Consumption Smoothing through Fiscal Policy in OECD and EU Countries

Adriana Arreaza, Bent Sorensen and Oved Yosha

No 6372, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We measure the amount of smoothing achieved through various components of the government deficit in EU and OECD countries. For EU countries, at the 1-year frequency percent of shocks to GDP are smoothed via government consumption, 18 percent via transfers percent via subsidies, while taxes provide no smoothing. The results for OECD countries are similar. Government transfers provide more smoothing of negative than of positive shocks among EU countries. There seems to be no trade-off between high government deficits in a country and the ability to smooth consumption. We find that in countries where there is delegation' of power or where fiscal targets are negotiated effectively by coalition members consumption smoothing via government consumption and government transfers is considerably higher. We interpret this finding as evidence that effective budgetary institutions can accomplish efficient consumption smoothing via government deficit spending and lower average deficits.

JEL-codes: E2 E6 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1998-01
Note: PE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (47)

Published as Fiscal Institutions and Fiscal Performance. Poterba, James M., and Jurgen von Hagen, eds., Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1999,pp. 59-80.
Published as Consumption Smoothing through Fiscal Policy in OECD and EU Countries , Adriana Arreaza, Bent E. Sgrensen, Oved Yosha. in Fiscal Institutions and Fiscal Performance , Poterba and von Hagen. 1999

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Related works:
Chapter: Consumption Smoothing through Fiscal Policy in OECD and EU Countries (1999)
Working Paper: Consumption Smoothing Through Fiscal Policy in OECD and EU Countries (1997)
Working Paper: Consumption Smoothing Through Fiscal Policy in OECD and EU Countries (1997)
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