CHIPPING AWAY AT PUBLIC DEBT: SOURCES OF FAILURE AND KEYS TO SUCCESS IN FISCAL ADJUSTMENT -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 Canada: A Success Story -- Introduction -- Background -- Plans versus Outcomes: Macroeconomic Factors -- Nature and Composition of Adjustment -- Structural Reforms -- Extent to which Adjustments Were Sustained -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 2 United States: The Quest for Fiscal Discipline -- Introduction -- First Attempt: Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act 1985 -- Second Attempt: Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 -- Third Attempt: Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 -- Actual versus Projected Fiscal Performance under Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 -- 1990s Deficit Reduction: Good Policy or Good Luck? -- Easy Won, Easy Lost? -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 3 France: Virtue and Fortune -- Introduction: Factors Underlying the Need for Fiscal Consolidation -- Early Attempts at Fiscal Adjustment -- A First Attempt at Medium-Term Fiscal Consolidation, 1994-97 -- A More Systematic Approach to Medium-Term Budgeting: Consolidation Experiences under the Stability and Growth Pact -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 4 Germany: Fiscal Adjustment Attempts With and Without Reforms -- Introduction -- 1975-79 Consolidation Attempt -- 1981-85 Consolidation Attempt -- 1991-95 Consolidation Attempt -- 2003-07 Consolidation Attempt -- Lessons -- Notes -- 5 United Kingdom: Four Chancellors Facing Challenges -- Introduction -- Selection of Consolidation Plans -- Background, Content, and Performance of the Four Adjustment Plans -- Determinants of Success and Failure -- Lessons from Success and Failure -- Appendix 5A: United Kingdom: Fiscal Adjustment Plans and Outturns -- Notes -- 6 Italy: Medium-Term Fiscal Planning under Frequent Government Changes -- Introduction.

A Brief History of Italy's Fiscal Planning Framework -- Short-Term Origins of Medium-Term Failures -- A Narrative of Design and Performance of Pre- and Post-European Monetary Union Plans -- Implementing Plans for the Year Ahead -- Two Important Plans Analyzed in Detail -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 7 Japan: Fiscal Adjustment Plans and Macroeconomic Shocks -- Introduction -- The 1997 Fiscal Structural Reform Act -- Medium-Term Fiscal Adjustment Plans: Fiscal Year 2002 and the Following -- Conclusion -- Appendix 7A: The Bohn Fiscal Sustainability Test -- Appendix 7B: Timeline of Medium-Term Fiscal Adjustment Plans in Japan -- Notes -- 8 The Performance of Large Fiscal Adjustment Plans in the European Union: A Cross-Country Statistical Analysis -- Introduction -- Data, Sample Selection, and Methodology -- Descriptive Analysis -- Regression Analysis -- Conclusion -- Appendix 8A: Data Issues and Cyclical Adjustment -- Appendix 8B: Timeline for European Monetary Integration (1990-2009) -- Notes -- 9 Conclusion -- Key Findings: What Failed and What Worked in Past Attempts at Fiscal Adjustment -- Implications for Planned Adjustments -- Notes -- References -- About the Project Team -- Index.