The fiscal developments around the global financial crisis of 2007-2009 and its aftermath are undoubtedly a major factor behind that comeback. The large fiscal stimulus packages adopted by many countries in the face of large adverse shocks have triggered an unusually heated debate among academics, policymakers and commentators alike. In ten contributions written by economists with a recognized expertise in the field, this book shed light on the key questions at the aftermath of crises: How effective is fiscal policy at stimulating the economy? What is the best design for a fiscal stimulus package? Should it put most of its weight on government spending increases or on tax reductions? Are automatic stabilizers enough or is a discretionary stimulus needed? How does fiscal policy interact with monetary policy? Is there room for coordination? What are the possible consequences for the economy of a large rise in the debt/GDP ratio? And those of the fiscal consolidations aimed at stabilizing that ratio? Finally, should countries adopt explicit fiscal rules?.Fiscal policy and macroeconomic performance: an overview / Luis Felipe Céspedes, Jordi Galí -- Taxes and the Labor Market / Tommaso Monacelli, Roberto Perotti, Antonella Trigari -- Tightening Tensions: Fiscal Policy and Civil Unrest in South America, 1937–95 / Joachim Voth -- Real Exchange Rate Dynamics and Fiscal Policy from a Cross-Country Perspective / Rodrigo Caputo, Miguel Fuentes -- Riding the Roller Coaster: Fiscal Policies of Nonrenewable Resource Exporters in Latin America and the Caribbean / Mauricio Villafuerte, Pablo López-Murphy, Rolando Ossowski -- Fiscal Multipliers and Policy Coordination / Gauti Eggertsson -- Floats, Pegs and the Transmission of Fiscal Policy / Giancarlo Corsetti, Keith Kuester, Gernot J. Müller -- Non-Ricardian Aspects of Fiscal Policy in Chile / Luis Felipe Céspedes, Jorge Fornero, Jordi Galí -- A Solution to Fiscal Procyclicality: The Structural Budget Institutions Pioneered by Chile / Jeffrey Frankel -- Chile’s Fiscal Rule as Social Insurance / Eduardo Engel, Christopher Neilson, Rodrigo Valdés -- Procyclicality of Fiscal Policy in Emerging Countries: The Cycle is the Trend / Michel Strawczynski and Joseph Zeira.