A Replication of “Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Fiscal Policies on Long-run Growth” ( European Journal of Political Economy 2004)

Abstract

This study replicates the article by Nijkamp and Poot (2004), henceforth N&P, and performs a variety of robustness checks. Using a sample of fiscal policy studies published between 1983 and 1998, N&P concluded that certain types of studies on fiscal policies were more likely to confirm prior beliefs about their impact on economic growth than others. N&P also identified study attributes that impacted the likelihood of confirmation. We are able to exactly replicate their findings. We then attempt an alternative replication, returning to the original studies and independently categorizing them using N&P’s general classification scheme. We also investigate the implications of a number of methodological improvements on their analysis. Our analysis produces results that are qualitatively similar to N&P, though few of our results are statistically significant. The full-length version of this study suggests directions for future meta-analysis studies on the subject of fiscal policy and economic growth.