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Debt-dependent effects of fiscal expansions

Author

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  • Bi, Huixin
  • Shen, Wenyi
  • Yang, Shu-Chun S.
Abstract
Economists often postulate that fiscal expansions are less stimulative when government debt is high than when it is low. Empirical evidence, however, is ambiguous. Using a nonlinear neoclassical growth model, we show that the difference in government spending effects between high- and low-debt environments depends on the wealth effect on labor supply and on whether the government uses taxes or spending to retire debt. Because of interrelated state variables, structural VAR estimations conditioning on debt alone can fail to isolate debt-dependent effects. Also, uncertainty on when the government will conduct fiscal consolidations generates wide confidence bands for spending multipliers, further complicating efforts to estimate debt-dependent government spending effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Bi, Huixin & Shen, Wenyi & Yang, Shu-Chun S., 2016. "Debt-dependent effects of fiscal expansions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 142-157.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:88:y:2016:i:c:p:142-157
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2016.04.001
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jackson, Laura E. & Owyang, Michael T. & Zubairy, Sarah, 2018. "Debt and stabilization policy: Evidence from a Euro Area FAVAR," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 67-91.
    3. Han, Zhao, 2021. "Low-frequency fiscal uncertainty," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 639-657.
    4. Shen, Wenyi & Yang, Shu-Chun S. & Zanna, Luis-Felipe, 2018. "Government spending effects in low-income countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 201-219.
    5. Yasuharu Iwata & Hirokuni IIboshi, 2023. "The Nexus between Public Debt and the Government Spending Multiplier: Fiscal Adjustments Matter," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 85(4), pages 830-858, August.
    6. Fotiou, Alexandra & Shen, Wenyi & Yang, Shu-Chun S., 2020. "The fiscal state-dependent effects of capital income tax cuts," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    7. Amendola, Adalgiso & Di Serio, Mario & Fragetta, Matteo & Melina, Giovanni, 2020. "The euro-area government spending multiplier at the effective lower bound," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    8. Huixin Bi & Wenyi Shen & Shu‐Chun S. Yang, 2022. "Fiscal implications of interest rate normalization in the United States," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(2), pages 868-904, May.
    9. Germaschewski, Yin & Wang, Shu-Ling, 2022. "Fiscal stabilization in high-debt economies without monetary independence," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    10. Kollmann, Robert & Leeper, Eric & Roeger, Werner, 2016. "The Post-Crisis Slump," MPRA Paper 71291, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Chang, Juin-Jen & Kuo, Chun-Hung & Lin, Hsieh-Yu & Yang, Shu-Chun S., 2023. "Share buybacks and corporate tax cuts," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    12. Daniel Loureiro & Oscar Afonso & Paulo B. Vasconcelos, 2024. "Global directed technical change model with fiscal and monetary policies, and public debt," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1-57, April.
    13. Mao, Ruoyun & Shen, Wenyi & Yang, Shu-Chun S., 2023. "Uncertain policy regimes and government spending effects," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    14. Liu, Siming, 2022. "Government spending during sudden stop crises," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    15. Li, Rong & Wei, Ning, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and government spending multipliers," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    16. Bergant, Katharina & Forbes, Kristin, 2023. "Policy packages and policy space: Lessons from COVID-19☆," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    17. Shen, Wenyi & Yang, Shu-Chun S., 2018. "Downward nominal wage rigidity and state-dependent government spending multipliers," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 11-26.
    18. Mindaugas Butkus & Diana Cibulskiene & Lina Garsviene & Janina Seputiene, 2021. "The Heterogeneous Public Debt–Growth Relationship: The Role of the Expenditure Multiplier," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-22, April.
    19. IIBOSHI, Hirokuni & IWATA, Yasuharu, 2023. "The Nexus between Public Debt and the Government Spending Multiplier: Fiscal Adjustments Matter," MPRA Paper 116347, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Gonzalo F. de-Córdoba & Benedetto Molinari & José L. Torres, 2021. "Public Debt Frontier: A Python Toolkit for Analyzing Public Debt Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-25, November.
    21. El Mostafa Bentour, 2022. "The effects of public debt accumulation and business cycle on government spending multipliers," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(19), pages 2231-2256, April.
    22. Swapan-Kumar Pradhan & Elod Takats & Judit Temesvary, "undated". "How does fiscal policy affect the transmission of monetary policy into cross-border bank lending? Cross-country evidence," BIS Working Papers 1226, Bank for International Settlements.
    23. Méndez-Vizcaíno, Juan Camilo & Moreno-Arias, Nicolás, 2023. "Constraints or Opportunities?: Labor Informality and Public Investment in Shaping Debt Limits," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 13049, Inter-American Development Bank.
    24. Iwata, Yasuharu & Iiboshi, Hirokuni, 2020. "Fiscal Adjustments and Debt-Dependent Multipliers: Evidence from the U.S. Time Series," Discussion paper series HIAS-E-103, Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University.
    25. Ma, Yong & Lv, Lin, 2022. "Money, debt, and the effects of fiscal stimulus," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 152-178.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Debt-dependent government spending effect; State-dependent fiscal policy effects; Fiscal multipliers; Fiscal uncertainty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H30 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - General
    • H60 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - General

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