Research Insights: Can the Design of Fiscal Rules Help to Protect Productive Public Investment from Budget Cuts?

Flexible fiscal rules include mechanisms to accommodate unexpected/exogenous shocks. In countries without fiscal rules, or with rigid rules (i.e., rules without flexible features), public investment falls sharply during fiscal consolidation episodesby as much as 10 percent on average. The negative impact of fiscal consolidations on public investment disappears in countries using flexible fiscal rules.