Book excerpt: The global financial crisis and economic recession spurred governments to boost fiscal expenditures to stimulate economic growth and to provide capital injections to support their financial sectors. The surge in fiscal spending, combined with a loss of revenue, has caused government deficit spending to rise sharply when measured as a share of GDP and increased the overall level of public debt. Budget deficits likely will stabilize, but are not expected to fall appreciably for some time. Contents of this report: Overview and Background; Austerity Measures in Europe; Impact on Gov¿t. Budgets; Fiscal Consolidation: Country Efforts; Recent EU Austerity Measures; Budget Rules; Budget Rules in Europe: The Stability and Growth Pact. A print on demand report.