EU Finance Ministers, capital markets and fiscal outcomes

Abstract

We investigate the relevance of the characteristics of Ministers of Finance as an influence on the development of stock returns, sovereign yields and fiscal outcomes, which result from the implementation of their fiscal policies. For a panel of 27 EU countries, covering the period of 1980-2012, we find that academic background, tenure and gender, play a role in determining stock and bond market returns, as well as the general fiscal position of governments.