01913cas a2200253 a 4500 AALejournalIMF013691 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781475588514 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Ebeke, Christian. Fiscal Policy over the Election Cycle in Low-Income Countries / Christian Ebeke, Dilan Olcer. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2013. 1 online resource (24 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 Focusing on Low-Income Countries, we investigate the behavior of fiscal variables during and after elections. The results indicate that during election years, government consumption significantly increases and leads to higher fiscal deficits. During the two years following elections, the fiscal adjustment takes the form of increased revenue mobilization in trade taxes and cuts to government investment, with no significant cuts in government consumption. Using a new dataset on national fiscal rules and IMF programs, we find that both the presence of fiscal rules and IMF programs help dampen the magnitude of the political budget cycle in LICs. We conclude that elections not only imply a macroeconomic cost when they take place but also trigger a painful fiscal adjustment in which public investment is largely sacrificed. Mode of access: Internet Olcer, Dilan. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2013/153 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2013/153/001.2013.issue-153-en.xml IMF e-Library