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This paper develops a simple model of the effects of fiscal adjustments on poverty. Our theory suggests that in richer countries the effects of fiscal adjustment are stronger the more complex is the poverty measure. By examining a panel of 16 EU countries in the period 2005–2015, the paper finds that structural public balance adjustments may harm the welfare of poorer individuals. The empirical estimation hinges on a comprehensive index of poverty and social exclusion, the AROPE index. The results suggest that rigid fiscal rules require specific alternative policies to sustain the welfare of poorer individuals during downturns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Making citizens able to monitor and evaluate public spending activities is a fundamental issue in public financial management literature. The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether fiscal transparency, measured by the Open Budget Index, has an effect on public spending performance, measured by the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report data. Design/methodology/approach: Research methods rely on random-effects panel regression models on a country-level panel data set of 82 world countries observed in the 2008–2015 time interval. Findings: Results show that the potential positive effects of fiscal transparency are mediated by the level of democracy of the country. In detail, in democratic countries, a higher degree of disclosure of fiscal information is correlated with a higher efficiency of government spending while, in non-democratic countries, fiscal transparency does not seem to provide any effect. Social implications: The results suggest that fiscal transparency can be a powerful device where politicians can be held accountable for their actions, while it could fail to provide positive results where a strong and effective vertical accountability is missing. Originality/value: The novelty of the paper is twofold. First, it provides new additional evidence about the positive effect that fiscal transparency has on public spending efficiency by advancing previous research on this topic (Porumbescu, 2017; Montes et al., 2019). Second, the paper investigates conceptually and empirically how the positive effect on public spending efficiency determined by fiscal transparency depends on the degree of democracy present in the institutional environment in which fiscal information disclosure is implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the causality dynamics between happiness and per capita GDP growth and the impact of the recent financial crisis using a VAR-GARCH model for 10 European EMU countries divided in peripheral and non-peripheral members. The rationale of the analysis is to look at the two different dimensions (mean and variance) of economic growth and happiness within a time-series framework. The results show that GDP growth has significant positive effects on happiness in all countries considered, particularly in the PIIGS countries; happiness volatility is responsive to economic uncertainty. The size of this effect is bigger following the most recent crisis period, especially for the PIIGS countries. Our findings confirm the important role played by economic growth in determining population happiness and, most importantly, provides new evidence on the existence of causality linkages between economic uncertainty and happiness volatility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of the paper is to detect, through dynamic panel data techniques, the long‐run macro drivers of citizens’ mood toward European institutions and to support the existence of an inverse relationship both in the short and in the long‐run between trust on one side and the rate of unemployment and the discretionary fiscal policy measures on the other. This is valid in the whole Eurozone and in particular in peripheral countries. This outcome gives support to the conclusion that the process of institutional consolidation should pass through a greater political sensibility toward some specific economic variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper investigates the economic and non-economic determinants of interregional migration for unskilled and skilled migrants in Italy for the period 1985-2006. In addition to the traditional variables of the Harris and Todaro model, we consider the impact of house prices, carbon dioxide emission and crime. Using a dynamic two-step panel generalized method of moments, the traditional model omits some important variables and may not be representative of migration flow. Our analysis confirms that for different periods we have to take into account different determinants. Moreover, the externalities are significant, indicating the importance of including broader quality of life as explanatory variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across industrialised and developing countries public pension systems have been heavily reformed during the last two decades. The major concern relates the financial sustainability of pay-as-you-go pension schemes. The proposals to privatize social security lead to the creation of a multipillar system. This study assesses the validity of the effect of pension reforms on domestic savings in two steps: first, to test for the existence of a long-run relationship, we use an ARDL model; second, we employ the Kalman filter algorithm, in order to recover the parameter dynamics overtime. We analyse the case of Iceland because its pension system is characterized by a large mandatory private pillar. The empirical evidence supports the widely held view that growing mandatory pension funds financial assets has significantly positive impact on national saving. Moreover, we show that the pattern of the pension funds' coefficients seems to capture well the economic dynamic of the period. The coefficients of the funded pillars illustrate a shift upward soon after the launch of the reforms in 1998. Later on, these coefficients show a negative trend till the middle of 2004 and they increase sharply until the beginning of 2006. Afterwards, following the Icelandic and international financial crisis, they strongly declines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]