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Concept
Balanced budget amendment
Summary
A balanced budget amendment is a constitutional rule requiring that a state cannot spend more than its income. It requires a balance between the projected receipts and expenditures of the government.
Balanced-budget provisions have been added to the constitutions of Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland, among others, as well as to the constitutions of most U.S. states. In the United States, the Republican Party has advocated for the introduction of a balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution.
Balanced budget amendments are defended with arguments that they reduce deficit spending and constrain politicians in making irresponsible short-term spending decisions when they are in office. Research shows that balanced budget amendments lead to greater fiscal discipline. However, there is substantial agreement among economists that strict annual balanced budget amendments have harmful near-term economic effects. In times of recession, deficit spending has significant benefits, whereas spending cuts by governments aggravate and lengthen recessions. To prevent that, most balanced-budget provisions make an exception for times of war, national emergency, or recession, or allow the legislature to suspend the rule by a supermajority vote.
In November 2011, the Austrian coalition government tried to amend its constitution and introduce a German style Schuldenbremse ("debt brake"). This would have forced the government to reduce its debt level to 60% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020. However, the government failed to gain a two-thirds majority in support of the constitutional amendment. Another attempt was made in October 2019, which was also unsuccessful.
Local and regional authorities in Denmark are not allowed to run deficits and must always balance their budgets. There is no such rule for the national government, which has no limits on debt beyond the common rules of the European Union. Danish debt is very low in international comparison and stands at 33% of GDP in 2019.
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