Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of boxes
- List of tables
- List of symbols, abbreviations and acronyms
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- Part I The market, efficiency and equity
- Part II Normative and positive theory of economic policy
- Part III Microeconomic policies
- Part IV Macroeconomic policies
- 10 Macroeconomic schemes of analysis in an open economy
- 11 Macroeconomic objectives and monetary policy
- 12 Macroeconomic objectives and fiscal policy
- 13 Incomes and price policies
- 14 Balance-of-payments policies
- 15 Trade policies: free trade and protectionism
- Part V Public institutions in an international setting
- Part VI Globalisation and the quest for a new institutional setting
- Bibliography
- Author index
- Subject index
12 - Macroeconomic objectives and fiscal policy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 May 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of boxes
- List of tables
- List of symbols, abbreviations and acronyms
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- Part I The market, efficiency and equity
- Part II Normative and positive theory of economic policy
- Part III Microeconomic policies
- Part IV Macroeconomic policies
- 10 Macroeconomic schemes of analysis in an open economy
- 11 Macroeconomic objectives and monetary policy
- 12 Macroeconomic objectives and fiscal policy
- 13 Incomes and price policies
- 14 Balance-of-payments policies
- 15 Trade policies: free trade and protectionism
- Part V Public institutions in an international setting
- Part VI Globalisation and the quest for a new institutional setting
- Bibliography
- Author index
- Subject index
Summary
The term fiscal policy refers to the government budget measures aimed primarily at changing income and employment in the short run. Since debate on fiscal policy is often obscured by improper reference to the institutions governing it, it can be helpful to first state the meaning of certain terms denoting the agents of fiscal policy. The general government sector consists of the following group of resident institutional units: (a) all units of central, state or local government; (b) all social security funds at each level of government; (c) all non-market non-profit institutions that are controlled and mainly financed by government units. The sector does not include public corporations owned by government units. However, unincorporated enterprises owned by government are included. Individual countries may be organised in such a way that some of the units indicated will be absent – e.g. states for countries that do not have a federal constitution (see Commission of the European Communities et al., 1993). Our analysis will generally refer to the general government sector as a whole. This means that relationships within the sector (e.g. transfers from the central to local governments) will not be examined.
The budget and its components
Let us now provide a number of definitions.
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- Economic Policy in the Age of Globalisation , pp. 284 - 307Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005