Government deficits and debt

 Government deficits are sensitive to the economic cycle as well as to government taxation and spending policies. For the OECD as a whole, deficits as a percentage of GDP reached a peak in 1993 but then fell steadily over the next six years and had turned into surpluses (net lending) at the peak of the economic cycle in 2000. Since then, deficits have been growing and the deficit to GDP ratio had become high in 2003 for most of the larger member countries including France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and, especially, Japan. In 2004-2005 the deficit to GDP ratios were reduced in most countries with the exception of Hungary, Italy and Portugal. In the run-up to monetary union, EU countries that expected to adopt the euro followed fiscal policies aimed at reducing government deficits. Deficit reduction policies were successfully implemented in several other countries, including New Zealand