The name is absent

Contents

List of Tables 5

List of Figures 7

List of Contributors 9

1. Introduction 11

Martin Larch and Joao Nogueira Martins

Part I Long-term Sustainability 15

2. A Further Inquire about the Sustainability of Fiscal Policy in the EU 17

Fernando Ballabriga and Carlos Martinez-Mongay

2.1 Introduction 17

2.2 How to Assess the Sustainability of Fiscal Policy 19

2.3 Government Debt Accounting 21

2.4 Determinants of the Fiscal Primary Surplus 27

2.5 A Closer Look at the Response of Primary Surplus to Debt 40

2.6 Conclusion 45

Appendix 2.A Complementary Tables 47

Appendix 2.B Unit Root Tests 50

Discussion, Fabrizio Balassone 56

3. Unfunded Obligation Measures for EU Countries 59

Jagadeesh Gokhale

3.1 Introduction 59

3.2 Unfunded Obligation Measures 61

3.3 Evaluating Unfunded Obligation Measures 66

3.4 General Considerations of Fiscal and Generational Imbalance

Measures for EU Countries 73

3.5 Fiscal Imbalance Estimates for EU Countries 75

3.6 Conclusion 82

Discussion, Per Eckefeldt 95

Part II The Measurement of the Underlying Budgetary Position and

Discretionary Fiscal Policy 97

4. Budget Balances Decomposed: Tracking Fiscal Policy in Austria 99

Peter Brandner, LeopoldDiebalek and Walpurga Kohler-Toglhofer

4.1 Introduction and Motivation 99

4.2 Related Literature 100

4.3 A Stylised Framework 104

4.4 Results 106

4.5 Conclusions 114

Discussion, Jonas Fischer 115