On the cyclicality of South African fiscal policy

This paper examines the cyclicality of government revenue, spending and the key fiscal balances in South Africa during 1972-2001. The results suggest that while government revenues were largely acyclical, government spending appears to have been predominantly counter-cyclical, in line with the recommendations of neoclassical analysis. In addition, countercyclical government spending appears to have translated into a countercyclical policy stance overall. This finding contrasts markedly with the results from other empirical studies of South Africa and other emerging market and developing economies, which typically indicate procyclical fiscal policy.