Cover IMF Working Papers
Fiscal Cycles in the Caribbean
Series:
IMF Working Papers
Volume/Issue:
Volume 2009: Issue 158
Language:
English
Publication Date:
01 Jul 2009
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451873054.001
ISBN:
9781451873054
ISSN:
1018-5941
Pages:
27
Keywords:
WP; government; ECCU country; Procyclicality; fiscal accounts; natural disasters; Caribbean; ECCU economy; ECCU value; government consumption growth; capital revenue; Fiscal stance; Business cycles
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IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.
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The sharp increase in debt in the Caribbean since the mid-1990s has focused attention on the conduct of fiscal policy in the region. This paper aims to diagnose how fiscal policy has behaved during this period by looking at three main cycles of the economy: the business, election, and natural disaster cycles. Our main findings suggest that fiscal policy has been mostly procyclical in the region, while disasters have been heavily "insured" by foreign transfers. The "when it rains, it pours" phenomena suggested by Kaminsky, Reinhart and Vegh (2004) seems to take place in the Caribbean.
Cover IMF Working Papers
IMF Working Papers
ISSN:
1018-5941
Publisher:
International Monetary Fund