Budgetary discipline in EMU was supposed to be exacted not only by the stability and growth pact, but also by market discipline. Markets were expected to restrain profligate governments by charging them higher interest rates and, thus, forcing them to change their ways.
2  ASPECTS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO’S GLOBAL ECONOMIC INTERACTIONS  per cent of fiscal income. Oscillations in oil/natural gas prices have largely shaped the boom-bust cycles over the last half century, despite attempts to smooth consumption by saving during years of windfall.