Konjunkturpakete versus Austeritätspolitik

We evaluate the impact of fiscal stimulus measures during the financial crisis and the subsequent turn to fiscal consolidation during the Euro Area crisis. Based on an exploitation of the information contained in systematic forecast errors, we identify a robust and substantial underestimation of the multiplier effects linked to these measures. Moreover the effects are highly persistent, pointing to hysteresis effects of fiscal measures during deep crises.     

体制性约束、双重失衡与政策权衡——全球金融危机挑战与中国的财政政策选择

在中国经济发展总量得到实质性提高的今天,重新实施积极财政政策,其着眼点不仅在于应对这次全球金融危机对中国带来的冲击,更重要的是利用这次契机化解中国经济发展长期存在的体制性约束,转变中国经济增长方式,实现经济的稳定和可持续增长。财政政策也因此面临着如何权衡缓解经济危机冲击和实现经济长期稳定发展的问题。从中国财政政策实践来看,单纯的反周期调节可以拉动经济走出低迷,却无力恢复经济的自主增长动力,应对当前中国经济出现的长期内部失衡更需要财政政策着眼于整个改革过程和整个经济结构。本文基于金融危机背景下中国面临双重失衡的判断,提出了中国经济发展内外失衡的概念,并探讨了两种失衡条件下财政政策的运行原理,同时以转轨背景下中国所面临的体制性约束为限制条件,考察了财政政策困境的现实根源,并给出了财政政策权衡的政策涵义。     

Tough Love: The True Nature of the Eurozone Crisis

There are a number of misconceptions about the ongoing Eurozone crisis. One is that it is a debt crisis: in fact many countries that are considered to be reasonably sound have bigger long-term fiscal deficit problems than even the weakest Eurozone countries. The crisis partly reflects the pain of frontloaded fiscal repair. But even more so, the crisis has turned into a step-by-step attempt to forge a stronger and more coherent Europe. The reluctance of the European Central Bank to defuse the tensions which this process creates makes the region vulnerable to bouts of market turmoil. This paper outlines the course of the crisis, the policy responses to date, and the actions that are necessary to resolve it.     

Proactive Continue,More Weight on Tax Reduction

In battling against the current global economic crisis, fiscal and taxation policies, as the most important means to intervene the economy, has been the major approach for the governments throughout the world to offset impact of the crisis.China, as the economy with the fastest growth, has received much attention, and China's fiscal and taxation policies which contributed much to the strong economic recovery,in particular, is the very concern of the public.So, what is the trend of the fiscal and taxation policies during 2010?     

宏观政策的协调机制与欧洲债务危机

通过政策调整损失函数的理论模型分析,认为负的需求冲击是构成欧洲债务危机的前提,而缺乏货币政策协调的持续性扩张财政政策是欧洲债务危机的本质原因。对2000Q1—2010Q1的"PIIGS"的季度数据进行实证分析后,发现5国独立财政政策和欧元区共同货币政策的协调机制是存在冲突的。希腊长期均衡和短期调整均存在主权债务危机风险,因而成为首个爆发危机的国家。西班牙、意大利的短期调整虽暂时缓解了主权债务危机出现的可能,但不能解决发生危机的根本问题。而爱尔兰、葡萄牙只是短期内实施了过度的积极财政计划而造成了主权债务危机假象。     

The Stabilising Role of US Federal Fiscal Institutions — What Lessons for the Euro Area?

The classic argument for a euro area “fiscal capacity”, understood in this contribution as a centralised fiscal stabiliser, revolves around the need to dampen the effects of asymmetric shocks. According to those preaching this conventional wisdom, a common fiscal stabiliser designed along the lines of the US federal fiscal system would have stabilised incomes in member states hit the hardest, thereby avoiding the divergence that has unfolded in the aftermath of the financial crisis between the South, led by Italy and Greece, and the North, led by Germany and the Benelux countries.     

中国财政风险两大警戒线的测算研究

在国际金融危机仍在蔓延和深化的条件下,我国于2008年重启的积极财政政策将持续较长时间,但由此导致的财政风险将对积极财政政策能走多远产生重要影响.本文在模型推导基础上,对我国财政风险两大警戒线进行实证测算,认为运用<马约>中所谓的"国际警戒线"来判断中国财政风险状况并不科学合理.主要研究发现:(1)我国财政赤字率和公债负担率的警戒线分别约为4.05%、49.05%,这与<马约>中的财政标准有较大差异.(3)以测算出的财政风险两大警戒线为评判基准,发现目前我国财政风险状况尚处于可控的、安全的区间,如2008年我国实际的财政赤字率和公债负担率尚与警戒线值分别相差约3.68%和31.33%,即具有较大的政策回旋余地和操作空间.     

从欧债危机看欧洲一体化进程中存在的问题

欧债危机根源于欧盟内部经济发展的不平衡以及欧盟内部体制上存在的缺陷。欧债危机的产生与欧洲一体化进程中存在的一味加快一体化进程,物质基础被破坏,欧盟制度安排存在缺陷,统一的货币政策与分散的财政政策无法有效协调等问题有着必然联系。要彻底解决欧债危机必须加快实现财政一体化,尽快缩小欧元区内部各国经济发展的差距;改革劳动力市场政策,促进劳动力要素自由流动;改革欧盟的制度安排,增强欧盟相关制度对成员国的约束力。     

我国的财政赤字"过大"吗?

自1998年我国实施积极财政政策以来,财政赤字和国债规模都大大增加了,引起社会各界的广泛关注.我国近年来的财政赤字过大吗?是否会引起财政危机?本文根据政府跨时预算约束理论,利用协整方法,从动态角度分析我国改革开放以来财政赤字的可持续性.我们发现,尽管20多年来我国一直存在财政赤字,而且近年来财政赤字增加了,但没有证据表明我国的财政赤字过大.因此,我们的结论是,我国的财政赤字政策是可持续的.     

Proactive Continue,More Weight on Tax Reduction

In battling against the current global economic crisis, fiscal and taxation policies, as the most important means to intervene the economy, has been the major approach for the governments throughout the wodd to offset impact of the crisis, China, as the economy with the fastest growth, has received much attention, and China＇s fiscal and taxation policies which contributed much to the strong economic recovery, in partieular, is the very concern of the public.     

Können Fiskalräte die europäische Schuldenkrise lösen?

This article analyses the role of independent fiscal institutions (IFIs) in dealing with the debt crisis in Europe. IFIs take the role of a fiscal watchdog by producing their own (or assessing the government’s) budget and macroeconomic forecast and have recently spread across many industrialized countries. Empirical evidence suggests that IFIs can contribute to solid public finances in conjunction with fiscal rules if these institutions are truly independent, have a clear mandate and access to sufficient resources, as well as a strong media impact.     

Das leere Versprechen der aktiven Konjunktursteuerung

Since the financial crisis and the ensuing sluggish recovery, a growing number of voices have called for a more active role for fiscal policy to stimulate the economy. We reject this call and argue that in normal times, monetary policy and automatic stabilisers are sufficient to smooth the business cycle. The effectiveness of active fiscal policy is too uncertain and the requirements for a sensible adjustment are too high. Moreover, determining the state of the business cycle is almost impossible in real time. The benefits of active fiscal policy therefore do not outweigh its costs. Only in exceptional situations should policy makers consider active fiscal policy measures as an option.     

Cutting wages and employment in the public sector: Smarter fiscal consolidation strategies needed

This article provides an overview of the impact of public sector pay and employment cutbacks in EU countries and discusses their justification as part of austerity packages. It begins with the outcomes in the countries first hit by the economic crisis before discussing the impact of the crisis and the perceived need for austerity on collective bargaining in the public sector of other EU countries. It then turns to the arguments put forward for focusing on public sector cuts as a means of fiscal consolidation and submits them to critical review. Policy conclusions are drawn regarding collective bargaining, public sector pay issues and pathways to fiscal consolidation in Europe that would be more effective in economic terms and more equitable in social terms.     

欧元区主权债务危机分析

欧元区主权债务危机的爆发缘于欧元区分散的财政政策与统一的货币政策之间的二元矛盾;欧元区国家不可持续的社会经济结构模式;全球金融危机的冲击。欧元区主权债务危机从债权安全、国际贸易、汇率改革、人民币国际化等方面给我国带来挑战和机遇。欧洲主权债务危机对我国的总体影响是有限的,我国在近期也不可能出现主权债务危机,可以从欧元区主权债务危机中得到启示:加快经济结构优化调整;规范地方政府融资行为;谨慎开展区域货币一体化合作。     

Disinflation and fiscal reform: a neoclassical perspective

Many Latin American countries engaged in disinflation programs based on both exchange rate management and fiscal reforms. In most of the cases, part of the fiscal reform was not implemented and the program had to be abandoned. The aftermath of these programs is not encouraging. In this paper we show that, if the reform process is uncertain and inflation has welfare costs, the optimal exchange rate policy indeed implies the initiation of a disinflation program at the announcement of the fiscal reform, even if it implies the possibility of a balance of payments crisis. Finally, we show that it is optimal to engage in a sequence of stabilization programs until one of them is successful.     

希腊债务危机及其对世界经济复苏的冲击

2010年2月初以来,希腊等国的债务危机开始进入人们的视野,并引发欧盟金融市场震荡。希腊等国的债务危机具有重要的历史原因和传染效应,它不仅源于财政赤字过高,而且缺乏独立的货币政策,但最根本的原因是希腊的经济失去了"生产性"。我国应未雨绸缪,提早做好准备,主动积极应对希腊等国的主权债务危机。     

Myths about miracles: the case of Thailand

Over several decades, Thailand achieved rapid economic growth, based on booming exports, combined with low inflation, a record ending only with the crisis of 1997. The sources of this achievement have been poorly understood. The rapid growth has often been attributed to industry policies that promoted exports. But policy measures ostensibly designed to promote exports made no such contribution; they did not favour industries that subsequently performed well. The macroeconomic stability has likewise been attributed in part to discretionary fiscal stabilization. However, short-run, discretionary fiscal policy made almost no contribution to macroeconomic stabilization; automatic fiscal stabilizers were far more important.     

The Greek Debt Crisis: Likely Causes,Mechanics and Outcomes

We use insights from the literature on currency crises to offer an analytical treatment of the crisis in the market for Greek government bonds. We argue that the crisis itself and its escalating nature are very likely to be the result of: (i) steady deterioration of Greek macroeconomic fundamentals over 2001–09 to levels inconsistent with long‐term EMU participation; and (ii) a double shift in markets’ expectations, from a regime of credible commitment to future EMU participation under an implicit EMU/German guarantee of Greek fiscal liabilities, to a regime of non‐credible EMU commitment without fiscal guarantees, respectively occurring in November 2009 and February/March 2010. We argue that the risk of contagion to other periphery EMU countries is significant; and that without extensive structural reforms, the sustainability of the EMU is in question.     

Is the Global Economy Headed for a Lost Decade? A European Perspective

In the 15 years leading up to the recent crisis, the world economy's exceptional performance was driven by globalisation, rapid, export-driven growth in emerging markets, debt-fuelled consumption in major advanced economies, and a benign financial and macroeconomic environment. These, however, sowed the seeds for the financial crisis by creating unsustainable imbalances and distortions. Obstacles to future growth are likely to be retrenchment in consumption, dampened investment, and unsustainable fiscal balances. Going forward, there must be a renewed commitment to medium-term, rule-based, policies for maintaining fiscal sustainability, price stability, and financial stability. The international imbalances between savings and consumption must also be addressed through a global reform agenda discussed in the paper. Even with reform, the challenges to growth will be daunting. Without reform, however, it is likely that the global economy will suffer a lost decade.     

A new framework for fiscal policy consolidation in Europe

Current developments in Greece make clear that the rules of the European Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) were neither strict enough nor enforced strictly enough. To deal with the ongoing exit from the fiscal crisis and its related phenomena, we propose a new framework for fiscal policy consolidation in Europe. The centrepiece is a European Consolidation Pact to supplement the SGP which would supply loan guarantees in exchange for a fee and stricter budget consolidation measures. The new framework also spells out the details of an orderly government default.