Fiscal stimulus packages were typically worth several percent of GDP, with the cumulative expansionary shift of the fiscal stance over the three years from 2007 to 2009 amounting to four percent of GDP in both advanced and emerging economies. These expansions are now being wound back (Figure 6). Figure 6 Shifts in fiscal stance  Source: IMF.
6  BIS central bankers’ speeches  4. Sovereign credit challenges, 2010–  In many advanced countries, the recession-induced reductions of tax revenue and increased social spending were compounded by governments taking on debt to support the banking sector. These actions brought forward sovereign debt sustainability problems in some countries, particularly in Europe.