TY  - UNPD
A1  - Hebous, Shafik
A1  - Weichenrieder, Alfons J.
T1  - On deficits and symmetries in a fiscal capacity
T2  - SAFE working paper series ; No. 112
N2  - There is a growing debate about complementing the European Monetary Union by a more comprehensive fiscal union. Against this background, this paper emphasizes that there is a trade-off in designing a system of fiscal transfers ("fiscal capacity") in a union between members of different size. A system cannot guarantee symmetric treatment of members and simultaneously ensure a balanced budget. We compute hypothetical transfers for the Eurozone members from 2001 to 2012 to illustrate this trade-off. Interestingly, a symmetric system that treats shocks in small and large countries symmetrically would have produced large budgetary surpluses in 2009, the worst year of the financial crisis.
T3  - SAFE working paper - 112 
KW  - fiscal union
KW  - asymmetric shocks
KW  - federal transfers
KW  - optimum currency area
Y1  - 2015
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/38587
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-385870
UR  - http://ssrn.com/abstract=2637776
IS  - July 2015
SP  - 1
EP  - 14
PB  - SAFE
CY  - Frankfurt am Main
ER  -