Abstract
Countercyclical government spending offers social protection to the vulnerable when economies move into recession. This paper questions the extent to which governments are able to spend countercyclically and the extent to which social expenditures are likely to be countercyclical. An analysis of public spending in OECD countries (1980–2005) suggests countercyclical social protection is constrained by the limits to public borrowing and the degree of political polarization.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 909-911 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Economics Letters |
Volume | 117 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 30 Jun 2012 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2012 |