Brazilian public sector disequilibrium

The Brazilian public sector disequilibrium, as measured by growth in the global net public sector debt to GDP ratio, is examined with and without the Plano Cruzado. Two models are used, one based upon a discrete time framework and the other upon a continuous time framework, to trace paths of the debt to GDP ratio for the rest of the decade concentrating on the 1985–1986 period. Two major conclusions are reached. The first, of a theoretical nature, is that discrete time models are inappropriate in an inflationary context as they severely underestimate the inflation tax. This is evidenced by the fact that without the Plano Cruzado and an assumed inflation rate of 350%, the debt to GDP ratio grows from 1985 to 1986 in the discrete time model while it declines for this period in the continuous time model. The second is that the Plano Cruzado may put strong pressure on government finances in the near future due to the drastic fall in the inflation tax. In this case, both models show an acceleration in the growth of the debt to GDP ratio, the more drastic results appearing in the continuous model. This conclusion seems to hold true even if one allows the government to trade debt for monetary base with the consequent increase in money demand due to lower inflation, to roll over its internal debt at a lower average interest rate, or to roll over its foreign debt outstanding at a lower average interest rate.     

Factors affecting the external debt-servicing capacity of African nations: An empirical investigation

While there have been a vast number of studies and international discussions on developing nations’ debt servicing capacity, not much attention has been focused on the African dimension. This article examines the determinants of debt reschedulings for forty-five African nations over the twelve-year period 1976 to 1987. A logit model of the macroeconomic variables affecting the probability of rescheduling is developed. The findings indicate that debt-service ratio, reserves to imports ratio, debt-service payments to capital inflow ratio, GDP growth rate, rate of domestic inflation, and net government deficit to GDP ratio are important indicators of debt servicing capacity. The overall results, while providing strong support for some of the often-mentioned causes of the African debt crisis, are seen to hold useful possibilities for both the debtor countries and international creditors.     

Public Debt and Economic Growth in Emerging Market Economies

This paper empirically studies the relationship between public debt and economic growth for selected emerging market economies by performing panel data estimations. The results reveal a statistically significant positive correlation between public debt and the subsequent growth rate of per capita gross domestic product (GDP). Population and investment are also positively correlated with per capita growth, whereas the initial level of real GDP per capita exerts a negative influence on growth, implying conditional convergence. Other variables such as the inflation rate, the trade balance or the exchange rate do not yield a statistically significant effect with respect to economic growth.     

Fiscal and monetary policy in a monetary union: Credible inflation targets or monetized debt?

Fiscal and Monetary Policy in a Monetary Union: Credible Inflation Targets or Monetized Debt? —The paper examines the interrelationship between fiscal and monetary policy in a two-country monetary union. The worst scenario occurs when an independent central bank sets the nominal interest rate and responds to rising government debt/GDP ratios by monetization. The result is high inflation, high debt/GDP ratios and a large public sector. Government debt and inflation are contained if the governments bear sole responsibility for solvency, but the public sector remains excessively large. The best scenario occurs if the central bank removes the incentive for the governments to engineer surprise inflation by credible inflation targeting.     

Fiscal Consolidation and the Public Sector Balance Sheet in South Africa

Between 1994 and 2008 the South African government reduced its debt/GDP ratio from almost 50% to 27%. Unfortunately this reduction was accompanied by a significant decrease in government's fixed capital/GDP ratio from 90% to 55% – fiscal sustainability might have been restored, but government's balance sheet did not improve. A similar story can be told for State Owned Enterprises. Since the Great Recession the fiscal situation worsened markedly – the public debt ratio again approaches 50%. To restore fiscal sustainability this article suggests that the government faces two options: (1) to create room for future countercyclical policy, the government must cut current expenditure and reduce the public debt/GDP ratio to its pre‐crisis level, or (2) substitute much‐needed infrastructure capital expenditure for current expenditure while stabilising the debt/GDP ratio at its post‐crisis level. Given that the much lower fixed capital/GDP ratio inhibits economic growth, the latter option might be more sensible.     

Optimal government investment and public debt in an economic growth model

This paper establishes a nonlinear theoretical model and uses panel smoothing transitional regression to study the optimal levels of government investment and public debt in a growth model using a panel dataset of 65 developed and developing economies over the period 1991–2014. The empirical results show that the effect of government investment on economic growth is decreasing as the level of expenditure rises. When the government investment/GDP ratio reaches a certain point (threshold), the effect of government investment could change from positive to negative. The effect of public debt on economic growth demonstrates a similar pattern. Our results suggest that there must exist an optimal level of government investment or public debt as far as economic growth is concerned, although the optimal level may vary in different economies. The government investment/GDP and public debt/GDP ratios of China were respectively 15.66% and 41.14% in 2014. These levels did not reach their respective thresholds and hence their effects on economic growth were still in the positive territory. Despite the expansion of government investment and public debt in China after the world financial crisis, their scales had not affected the country's economic growth during the data period.     

Japanese government debt and sustainability of fiscal policy

We construct quarterly series of the revenues, expenditures, and debt outstanding for Japan from 1980 to 2010, and analyze the sustainability of the fiscal policy. We pursue three approaches to examine the sustainability. First, we calculate the minimum tax rate that stabilizes the debt to GDP ratio given the future government expenditures. Using 2010 as the base year, we find that the government revenue to GDP ratio must rise permanently to 40–47% (from the current 33%) to stabilize the debt to GDP ratio. Second, we estimate the response of the primary surplus when the debt to GDP ratio increases. We allow the relationship to fluctuate between two “regimes” using a Markov switching model. In both regimes, the primary surplus to GDP ratio fails to respond positively to debt, which suggests the process is explosive. Finally, we estimate a fiscal policy function and a monetary policy function with Markov switching. We find that the fiscal policy is “active” (the tax revenues do not rise when the debt increases) and the monetary policy is “passive” (the interest rate does not react to the inflation rate sufficiently) in both regimes. These results suggest that the current fiscal situation for the Japanese government is not sustainable.     

On budgetary policies, growth, and external deficits in an interdependent world

We investigate the effects of budgetary policies in a two-country model of overlapping generations and endogenous growth. In the presence of capital mobility, endogenous growth rates are equalized, but output levels do not converge. A worldwide rise in the public debt to GDP ratio or the share of government consumption reduces savings and growth. A relative rise in one country's debt to GDP ratio or its GDP share of government consumption results in a fall in external assets and its relative savings rate. In the short run, the fall in the savings rate is higher, and the country experiences higher current account deficits as a percentage of GDP.     

Reducing Public Debt under Dynamic Efficiency: Transitional Dynamics in Diamond's OLG Model

Fiscal retrenchment is on the political agenda in the U.S. as well as in the EU. Utilizing Diamond's [1965] classic OLG growth model with internal debt, this paper focuses on temporarily adjusting the ratio of the primary budget surplus to GDP to achieve a target debt to GDP ratio lower than its initial level in the case of dynamic efficiency. The transitional dynamics of the debt to GDP and of the capital–output ratios are rigorously analyzed. It is shown that reducing the public debt to GDP ratio diminishes private capital intensity too.The author thanks, without implication, an anonymous referee and Laurie Conway for extremely useful advice and comments.     

Money Growth,Output Growth,and Inflation: Estimation of a Modern Quantity Theory

This paper develops a long-run version of the quantity theory of money growth, real GDP growth, and inflation. Inflation rates, averaged for the years 1980-1993, are computed for 81 countries. These cross-section inflation rates are explained almost entirely by average M2 growth rates. In countries marked by high money growth and inflation, the estimated coefficients of M2 growth are strikingly close to one, strongly confirming the quantity theory. By contrast, in countries with relatively low money growth and inflation, the estimated money growth coefficient is only 0.69; the quantity theory offers a less complete explanation of inflation. Money growth and GDP growth are nearly orthogonal, consistent with long-run monetary superneutrality. The quantity theory is a reliable model of inflation for most countries, but not for those experiencing slow long-run money growth.     

Capital flows and exchange rates: recent Korean and Taiwanese experience and challenges

We first study the characteristics of the financial crisis and its impacts on Taiwanese and Korean economies. We have examined 22 macroeconomic fundamentals, such as GDP, inflation rates, government budget, trade balance, external debt, money supply, and ratios of average monthly imports and cumulative inward portfolio investment to international reserves, and compared with an extensive data set of the two countries. The comparisons point out that the macrofundamentals of both countries are basically the same, except the international finance sector. After defining currency crisis and banking crisis, the causes of crises are identified as the nominal exchange rates and the short-term external debt-to-international reserves ratios. In view of this, we use cointegration and causality tests to examine the relationship between these two time series. We have found a unidirectional causality from the short-term debt ratio to the exchange rate for Korea, but no causality between the two for Taiwan. The paper ends with some discussions on the lessons and challenges from the experience of the two countries.     

Public debt and economic growth – economic systems matter

Most studies on the relationship between public debt and economic growth implicitly assume homogeneous debt effects across their samples. We –in accordance with recent literature– challenge this view and state that there likely is a great deal of cross-country heterogeneity in that relationship. However, other than scholars assuming that all countries are different, we expect that clusters of countries differ. We identify three country clusters with distinct economic systems: Liberal (Anglo Saxon), Continental (Core EU members) and Nordic (Scandinavian). We argue that different degrees of fiscal uncertainty at comparable levels of public debt between those economic systems constitute a major source of heterogeneity in the debt-growth relationship. Our empirical evidence supports this assumption. Continental countries face more growth reducing public debt effects than especially Liberal countries. There, public debt apparently exerts neutral or even positive growth effects, while for Nordic countries a non-linear relationship is discovered, with negative debt effects kicking in at public debt values of around 60% of GDP.     

Inflation and Economic Growth: Evidence from the Southern African Development Community

In this paper, we investigate the role of inflation rates in determining economic growth in 15 sub‐Saharan African countries, which are all members of the Southern African Development Community, between 1980 and 2009. The results, based on panel time‐series data and analysis (we use the fixed effects and fixed effects with instrumental variables estimators to account for heterogeneity and endogeneity in thin panels), suggest that inflation has had a detrimental effect to growth in the community. We highlight that inflation has offset the Mundell–Tobin effect and consequently reduced the much needed economic activity in the community, and also the importance of an institutional framework conducive to a stable macroeconomic environment as a precondition for development and prosperity in the community.     

SHOULD SOUTH AFRICA HAVE A FISCAL RULE?

Over the past three decades many countries have struggled to find solutions to their persistent public sector deficits. For some the solution to this problem seemingly became the adoption of fiscal rules. This paper considers the applicability of one such rule, namely the output‐sensitive deficit rule of Taylor, and in particular its applicability to South Africa. The paper shows that its applicability in developing countries such as South Africa might be limited due to higher output volatility that may cause output‐sensitive deficit rules such as the Taylor rule to become more volatile. Such volatility in the deficit/GDP ratio may cause fears that government may not be able to maintain the stability of the debt/GDP ratio, thereby again introducing fiscal unsustainability. To address this problem the paper augments the Taylor rule to reduce the volatility in the public debt/GDP ratio and demonstrates how these rules would have performed in South Africa. It concludes that the augmented fiscal rule might contribute to both fiscal sustainability and economic stability in South Africa.     

MEASURING THE WELFARE COST OF INFLATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

In this paper, we estimate the long‐run equilibrium relationship between money balance as a ratio of income and the Treasury bill rate for the period of 1965:02 to 2007:01, and in turn use the relationship to obtain welfare cost estimates of inflation. Using the Johansen technique, we estimate a log‐log specification and a semi‐log model of the above relationship. Based on the fits of the specifications, we decided to rely more on the welfare cost measure obtained under the log‐log money demand model. Our estimates suggest that the welfare cost of inflation for South Africa ranges between 0.34% and 0.67% of GDP, for a band of 3‐6% of inflation. Thus, it seems that the South African Reserve Bank's current inflation target band of 3‐6% is not too poorly designed in terms of welfare.     

Covid-19, Economic Growth and South African Fiscal Policy

Following years of fast-rising debt levels, we show that the Covid-19 crisis worsened an already deteriorating fiscal position in South Africa. To restore fiscal sustainability in the aftermath of the crisis some commentators argue that higher government expenditure will grow GDP sufficiently to stabilise the debt/GDP ratio. We reject this, showing that although a real increase in expenditure stimulates economic growth (a short-run, once-off effect), the public expenditure/GDP ratio exceeds the level at which an increase in the ratio positively impacts growth. We then explore the past efforts of government to maintain or restore fiscal sustainability by estimating a fiscal reaction function using a Markov-switching model. Following the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the budget, we subsequently establish the deficit, expenditure and revenue adjustments that the government will have to make to restore fiscal sustainability. Finally, we consider the merits of introducing a debt ceiling.     

Liquidity Risk and Banks' Asset Composition: Implications for Monetary Policy

Monetary growth models in which the government is a net debtor demonstrate that inflation adversely affects capital formation through the crowding out effect. Interestingly, the results are at odds with empirical evidence. In particular, recent studies point to an asymmetric relationship between inflation and the real economy across countries. Specifically, inflation and output are negatively correlated in poor countries. In contrast, inflation is associated with higher levels of economic activity in advanced economies. I present a monetary growth model with public debt, where the exposure to risk is inversely related to the level of income. In this setting, I demonstrate that the effects of monetary policy depend on the level of capital of the economy. In poor countries, banks' portfolios consist primarily of government liabilities. Therefore, a higher rate of money creation inhibits capital formation in these economies. In contrast, banks devote more resources toward productive uses in advanced countries. Consequently, monetary policy generates a Tobin effect.     

The canadian fiscal problem: The macroeconomic connection

Canada's public sector debt has increased from 5 percent of GDP in 1974 to 64 percent in 1994 on national accounts. The paper provides a summary assessment of the relative contributions of changes in taxation, program spending, interest rates, and economic growth and fluctuations to this explosion of public debt. By far the most important source of debt accumulation has been the anti-inflationary recessions of 1982 and 1990. Higher world interest rates and slower trend productivity growth have been significant, but secondary contributing factors. Lax spending has definitely not been a net source of debt over the period.     

The Global Setting and African Economic Growth

This paper reviews the evidence on the importance of the globalsetting for the economic growth of African economies, particularlyin the light of the increasing salience of globalisation. Althoughexport promotion strategies are found to be growth enhancingfor African economies, available evidence suggests that it isthe manufacturing component that really seems to matter. Theglobal-related factors with adverse effects include terms oftrade deterioration, economic instabilities of capital (investment)and imports, high world interest rates, real exchange rate misalignment,diminishing external aid flows into countries with sound policies,large external debt and high export taxes. The World Trade Organisationframework also matters for the growth prospects of African countries.The current time-bound exemptions accorded most African countriesunder the framework are steps in the right direction.     

Do Remittances Induce Inflation? Fresh Evidence from Developing Countries

The goal of this article is to examine the determinants of inflation in both the short run and the long run for 54 developing countries using a panel data set covering the 1995–2004 period. Apart from the commonly used economic determinants of inflation, we model the impact of remittances and institutional variables on inflation. Using the Arellano and Bond panel dynamic estimator and the Arellano and Bover and the Blundell and Bond system generalized method of moments estimator, we find evidence that in developing countries remittances generate inflation. The effect of remittances on inflation is more pronounced in the long run. Moreover, we find that openness, debt, current account deficits, the agricultural sector, and the short‐term U.S. interest rate have a positive effect on inflation. We also find that improvements in democracy reduce inflation.