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The Evolution of Federal Budget Rules and the Effects on Fiscal Policy: How Informal Norms Have Trumped Formal Constraints

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  • Calcagno, Peter
  • Lopez, Edward

    (Mercury Publication)

Abstract

Today’s fiscal policy challenges are rooted in the way that fiscal policy rules have evolved over the history of the United States. This paper demonstrates that two shifts of informal norms occurred in the decades surrounding the turn of the 20th century.

Suggested Citation

  • Calcagno, Peter & Lopez, Edward, 2015. "The Evolution of Federal Budget Rules and the Effects on Fiscal Policy: How Informal Norms Have Trumped Formal Constraints," Working Papers 06838, George Mason University, Mercatus Center.
    • Handle: RePEc:ajw:wpaper:06838
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alberto Alesina & Silvia Ardagna, 2010. "Large Changes in Fiscal Policy: Taxes versus Spending," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 24, pages 35-68, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Alan J. Auerbach & Jagadeesh Gokhale & Laurence J. Kotlikoff, 1994. "Generational Accounting: A Meaningful Way to Evaluate Fiscal Policy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 73-94, Winter.
    3. Brennan,Geoffrey & Buchanan,James M., 2006. "The Power to Tax," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521027922, November.
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