Buiter, Willem H. <br/><br/>
Notes on "A Code for Fiscal Stability" / 
Willem H. Buiter. 
 - Cambridge, Mass.  National Bureau of Economic Research  1998. 
 - 1 online resource:  illustrations (black and white); 
 - NBER working paper series  no. w6522 .
 - Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research)  no. w6522. .
<br/><br/> April 1998. 
<br/><br/> This note comments on two central issues for fiscal policy design in the UK, highlighted in the recent  Code for Fiscal Stability' proposed by the new Labour government.  The first concerns the merits of the so-called  golden rule of public sector investment' -- the proposition that, over the cycle, government borrowing should not exceed government capital formation.  The second concerns the case for attempting to construct a more comprehensive balance sheet of public sector assets and liabilities, including tangible public sector assets and certain contingent claims. The two main conclusions are that the golden rule is without merit but that, subject to some important caveats, the construction of a more comprehensive government balance sheet is a worthwhile enterprise. 
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