Abstract

Fiscal policy can be defined as a government’s plan for expenditure, revenues and borrowing to finance fiscal deficits if any. The caselets discuss the fiscal policy measures undertaken by the governments of India and Canada over the years. Caselet 1 discusses why fiscal deficit has been steadily increasing in India and what the government can do to improve its fiscal position. Caselet 2 explains how the Indian government can increase revenues from taxes. Caselet 3 is concerned with the country’s external debt position and foreign exchange reserves. It examines whether the foreign exchange reserves should be used to retire external debt. Caselet 4 discusses whether it was right for Canada to go for heavy public debt and the consequences of not being able to contain the same.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Objectives and constituents of fiscal policy
• Public expenditure
• taxation.

Keywords

Fiscal policy, government, plan, expenditure, revenues, borrowing, finance, fiscal deficits, policy measures, undertaken, governments, India, Canada, fiscal deficit, increase revenues, taxes, external debt, position, exchange reserves, external debt, public debt