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Explaining The Procyclicality of Fiscal Policy in Developing Countries

Author

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  • Håvard Halland
  • Michael Bleaney
Abstract
The procyclicality of fiscal policy that is prevalent in developing countries and emerging markets is well known. Its explanation is less clear. Recently, social inequality and the combination of corruption and democracy have been suggested as alternatives to the traditional explanation of these countries’ exposure to boom-bust cycles in international credit markets. Differences in methodological approach are also partly responsible for diverging empirical results. In this paper, competing hypotheses are tested on a comprehensive set of measures of the cyclicality of fiscal policy. The evidence for corruption and democracy is stronger than for social inequality or net foreign debt, but the interpretation of this result is less obvious, since the index of corruption is closely correlated with poor credit ratings. In OECD countries, by contrast, the cyclicality of fiscal policy largely reflects the strength of automatic stabilizers.

Suggested Citation

  • Håvard Halland & Michael Bleaney, 2011. "Explaining The Procyclicality of Fiscal Policy in Developing Countries," Discussion Papers 11/09, University of Nottingham, CREDIT.
    • Handle: RePEc:not:notcre:11/09
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    File URL: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/credit/documents/papers/11-09.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Jean-Louis Combes & Rasmané Ouedraogo, 2014. "Does Pro-cyclical Aid Lead to Pro-cyclical Fiscal Policy? An Empirical Analysis for Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers halshs-01084600, HAL.
    3. Cristea Loredana Andreea & Voda Alina Daniela & Ungureanu Dragos Mihai, 2021. "Fiscal Policy And The Conceptual Mechanism Of Fiscal System," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 2, pages 80-86, April.
    4. Navarat Temsumrit, 2020. "Does Democracy Affect Cyclical Fiscal Policy? Evidence From Developing Countries," PIER Discussion Papers 125, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.
    5. Abbott, Andrew & Jones, Philip, 2021. "Government response to increased demand for public services: The cyclicality of government health expenditures in the OECD," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Gheorghița DINCĂ & Marius Sorin DINCĂ & Bardhyl DAUTI & Mirela Camelia BABA & Cătălina POPIONE, 2020. "Cyclicality of Fiscal Policy in the European Union," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(1), pages 75-96, March.
    7. Sangita Misra & Rajiv Ranjan, 2018. "Fiscal rules and procyclicality: an empirical analysis," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 207-228, December.
    8. Wee Chian Koh, 2017. "Fiscal Policy in Oil-exporting Countries: The Roles of Oil Funds and Institutional Quality," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 567-590, August.
    9. Ivan Todorov & Kalina Durova, 2020. "The Fiscal Policy of Bulgaria from the Standpoints of the Business Cycle and the Twin Deficits Hypothesis," Journal of Tax Reform, Graduate School of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University, vol. 6(3), pages 256-269.
    10. Idrys Fransmel Okombi, 2021. "Non-Linear Response of Fiscal Policy to the Business Cycle: Empirical Evidence in Sub-Saharan Africa," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 41(3), pages 1097-1112.
    11. Alabi, M. K. & Amirthalingam, K., 2020. "Fiscal Policy and the Business Cycle in the West African Monetary Zone," Working Papers 8, Department of Economics, University of Ilorin.
    12. Irungu, William Nganga & Chevallier, Julien & Ndiritu, Simon Wagura, 2020. "Regime changes and fiscal sustainability in Kenya," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1-9.
    13. Andrew Abbott & Philip Jones, 2021. "The cyclicality of government foreign-aid expenditure: voter awareness in “good” times and in “bad”," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 186(1), pages 97-117, January.

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