Measures of budget deficits and national debt / Siamack Shojai -- The federal budget process in the United States / James M. Suarez -- Major federal budget laws of the United States / James L. Chan -- A historical perspective on the size of deficits and debts in OECD countries / Anthony D. Apostolides -- Budget deficits and economic activity / James R. Barth and John M. Wells -- Fiscal imbalances and the exchange rates / Siamack Shojai -- Do deficits matter? a review of the deficit and inflation debate / Sohrab Abizadeh and Mahmood Yousefi -- Budget deficits and financial markets / Bruce Collins -- The twin deficits: fiscal imbalances and trade deficits / Hassan Mohammadi and Neil T. Skaggs -- Economic growth and fiscal imbalances / Siamack Shojai -- The welfare state and entitlements: resisting retrenchment in the 1990s / Robert C.A. Sorensen -- Wherefore a prudent fiscal policy? / Herschel I. Grossman -- The size, nature, and causes of budget deficits in developing countries / James Alm and Raul A. Barreto -- The budget process and fiscal imbalances in the new South Africa / Ismail Adams.