01958cas a2200265 a 4500 AALejournalIMF011254 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781463902162 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Mpatswe, Gaston. The Cyclicality of Fiscal Policies in the CEMAC Region / Gaston Mpatswe, Sampawende Tapsoba, Robert York. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2011. 1 online resource (21 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students This paper examines fiscal cyclicality in the CEMAC region during 1980-2008. The issue has attracted very little empirical interest but is important if fiscal policies are to play a role in mitigating external shocks that exacerbate economic cycles across the region. We assess whether fiscal policies across these six countries have been procyclical using panel data to elaborate our analysis. Like in other sub-Saharan countries, total public expenditure in the CEMAC is found to be strongly procyclical. This is most pronounced for public investment, which overreacts to output growth with elasticity above 1. We further find that institutional weaknesses and poor governance partly explain this behavior. In contrast, the existence of an IMF-supported program can be a counterbalancing influence in attenuating this bias. Mode of access: Internet Tapsoba, Sampawende. York, Robert. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2011/205 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2011/205/001.2011.issue-205-en.xml IMF e-Library