The study looked at how government spending changes during economic downturns in the Euro area from 1995 to 2020. They found that during recessions, countries with more debt tend to make their fiscal policies more counter-cyclical. This means they spend more when the economy is doing poorly. However, the overall budget balance becomes more counter-cyclical during these times. Countries with larger governments and more open trade tend to have less counter-cyclical fiscal policies. Financial development, on the other hand, leads to more counter-cyclical fiscal policies.