Fiscal sustainability analysis: the case of PALOP economies

Abstract

The Global Financial Crisis has typically led to a significant widening of fiscal positions (i.e., higher budget deficits and public debt). We address the sustainability of public finances in Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP), through adequate econometric testing. Our findings for the period 1975-2015 suggest that most of the PALOP have compromised the sustainability of their corresponding fiscal positions, leading these economies to be set on unsustainable public finance trajectories.