Xavier Debrun

Government Size and Output Volatility: Should we foresake automatic Stabilisation? Bruegel Working Papers, 2008/01, April 2008 (2008)

Debrun, Xavier, Pisani-Ferry, Jean, Sapir, Andre.

In this working paper, Xavier Debrun, Jean Pisani-Ferry and André Sapir explore the relationships between government size and output volatility. Whilst government size contributes to macroeconomic...

Tying Hands Is Not Commitment: Can Fiscal Rules and Institutions Really Enhance Fiscal Discipline? Bruegel Working Papers, 2007/01, January 2007 (2007)

Debrun, Xavier.

Visiting Bruegel Scholar Xavier Debrun discusses the role of fiscal institutions, including budget rules and non-partisan agencies, in enhancing fiscal discipline.

Economic Reforms in the Euro Area: Is There a Common Agenda? Bruegel Policy Contribution/November 2006, Issue 5 (2006)

Debrun, Xavier, Pisani-Ferry, Jean.

Despite the recent growth revival, the state of the euro area economy remains vexingly disappointing. What is taking place is too little, too late and the very fact that output growth only started to...

Implementing the Stability and Growth Pact: Enforcement and Procedural Flexibility

Xavier Debrun

The paper analyzes some key policy trade-offs involved in the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact. Greater "procedural" flexibility in the Pact's implementation may improve welfare....

Primary Surplus Behavior and Risks to Fiscal Sustainability in Emerging Market Countries: A "Fan-Chart" Approach

Xavier Debrun, Oya Celasun, Jonathan David Ostry

This paper proposes a probabilistic approach to public debt sustainability analysis (DSA) using "fan charts." These depict the magnitude of risks-upside and downside-surrounding public debt...

Is Fiscal Policy Coordination in EMU Desirable?

Roel Beetsma, Xavier Debrun, Franc Klaassen

It is widely argued that Europe's unified monetary policy calls for the international coordination at the fiscal level. We survey the issues involved with such coordination of fiscal policy as a...

Is Fiscal Policy Coordination in EMU Desirable?

Xavier Debrun, Franc Klaassen

It is widely argued that Europe's unified monetary policy calls for international coordination at the fiscal level. We survey the issues involved in such coordination in the perspective of...

Central Bank Independence and the Design of Fiscal Institutions

Xavier Debrun, Francesca Castellani

We study the desirability of reforming fiscal institutions along with the delegation of monetary policy to an independent central

Primary Surplus Behavior and Risks to Fiscal Sustainability in Emerging Market Countries: A "Fan-Chart" Approach

Oya Celasun, Xavier Debrun, Jonathan D. Ostry

This paper proposes a probabilistic approach to public debt sustainability analy-sis (DSA) using "fan charts." These depict the magnitude of risks-upside and downside-surrounding public debt...

Fiscal Rules in a Monetary Union: A Short-Run Analysis

Xavier Debrun

This article challenges the conventional result according to which an instrument-independent central bank able to strictly commit to price stability makes fiscal constraints unnecessary. We present a...

Turkey at the Crossroads: From Crisis Resolution to EU Accession

Xavier Debrun, Ashoka Mody, Oya Celasun, Martin Schindler, Cheng Hoom Lim, Chris Lane, ...

Economic growth , Turkey , Inflation , Debt , Labor markets , Financial sector ,

The Discipline-Enhancing Role of Fiscal Institutions: Theory and Empirical Evidence

Xavier Debrun, Manmohan S. Kumar

This paper discusses the role of fiscal institutions, including budget rules and non-partisan agencies, in enhancing fiscal discipline. A dynamic model of fiscal policy shows that optimal...

Tied to the mast? National fiscal rules in the European Union

Xavier Debrun, Laurent Moulin, Alessandro Turrini, Joaquim Ayuso-i-Casals, Manmohan S. Kumar

"Numerical fiscal rules implemented at the national level in member countries of the European Union offer useful information on possible reasons for the growing reliance on such rules, and on their...

Primary Surplus Behavior and Risks to Fiscal Sustainability in Emerging Market Countries: A "Fan-Chart" Approach

Oya Celasun, Xavier Debrun, Jonathan D. Ostry

This paper proposes a probabilistic approach to public debt sustainability analy-sis (DSA) using "fan charts." These depict the magnitude of risks-upside and downside-surrounding public debt...

Monetary union in West Africa: who might gain, who might lose, and why?

Xavier Debrun, Paul Masson, Catherine Pattillo

We develop a model in which governments' financing needs exceed the socially optimal level because public resources are diverted to serve the narrow interests of the group in power. From a social...

Is Fiscal Policy Coordination in EMU Desirable?

Beetsma, Roel, Debrun, Xavier, Klaassen, Frank

It is widely argued that Europe's unified monetary policy calls for the international coordination at the fiscal level. We survey the issues involved with such coordination of fiscal policy as a...

Designing Macroeconomic Frameworks: A Positive Analysis of Monetary and Fiscal Delegation

Francesca Castellani, Xavier Debrun

This paper proposes a simple model illustrating the potential benefits of approaching the design of a macroeconomic framework conducive to low inflation in both its monetary and fiscal dimensions...

Implementing the stability and growth pact - enforcement and procedural flexibility

Xavier Debrun

The paper proposes a theoretical analysis illustrating some key policy trade-offs involved in the implementation of a rules-based fiscal framework reminiscent of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP)....

Bargaining over EMU vs. EMS: Why Might the ECB Be the Twin Sister of the Bundesbank?

Debrun, Xavier

Various authors argue that the European Central Bank (ECB) closely resembles the Bundesbank because of similarities in the legal status and in the behaviour of the two institutions. That "twin-sister...

Is Fiscal Policy Coordination in EMU Desirable?

Beetsma, Roel, Debrun, Xavier, Klaassen, Franc

It is widely argued that Europe's unified monetary policy calls for international coordination at the fiscal level. We survey the issues involved with such coordination of fiscal policy as a demand...

Reconciling Stability and Growth: Smart Pacts and Structural Reforms

Beetsma, Roel, Debrun, Xavier

This Paper analyses the decision of a government facing electoral uncertainty to implement structural reforms in the presence of fiscal restraints similar to the Stability and Growth Pact. We provide...

Implementing the Stability and Growth Pact: Enforcement and Procedural Flexibility

Beetsma, Roel, Debrun, Xavier

The paper proposes a theoretical analysis illustrating some key policy trade-offs involved in the implementation of a rules-based fiscal framework reminiscent of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP)....

Making Fiscal Space Happen: Managing Fiscal Policy in a World of Scaled-Up Aid

Xavier Debrun, Theo Thomas, Taline Koranchelian, Isabell Adenauer, Peter S. Heller, Menachem Katz

Debt relief and the scaling up of aid to low-income countries should allow for greater fiscal space for expenditure programs to create long-term growth and lower poverty rates. But designing a...

Monetary Union in West Africa: Who Might Gain, Who Might Lose, and Why?

Xavier Debrun, Paul R. Masson, Catherine A. Pattillo

We develop a multicountry model in which governments aim at excessive spending in order to serve the narrow interests of the group in power. This puts pressure on the monetary authorities to extract...

Making Fiscal Space Happen!

Peter S. Heller, Menachem Katz, Xavier Debrun, Theo Thomas, Taline Koranchelian, Isabell Adenauer

Debt relief and the scaling up of aid to low-income countries should allow for increased fiscal space for expenditure programs to spur long-term growth and reduce poverty. But as discussed in Peter...

A New Fiscal Rule: Should Israel go Swiss?

Xavier Debrun, Natan P. Epstein, Steven A. Symansky

We propose a fiscal rule that fulfills a specific debt reduction objective while maintaining significant fiscal flexibility-two overarching concerns in Israel. Not unlike the Swiss "debt brake," the...

Government Size and Output Volatility: Should We Forsake Automatic Stabilization?

Xavier Debrun, Jean Pisani-Ferry, André Sapir

The paper takes stock of the debate on the positive link between output volatility and the size of government-which reflects automatic stabilizers. After a survey of the literature, we show that the...