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With the takeover on October 17th 2005 of a majority coalition government headed by the Labour Party leader Jens Stoltenberg, and its re-election in September 2009, the expansionary fiscal policy [...]

The fiscal deficit widened to US$427.9m in the year to end-August 2009, from a deficit of US$23.3m in the same period a year earlier, according to the Central Reserve Bank [...]

One of President Alvaro Colom's key policy agendas is the passage of a comprehesive fiscal reform package, the Fiscal Modernisation Plan (Plan de Modernizacion Fiscal) that would increase the government's [...]

The federal government responded to a sharp deterioration of global financial and economic conditions with a A$10.4bn stimulus package in October 2008. A larger A$42bn stimulus package was enacted later [...]

By and large -- and until the onset of the global economic crisis in 2008 -- recent years have seen a succession of Czech governments benefit from a favourable macroeconomic [...]

South Africa's adoption of looser fiscal policy in response to the global economic downturn which began in late 2008 and a recession at home was termed broadly appropriate, according to [...]

The latest period of fiscal surpluses, which lasted from 2004 until 2008, is forecasted to come to an end in 2009. Although the government's budget balance was 1.4% of GDP [...]

The government pursued a pro-cyclical fiscal policy, mainly aimed at increasing resources for social spending, during Spain's period of economic growth from 2005-08. The fiscal deficit reached 3.8% of GDP [...]

The central government's 2010 budget, published by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics on July 30th 2009, provides for expenditure of NT$1.74trn (down 3.8% from the 2009 budget) [...]

The government ran fiscal surpluses from the mid-1990s until deteriorating economic conditions associated with the global economic downturn and the consequent fiscal response produced a deficit in fiscal year 2008/09 [...]

In December 2001 an overwhelming 85% of voters approved a constitutional commitment to set a balanced federal budget as a goal. Bringing this about on a permanent basis, however, is [...]

China's fiscal position will remain strong, despite unprecedented fiscal spending aimed at shoring up the economy amid the global financial crisis. The central-government deficit in 2008 was Rmb111bn, and it [...]

Singapore recorded a basic budget deficit (operating revenue less total expenditure and special transfers, excluding increases to endowment and trust funds) of S$2.8bn in fiscal year 2008/09 (April 1st-March 31st) [...]

The French economy grew by 0.4% in 2008, compared with expansion of by 2.3% in 2007, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Institut national des statistiques [...]

A weak economy has had significant repercussions for the deficit/GDP ratio and the debt/GDP ratio, which are in breach of ceilings established by the EU's Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). [...]

India's budget deficit remains an area of concern for the government. Although the government was making some progress in controlling it, starting December 2008 the government has announced a series [...]

The UK is constrained in its fiscal policy by the requirements of membership in the EU, and therefore economic and monetary union (EMU), most notably by the rules against running [...]

The 2009 budget deficit of Rb2.98trn, or 7.4% of GDP, will be covered with some Rb3bn from the Reserve Fund, one of Russia's two sovereign wealth funds that were created [...]

Despite several attempts over the past decade, Poland has failed to reform its bloated finances in order to make them transparent and enable a smooth absorption of EU funds. The [...]

The total net public-sector debt was estimated by the central bank to have declined to 44.5% of GDP at end-December 2008 from 52.3% at end-December 2004. The Economist Intelligence Unit [...]

The draft budget for fiscal year 2009/10 was approved by the cabinet at the end of December 2008 and passed by the lower house of parliament in February 2009. According [...]

Chile's fiscal accounts are structurally sound, owed to prudent economic policies and discipline in public spending. Fiscal policy is countercyclical, following a budget rule that commits the government to achieving [...]

The public debt burden remains high in Brazil, despite improved fiscal management. The public debt to GDP ratio was 36% at end-2008, down from 42% at end-2007. The government met [...]

The slowdown in the US economy has begun to affect the Mexican economy, which continues to depend heavily on its northern neighbour for trade activity. Since mid-2008, there has been [...]

The Hungarian government began to make important changes in fiscal policy in 1995-96 and has now created a more transparent structure for the central budget. It integrated most state reserves [...]

Germany is required to keep its government deficit below 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) under the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact that bind the member countries of [...]

According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in 2008 the fiscal deficit of the public sector reached 1.3% of GDP, due in part [...]

The Economist Intelligence Unit estimates that the primary fiscal balance for 2008 was 2.4% of GDP, down from 3.7% in 2007. We forecast that the primary fiscal balance will fall [...]

In September 2008 the government of President Lee Myung-bak drew up a budget of W273.8trn for 2009, up 6.5% from 2008. However, in December 2008 the increasing severity of the [...]

The government has kept fiscal policy tight for several years, helping to reduce its large government debt burden. (Consolidated central government gross debt was just over 60% of GDP at [...]

Hong Kong's financial secretary, John Tsang, is responsible for the special administrative region's fiscal, monetary and economic policies. He oversees the operations of the Bureaux of Finance, Financial Services and [...]

With the takeover on October 17th 2005 of a majority coalition government headed by the Labour Party leader Jens Stoltenberg, the expansionary fiscal policy of the conservative Bondevik coalition that [...]

Fiscal data for the year up to September 2008 on the non-financial public sector (NFPS) showed revenue growth (including donations) of 11.3% compared with the same period in 2007, according [...]

In recent years the government of Honduras has secured financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral agencies. In April 2008, Honduras signed a 12-month stand-by agreement [...]

A central goal of fiscal policy is to raise the tax take from its current level of around 10% of GDP to a still-low 12% of GDP in order to [...]

The government ran primary budget surpluses in 2003-07. In 2004 it peaked at 3.9%, then fell back to 3.7% in 2005, 3.5% in 2006 and 3.2% of GDP in 2007. [...]

The Labor federal government elected on November 24th 2007 brought its first budget in May 13th 2008, aiming to lift the electorate's low perception of its skills as an economic [...]

Although the South African government forecast a budget surplus of 0.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the budget for fiscal year 2007/08 (ending March 31st), a budget surplus of [...]

The government has benefited from a favourable macroeconomic environment and strong economic growth, which has resulted in a fall in the public deficit/GDP ratio. The deficit on European System of [...]

In August 2005 the current government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero abandoned the previous administration's commitment to balance the budget regardless of the position in the economic cycle and moved [...]

The central government's 2009 budget, approved by the Executive Yuan on August 21st 2008, provided for expenditure of NT$1.83trn (up 6.9% from the 2008 budget) and revenue of NT$1.71trn (up [...]

In December 2001 an overwhelming 85% of voters approved a constitutional commitment to balance the federal budget. Bringing this about on a permanent basis is difficult. Interest groups can join [...]

The government has run fiscal surpluses since the mid 1990s and has not had any net government debt since 2006. The key fiscal indicator under the new International Financial Reporting [...]

China's fiscal position will remain strong. The central-government deficit in 2007 was Rmb200bn, and it was expected to decline to Rmb180bn in 2008, according to the draft budget published by [...]

A large budget surplus of S$6.45bn was recorded in the fiscal year 2007/08 (April 1st-March 31st). This was primarily because of stamp duties levied by the government on property transactions, [...]

The French economy expanded by 2.1% in 2007, within the range of 2-2.5% that the French government forecast. The growth rate was slightly lower than the 2.2% recorded in 2006, [...]

In 2007 Italy's budget deficit/GDP ratio of 1.9% dropped below the 3%-of-GDP ceiling established in the EU's Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) for the first time in five years. Italy [...]