As countries recover from the coronavirus pandemic, they are confronted with an even more challenging debt crisis. Xavier Debrun argues in the foreword that in deciding where we go from here that there is no longer a consensus regarding the optimum design and enforcement of fiscal rules. Rather we must address a series of questions and challenges to the conventional wisdom. This book provides an opportunity for scholars to explore these questions from an international perspective, with ref...

Slowing economic growth and debt fatigue continue to hamper fiscal policy in the United States. The question is whether there is an alternative path to the one projected in CBO long term forecasts, and if so, how citizens can choose this alternative path. The experiences of Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland reveal that an alternative path of sustainable debt is possible, and that citizens in a democratic society are capable of choosing that path. This book explores the potential impact of S...

This book explores new fiscal rules introduced in OECD countries and the relevance of fiscal rules for the unique fiscal policies and institutions in the United States. The rules in different countries are compared, with a more in depth analysis of two countries with arguably the most successful fiscal rules—Switzerland and Sweden. The study compares the challenge of fiscal consolidation facing the U.S. with that in other OECD countries. The centerpiece of the study is analysis of fiscal r...

Restoring America’s Fiscal Constitution estimates the potential impact of new fiscal rules on the U.S. economy over the next two decades. The new rules would require a cyclically balanced budget and an expenditure limit. The study shows that over the forecast period, the budget could be balanced and the total debt-to-GDP ratio reduced to the 60 percent tolerance level under this scheme, but this fiscal consolidation can only be achieved using a combination of fiscal reforms that go far bey...

In this book on new fiscal approaches, nineteen experts examine topics ranging from constitutional reform and debt fatigue to fiscal rules and zero-based budgeting. Together, these contributions inform a multifaceted, nuanced argument for the need to formalize spending restraint and redefine state debt to include unfunded liabilities. Scholars will find the book useful as a reference tool explaining how rules-based fiscal policy is used to address debt fatigue and unsustainable spending gr...

This book provides insight into the problems affecting both the United States and Mexico to improve not only economic relations between Mexico and the United States, but also social, cultural, and political relations. It deals the problems from both theoretical and practical viewpoints.

"'A Fiscal Cliff' is precisely the right book for perilous fiscal times. Giants in economics and public policy offer a spirited defense of fiscal rules critically needed to protect our children and grandchildren from a bleak future."-Richard K. Vedder, Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus, Ohio UniversityThe unsustainable, and still rapidly growing, U.S. federal government debt is a classic case of ‘'in denial.” Indeed, we are no closer to ...