Growth in developing economies has slowed in recent years and significant downside risks remain, including slowdowns in major trading partners. In addition, financing costs are expected to rise from the current exceptionally low levels when monetary policy
normalization gets under way in some advanced economies. Tightening of global financial conditions and bouts of financial market volatility might cause slowdowns or reversals of capital inflows. Since the risk to capital flows can constrain monetary policy in developing economies, the option of fiscal policy as a countercyclical tool becomes particularly important. How effective will fiscal policy be in supporting activity in developing economies in the event of a downturn? This question is the main focus of the chapter.