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A comparison of Swiss, German and Polish fiscal rules using Monte Carlo simulations

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  • Adam Pigoñ
  • Micha³ Ramsza

Abstract

Authors assess the economic implications of existing fiscal rules in Poland, Switzerland and Germany. In the analysis they establish economic relationships between output, government revenues and expenditures estimating a VAR model on US data for the years 1960-2015. Imposing fiscal policies implied by a given rule on those relationships, they analyze the consequences for the simulated paths of debts, deficits and expenditures in terms of stability and cyclicality. They find that the Swiss and German rules are strict and stabilize deficits at low levels. However, this may still not be sufficient to stabilize debt, in the long run, in a strict sense. The Polish rule stabilizes the debt level at about 40-50% of the GDP in the long run. All rules imply an anticyclical fiscal policy: an increase of the deficit to GDP ratio implied by changes in the output gap equals, at most, 2.2 pp, 3.3 pp and 3.9 pp over the whole business cycle for the Polish, Swiss and German rules, respectively. These results can be perceived as satisfactory for the Swiss and German rules.

Suggested Citation

  • Adam Pigoñ & Micha³ Ramsza, 2019. "A comparison of Swiss, German and Polish fiscal rules using Monte Carlo simulations," IBS Working Papers 10/2019, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    • Handle: RePEc:ibt:wpaper:wp102019
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • C32 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes; State Space Models
    • 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
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt

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