment : the case of Brazilian local governments," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3812, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  9. Ali Bayar & Bram Smeets, 2009. "Government Deficits in the European Union: An Analysis of Entry and Exit Dynamics," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  10. Guiseppe Pisauro, . "Intergovernmental Relations and Fiscal Discipline: Between Common Tax Resources and Soft Budget Constraints," IMF Working Papers 01/65, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  11. António Afonso & Davide Furceri, 2008. "Government size, composition, volatility and economic growth," Working Paper Series 849, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. Ulpiano Ayala Oramas & Roberto Perotti, 2000. "The Colombian Budget Process," WORKING PAPERS SERIES. DOCUMENTOS DE TRABAJO 003574, FEDESARROLLO. [Downloadable!]
  13. Amador, Joao L. M., 1999. "Optimal Budget Deficit Rules," FEUNL Working Paper Series wp385, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Economia. [Downloadable!]
  14. Easterly, William, 1999. "When is fiscal adjustment an illusion?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2109, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  15. Bent E. Sorensen & Oved Yosha, 2001. "Is state fiscal policy asymmetric over the business cycle?," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, issue Q III, pages 43-64. [Downloadable!]
  16. Jonathan Millar, 1997. "The Effects of Budget Rules on Fiscal Performance and Macroeconomic Stabilization," Working Papers 97-15, Bank of Canada. [Downloadable!]
  17. David Bartolini & Raffaella Santolini, 2009. "Fiscal Rules and the Opportunistic Behaviour of the Incumbent Politician: Evidence from Italian Municipalities," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  18. Anthony Annett, 2002. "Politics, Government Size, and Fiscal Adjustment in Industrial Countries," IMF Working Papers 02/162, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
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