Working Paper
Rules and risk in the euro area
In this working paper, with a unique data set summarising the quality of rules-based fiscal governance in European Union member states, the authors show that stronger fiscal rules in euro-area members reduce sovereign risk premia, in particular in times of market stress.
Anna Iara and Guntram Wolff develop a model of sovereign spreads that are determined by the probability of default in interaction with the level of risk aversion. Estimation of the model confirms the central predictions. The legal basis for the rules, and mechanisms for enforcing them, are the most important dimensions of rulesbased fiscal governance.