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The Roots of the Eurozone Sovereign Debt Crisis: PIGS vs Non-PIGS

Author

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  • Abel L. Costa Fernandes

    (Faculdade de Economia do Porto and NIFIP)

  • Paulo R. Mota

    (Faculdade de Economia do Porto and NIFIP)

Abstract

The main purposes of this paper are twofold: on the one hand, to determine if there are significant differences of regime on public expenditures, total revenues and tax revenues between the so-called PIGS and the remaining Eurozone member states and, on the other hand, to uncover possible explanations for the quite different situations in which these countries find themselves nowadays. This work focus on the effect of the cyclical state of the economy, captured by the unemployment rate, and on the two fiscal rules imposed by the Maastricht Treaty on the Eurozone member states. Based on the estimated results, which distinguish between PIGS and non-PIGS countries, we come to the conclusion that the anti-cyclical reaction with respect to the unemployment rate is much stronger among non-PIGS. We also find that fiscal rules have, in general, not been obeyed by the two groups of countries. Moreover PIGS, in spite of their economic frailties, have, instead, tried to emulate the fiscal behavior of their more prosperous Eurozone partners instead of implementing more rigorous policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Abel L. Costa Fernandes & Paulo R. Mota, 2011. "The Roots of the Eurozone Sovereign Debt Crisis: PIGS vs Non-PIGS," FEP Working Papers 413, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    • Handle: RePEc:por:fepwps:413
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Milesi-Ferretti, Gian Maria & Moriyama, Kenji, 2006. "Fiscal adjustment in EU countries: A balance sheet approach," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(12), pages 3281-3298, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Francisco Rebelo & Ester Gomes da Silva, 2013. "Export variety, technological content and economic performance: The case of Portugal," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1310, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jun 2013.
    2. Chung-Fu Lai & Shan-Kai Tsa, 2015. "Diversified Currency Holdings and Exchange Rate Dynamics," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 5(3), pages 678-689.
    3. Dapontas Dimitrios, 2012. "Can Euro Zone Survive and Long Prosper?," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 4(2), pages 121-128.
    4. Haytham Y.M. Ewaida, 2016. "The European Crisis Without End: The Consequences of European Monetary Integration," International Journal of Business and Social Research, LAR Center Press, vol. 6(8), pages 15-30, August.
    5. Haytham Y.M. Ewaida, 2016. "The European Crisis Without End: The Consequences of European Monetary Integration," International Journal of Business and Social Research, MIR Center for Socio-Economic Research, vol. 6(8), pages 15-30, August.
    6. Mikhail Stolbov, 2014. "How Are Interbank and Sovereign Debt Markets Linked? Evidence from 14 OECD Countries, the Euro Area and Russia," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 61(3), pages 331-348, June.
    7. Batavia, Bala & Nandakumar, Parameswar & Wague, Cheick, 2013. "Export stagnation and budget deficits in the peripheral EU nations with EMU membership," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 94-100.
    8. Lena Malešević-Perović, 2016. "Government Debt-Interest Rate Nexus in G7 Countries over a Long Horizon," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 63(5), pages 603-625, December.
    9. Gulbahar UCLER & Hale KIRMIZIOGLU, 2015. "The Reasons of Eurozone Sovereign Debt Crisis and an Empirical Analysis over Permanency of the Crisis," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 5(1), pages 86-96.
    10. Tomasz Uryszek, 2014. "Public finance crisis and sustainable development financing – evidence from EU economies," Copernican Journal of Finance & Accounting, Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika, vol. 3(1), pages 161-173.
    11. Pami Dua & Divya Tuteja, 2017. "Impact Of Eurozone Sovereign Debt Crisis On China And India," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 62(05), pages 1137-1164, December.
    12. Abel L. Costa Fernandes & Paulo R. Mota, 2013. "The Euro Zone Peripheral Countries’ Sovereign Debt Crisis: Also a Case of Non-Mature Democracies?," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 60(3), pages 291-310, May.
    13. Nadezhda Ivanova, 2014. "Position and perspectives for enhancement of competitiveness in the Southern EU member-states five years after the beginning of the crisis," Economic Thought journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 4, pages 115-129.
    14. Xanthippi Chapsa & Athanasios L. Athanasenas & Nikolaos Tabakis, 2019. "Real Convergence in EU-15: A Comparative Analysis of North versus South Europe," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3), pages 3-21.
    15. Dimitrios Dapontas, 2013. "Saving Euro by Dividing Europe in Multiple OCAs," Acta Universitatis Danubius. OEconomica, Danubius University of Galati, issue 9(2), pages 107-119, April.
    16. Vania Palmieri & Mario Turco, 2020. "Crisi e cambiamento delle istituzioni di contabilit? pubblica. Il caso delle amministrazioni centrali dello Stato," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2020(3), pages 87-112.
    17. Taki Fiti & Biljana Tashevska, 2013. "The European Debt Crisis And Its Implications On The Macedonian Economy," Journal Articles, Center For Economic Analyses, pages 25-42, June.
    18. Abel L. Costa Fernandes & Paulo R. Mota, 2012. "The Present Sovereign Debt Crisis Of The Euro Zone Peripheral Countries: A Case Of Non-Mature Democracies And Less Developed Economies," FEP Working Papers 458, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    19. Paulo R. Mota & Abel L. Costa Fernandes & Ana-Cristina Nicolescu, 2012. "The Recent Dynamics of Public Debt in the European Union: A Matter of Fundamentals or the Result of a Failed Monetary Experiment?," FEP Working Papers 467, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    European public finance; fiscal policy; fiscal rules;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies
    • H6 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt

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