Fiscal policy after the financial crisis.

• Position: Conferences

An NBER Conference on "Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis" took place at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy on December 12-13, 2011. Organizers Alberto Alesina of NBER and Harvard University and Francesco Giavazzi of NBER and Bocconi University chose these papers for discussion:

* Valerie A. Ramey, University of California at San Diego and NBER, "Government Spending and Private Activity"

* Alan J. Auerbach and Yuriy Gorodnichenko, University of California at Berkeley and NBER, "Fiscal Multipliers in Recession and Expansion" (NBER Working Paper No. 17447)

* Francesco Giavazzi, and Michael McMahon, University of Warwick, "The Household Effects of Government Spending"

* Mathias Trabandt, European Central Bank, and Harald Uhlig, University of Chicago and NBER, "How do Laffer Curves Differ Across Countries?"

* William Easterly, New York University and NBER, "The Role of Growth Slowdowns and Forecast Errors in Public Debt Crises"

* Richard Evans and Kerk Phillips, Brigham Young University, and Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Boston University and NBER, "Game Over: Quantifying and Simulating Unsustainable Fiscal Policy"

* Eric M. Leeper, Indiana University and NBER, and Todd B. Walker, Indiana University, "Perceptions and Misperceptions of Fiscal Inflation"

* Ruud de...