{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.013513513513513514, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0, 'mean_word_length': 5.5, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Discretionary versus Automatic Public Expenditure

One of the main issues in the analysis of fiscal policy is the identification of discretionary policy changes. In this paper using disaggregated data of fiscal variables I separate the public outlay into two components: discretionary and automatic expenditure. Stylized facts show that in OECD countries these aggregates of public spending have dierent properties in term of volatility, persistence and correlation with GDP. Moreover, discretionary expenditure is not related to the business cycle, both during expansions and recessions. Hence, I use this component to identify an exogenous Government spending shock and with a Bayesian SVAR model I assess its impact on economic activity.