The Limits of Fiscal Policy

The Limits of Fiscal Policy

Author: Anthony J. Makin

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-05-24

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 3319901583

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This book presents alternative macroeconomic perspectives, primarily open economy, on the limitations of discretionary fiscal policy, with a focus on government spending. Following an overview on the post-crisis Keynesian revival and of the macro-foundations needed for subsequent analysis, different perspectives are expounded that highlight the failings of fiscal activism. These perspectives include extended loanable funds analysis, an expenditure-output related model incorporating money and exchange rates, and a dependent economy framework. The approaches are used to examine investment and net export crowding out effects and their implications for national income, and are then adapted to show the macroeconomic impact of different fiscal consolidation measures, revealing that the nature of fiscal repair is critical. A concluding chapter evaluates the nexus between budgetary policy and confidence, summarises the key failings of fiscal activism, and suggests fiscal policy goals. The book will appeal to university lecturers and researchers in macroeconomics and economists working in government and the private sector.


Fiscal Policy and Long-Term Growth

Fiscal Policy and Long-Term Growth

Author: International Monetary Fund

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2015-04-20

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1498344658

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This paper explores how fiscal policy can affect medium- to long-term growth. It identifies the main channels through which fiscal policy can influence growth and distills practical lessons for policymakers. The particular mix of policy measures, however, will depend on country-specific conditions, capacities, and preferences. The paper draws on the Fund’s extensive technical assistance on fiscal reforms as well as several analytical studies, including a novel approach for country studies, a statistical analysis of growth accelerations following fiscal reforms, and simulations of an endogenous growth model.


Fiscal Policy, Stabilization, and Growth

Fiscal Policy, Stabilization, and Growth

Author: Guillermo E. Perry

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2007-10-19

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 0821370855

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Fiscal policy in Latin America has been guided primarily by short-term liquidity targets whose observance was taken as the main exponent of fiscal prudence, with attention focused almost exclusively on the levels of public debt and the cash deficit. Very little attention was paid to the effects of fiscal policy on growth and on macroeconomic volatility over the cycle. Important issues such as the composition of public expenditures (and its effects on growth), the ability of fiscal policy to stabilize cyclical fluctuations, and the currency composition of public debt were largely neglected. As a result, fiscal policy has often amplified cyclical volatility and dampened growth. 'Fiscal Policy, Stabilization, and Growth' explores the conduct of fiscal policy in Latin America and its consequences for macroeconomic stability and long-term growth. In particular, the book highlights the procyclical and anti-investment biases embedded in the region's fiscal policies, explores their causes and macroeconomic consequences, and asesses their possible solutions.


Limits Of Fiscal, Monetary, And Trade Policies, The: International Comparisons And Solutions

Limits Of Fiscal, Monetary, And Trade Policies, The: International Comparisons And Solutions

Author: Jonathan Edward Leightner

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2014-09-05

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 981457189X

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Sixteen countries across the world — including the United States and many European nations — have fallen into economic crises since the late 1990s. In The Limits of Fiscal, Monetary, and Trade Policies: International Comparisons and Solutions, Jonathan E Leightner convincingly argues that the fundamental cause of the global malaise is a surplus of savings. He provides compelling evidence (via statistical estimates) that fiscal, monetary, and trade policies cannot solve the resulting problems since their effectiveness has plummeted. Leightner also shows that the solution to the current global economic woes is a “consumption driven growth model” (which China advocates but has yet to fully implement) because when there is insufficient consumption, excess savings will remain idle, seek a return from rent or deception, or fund speculative bubbles.


Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis

Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis

Author: Alberto Alesina

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2013-06-25

Total Pages: 596

ISBN-13: 022601844X

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The recent recession has brought fiscal policy back to the forefront, with economists and policy makers struggling to reach a consensus on highly political issues like tax rates and government spending. At the heart of the debate are fiscal multipliers, whose size and sensitivity determine the power of such policies to influence economic growth. Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis focuses on the effects of fiscal stimuli and increased government spending, with contributions that consider the measurement of the multiplier effect and its size. In the face of uncertainty over the sustainability of recent economic policies, further contributions to this volume discuss the merits of alternate means of debt reduction through decreased government spending or increased taxes. A final section examines how the short-term political forces driving fiscal policy might be balanced with aspects of the long-term planning governing monetary policy. A direct intervention in timely debates, Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis offers invaluable insights about various responses to the recent financial crisis.


Coordination of Monetary and Fiscal Policies

Coordination of Monetary and Fiscal Policies

Author: International Monetary Fund

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 1998-03-01

Total Pages: 33

ISBN-13: 1451844239

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Recently, monetary authorities have increasingly focused on implementing policies to ensure price stability and strengthen central bank independence. Simultaneously, in the fiscal area, market development has allowed public debt managers to focus more on cost minimization. This “divorce” of monetary and debt management functions in no way lessens the need for effective coordination of monetary and fiscal policy if overall economic performance is to be optimized and maintained in the long term. This paper analyzes these issues based on a review of the relevant literature and of country experiences from an institutional and operational perspective.


The Fiscal Smile

The Fiscal Smile

Author: Maria Antoinette Silgoner

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2003-09-01

Total Pages: 30

ISBN-13: 1451859287

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We study the smoothing impact of fiscal stabilizers (proxied by government expenditures or revenues) on business cycle volatility for a panel of EU countries in the period 1970-99. The results show that the business cycle volatility smoothing effect of fiscal stabilizers may revert at high levels. We present evidence that for government expenditure ratios exceeding an estimated value of about 38 percent, a further expansion in the size of the government could actually lead to an increase in cyclical volatility. This may call for a reconsideration of the use of fiscal stabilizers for business cycle smoothing.


The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level

The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level

Author: John H. Cochrane

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2023-01-17

Total Pages: 585

ISBN-13: 0691243247

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A comprehensive account of how government deficits and debt drive inflation Where do inflation and deflation ultimately come from? The fiscal theory of the price level offers a simple answer: Prices adjust so that the real value of government debt equals the present value of taxes less spending. Inflation breaks out when people don’t expect the government to fully repay its debts. The fiscal theory is well suited to today’s economy: Financial innovation undermines money demand, and central banks don’t control the money supply or aggressively change interest rates, invalidating classic theories, while large debts and deficits threaten inflation and constrain monetary policy. This book presents a comprehensive account of this important theory from one of its leading developers and advocates. John Cochrane aims to make fiscal theory useful as a conceptual framework and modeling tool, and for analyzing history and policy. He merges fiscal theory with standard models in which central banks set interest rates, giving a novel account of monetary policy. He generalizes the theory to explain data and make realistic predictions. For example, inflation decreases in recessions despite deficits because discount rates fall, raising the value of debt; specifying that governments promise to partially repay debt avoids classic puzzles and allows the theory to apply at all times, not just during periods of high inflation. Cochrane offers an extensive rethinking of monetary doctrines and institutions through the eyes of fiscal theory, and analyzes the era of zero interest rates and post-pandemic inflation. Filled with research by Cochrane and others, The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level offers important new insights about fiscal and monetary policy.


The Deficit Myth

The Deficit Myth

Author: Stephanie Kelton

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 2020-06-09

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 1541736206

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A New York Times Bestseller The leading thinker and most visible public advocate of modern monetary theory -- the freshest and most important idea about economics in decades -- delivers a radically different, bold, new understanding for how to build a just and prosperous society. Stephanie Kelton's brilliant exploration of modern monetary theory (MMT) dramatically changes our understanding of how we can best deal with crucial issues ranging from poverty and inequality to creating jobs, expanding health care coverage, climate change, and building resilient infrastructure. Any ambitious proposal, however, inevitably runs into the buzz saw of how to find the money to pay for it, rooted in myths about deficits that are hobbling us as a country. Kelton busts through the myths that prevent us from taking action: that the federal government should budget like a household, that deficits will harm the next generation, crowd out private investment, and undermine long-term growth, and that entitlements are propelling us toward a grave fiscal crisis. MMT, as Kelton shows, shifts the terrain from narrow budgetary questions to one of broader economic and social benefits. With its important new ways of understanding money, taxes, and the critical role of deficit spending, MMT redefines how to responsibly use our resources so that we can maximize our potential as a society. MMT gives us the power to imagine a new politics and a new economy and move from a narrative of scarcity to one of opportunity.