Sustainable Fiscal Policy in a Federal System: Switzerland as an Example

Lars Feld and Gebhard Kirchgässner

No 200424, Marburg Working Papers on Economics from Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung)

Abstract: How a sustainable fiscal policy can be performed in a federal system is not only a Swiss problem but is also discussed in other federal countries like Germany and Austria, and in the European Union. Contrary to most other countries, 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 finances are investigated. Using a panel of the 26 Swiss cantons from 1980 to 1998, we provide evidence that direct democracy leads to significantly lower expenditure and revenue. The fiscal constraint, on the other hand, significantly reduces budget deficits. Total, cantonal as well as local expenditure and revenue are the lower the higher the share of local expenditure

Keywords: Direct Democracy; Referenda; Initiatives. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D78 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 20 pages
Date: 2004
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Forthcoming in HANSPETER KRIESI, PETER FARAGO, MARTIN KOHLI and MILAD ZARIN (eds.), Contemporary Switzerland: The End of Exceptionalism?, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke 2004

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http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb02/makro/forschung/gel ... aessnerDP_gesamt.pdf First version, 2004 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Chapter: Sustainable Fiscal Policy in a Federal System: Switzerland as an Example (2005)
Working Paper: Sustainable Fiscal Policy in a Federal System: Switzerland as an Example (2004)
Working Paper: Sustainable Fiscal Policy in a Federal System Switzerland as an Example (2004)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mar:volksw:200424

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