Das Wie entscheidet: Haushaltsüberschüsse sinnvoll verwenden
The current budget surplus suggests substantial scope for political action in the coming years. In the run-up to the coming elections, demands have been made to use these surpluses for tax cuts or additional investment spending. However, we argue in this paper that the favorable budgetary position is likely to be a temporary phenomenon. Hence, the reduction of the Debt-to-GDP ratio should remain of the highest priority. Remaining fiscal space could be used for efficiency-enhancing reforms of the tax system. Public investment projects, in contrast, should be evaluated case-by-case based on their respective returns and financed mainly through shifts within the budget.
Schmidt, C. and T. Schmidt (2017), Das Wie entscheidet: Haushaltsüberschüsse sinnvoll verwenden. Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspolitik, 66, 1, 37-49