Monetary policy,bond returns and debt dynamics

Using the government׳s intertemporal budget constraint, we quantify the contribution of returns paid on the U.S. government׳s debt portfolio to the evolution of the debt-to-GDP ratio. We show that announcements of unconventional monetary policy measures by the Federal Reserve between 2008.IV and 2012, as a part of macroeconomic stabilization, were associated with a sizable increase in returns and debt-to-GDP ratios and contributed to fiscal imbalances. We use the Federal Reserve׳s portfolio composition as a proxy for unconventional monetary policy measures and show that it is significantly related to future bond returns and fiscal balances.     

Is fiscal consolidation self-defeating? A panel-VAR analysis for the Euro area countries

This paper studies the effects of fiscal consolidation on the debt-to-GDP ratio of 11 Euro area countries over the period 2000Q1-2012Q1. Using a quarterly Panel VAR allows us to trace out the dynamics of the debt-to-GDP ratio following a fiscal shock and to disentangle the main channels through which fiscal consolidation affects the debt ratio. We define a fiscal consolidation episode as self-defeating if the level of the debt-to-GDP ratio does not decrease compared to the pre-shock level. Our main finding is that when consolidation is implemented via a cut in government primary spending, the debt ratio, after an initial increase, falls to below its pre-shock level. When instead the consolidation is implemented via an increase in government revenues, the initial increase in the debt ratio is stronger and, eventually, the debt ratio reverts to its pre-shock level, resulting in what we call self-defeating consolidation.     

Fiscal policy and financial market movements

This paper estimates fiscal policy reaction function in order to investigate the links between financial market movements and fiscal policy outcomes. An increase in asset prices affects in a positive and significant manner primary balances, with the response reflecting both an increase in government revenues and a fall in government spending. The most important impact on fiscal balances is due to changes in residential property prices. Changes in equity and commercial property prices are also important determinants of fiscal balances. Our findings suggest that the steepening of the slope of the yield curve contributes to expenditure based fiscal discipline.     

Twin deficits and the sustainability of public debt and exchange rate policies in Lebanon

This paper examines empirically using time series econometric models the sustainability of public debt and exchange rate policies, as well as, the relationship between current account and budget deficits in the emerging small open economy of Lebanon. The empirical results point to unsustainable debt and exchange rate policies. Other empirical results support the existence of a uni-directional causal relationship, in the short run, between the budget and current account deficits, indicating that rising fiscal deficits have started to put even more strain on the current account deficits and on the national public debt. To avoid a future depreciation of the exchange rate and perhaps a fiscal and currency crises, the government will have to timely introduce austerity measures to curb the negative implications of its rising budget and current account deficits and debt on Lebanon's economy.     

我国财政赤字与经常项目动态关系的实证分析

本文采用Granger因果检验和脉冲反应函数计量技术,对我国财政赤字与经常项目之间的动态关系进行实证检验,结果表明,存在从财政赤字到经常项目的Granger单向因果关系,财政赤字的增加长期内会改善经常项目收支状况.进一步分析表明,财政赤字与经常项目顺差并存是我国改革开放以来特殊政策环境下形成的,并且随着我国宏观调控逐步由扩张性的积极财政政策转向中性财政政策,政府应密切关注财政政策的变化对经常项目的影响.     

Fiscal deficits and inflation

Macroeconomic theory postulates that persistent fiscal deficits are inflationary. Yet empirical research has had limited success in uncovering this relationship. This paper reexamines the issue in light of broader data and a new modeling approach that incorporates two key features of the theory. Unlike previous studies, we model inflation as non-linearly related to fiscal deficits through the inflation tax base and estimate this relationship as intrinsically dynamic, using panel techniques that explicitly distinguish between short- and long-run effects of fiscal deficits. Results spanning 107 countries over 1960-2001 show a strong positive association between deficits and inflation among high-inflation and developing country groups, but not among low-inflation advanced economies.     

Fiscal policy and external adjustment: New evidence

Relatively little empirical evidence exists about countries' external adjustment to changes in fiscal policy and, in particular, to changes in taxes. This paper addresses this question by measuring the effects of tax and government spending shocks on the current account and the real exchange rate in a sample of four industrialized countries. Our analysis is based on a structural vector autoregression in which the interaction of fiscal variables and macroeconomic aggregates is left unrestricted. Identification is instead achieved by exploiting the conditional heteroscedasticity of the structural disturbances. Three main findings emerge: (i) the data provide little support for the twin-deficit hypothesis, (ii) the estimated effects of unexpected tax cuts are generally inconsistent with the predictions of standard economic models, except for the US, and (iii) the puzzling real depreciation triggered by an expansionary public spending shock is substantially larger in magnitude than predicted by traditional identification approaches.     

A modern history of fiscal prudence and profligacy

Drawing on a newly collected historical dataset of fiscal stocks and flows, we analyze the determinants of variation, both across countries and over time, in how fiscal policy responds to increases in the government debt-to-GDP ratio. The fiscal data comprise revenues, primary expenditures, interest bill, and government debt for 55 countries for up to two hundred years. The policy response (increase in the primary fiscal balance in response to debt increases) is found to be significantly weaker when sovereign borrowing costs are low, inflation is high, and potential economic growth worsens unexpectedly. These results are robust to political factors.     

Rational expectations and the effects of government debt

This paper incorporates the effects of government debt into a standard rational expectations macroeconomic model. Due to limited current information, even when the most extreme propositions about fiscal neutrality are true, there are output and interest rate effects of unanticipated changes in government debt. Therefore the observation of a positive correlation between government deficits and output or interest rates does not imply that government bonds are net wealth.     

How to Handle the Fiscal Crisis in Greece: Empirical Evidence Based on a Survey of Economic Experts

We asked economic experts polled by the CESifo World Economic Survey how to handle the fiscal crisis in Greece in the year 2015. The sample includes about 850 experts from 110 countries. We find systematic differences in experts’ recommendations. Our results suggest that policy advice is related to an expert's personal and country‐level attributes. Country‐level characteristics, especially credit default swaps as a measure of fiscal stability, predict views on whether Greece should exit the eurozone. An expert's educational background, age and professional affiliation predict opinions on the credit programmes of the International Monetary Fund. We propose that policymakers who seek balanced policy advice should consult experts from different countries and personal backgrounds.     

Current accounts in the euro area: An intertemporal approach

Current accounts have diverged substantially among euro area countries since the creation of the euro. This divergence has raised concerns about the sustainability of some member countries’ external indebtedness. This paper uses an intertemporal model of the current account to analyze the fluctuations in current account balances experienced by euro area countries over the last three decades and to disentangle its determinants. We find that the model is not rejected for six of the ten euro area countries examined (Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain), although it tends to underestimate their current account volatility. For these countries, we derive the expectations about future income and relative prices, which, according to the model, underlie their current account balances. Expectations about future growth increased in all Southern European countries at the creation of the euro, but they diverged considerably by 2005. While in Portugal these expectations were below its historical mean by then, in Spain they were at an historical high.     

Making the Stability Pact More Flexible: Does It Lead to Pro‐Cyclical Fiscal Policies?*

One of the often‐discussed negative aspects of the Stability and Growth Pact is the rigidity of its deficit rule. Several reform proposals aim currently to alleviate the rule in order to allow the automatic stabilisers to operate freely. However, such a reform is likely to cause even further deterioration of fiscal balances in the EMU member countries. The empirical evidence presented in this paper shows that, in the past, increasing the structural deficit had a strong negative impact on the degree of anti‐cyclical fiscal stabilisation. This suggests that the reform of the Pact, through higher structural deficits, could decrease rather than increase the scope of anti‐cyclical fiscal actions in the EMU member countries.     

Exchange Rate Crises and Fiscal Solvency

This paper combines insights from generation one currency crisis models and the fiscal theory of the price level (FTPL) to create a dynamic FTPL model of currency crises. The initial fixed‐exchange‐rate policy entails risks due to an upper bound on government debt and stochastic surplus shocks. Agents refuse to lend into a position for which the value of debt exceeds the present value of expected future surpluses. Policy switching, usually combined with currency depreciation, restores fiscal solvency and lending. This model can explain a wide variety of crises, including those involving sovereign default. We illustrate by explaining the crisis in Argentina (2001).     

Spending Reversals and Fiscal Multipliers under an Interest Rate Peg

This paper examines whether fiscal stimuli are more effective when the monetary policy is less responsive to inflation. First, we provide empirical evidence suggesting that, in the period of U.S. passive monetary policy, a positive government spending shock was followed over time by a spending cut. Second, our theoretical analysis reveals that the pegged nominal interest rate is not a sufficient condition to generate a large fiscal multiplier. An increase in government spending could increase the long‐run real interest rate, if it is associated with a government spending reversal and a less responsive monetary policy. Consequently, the response of private consumption can be negative and the government spending multiplier is not necessarily greater than 1.     

External Debt, Inflation, and the Public Sector: Toward Fiscal Policy for Sustainable Growth

Which tradeoffs are involved in formulating an external debtstrategy? Should expenditure be cut to improve the current account,or will this reduce future output growth, thus undermining thebenefits of any debt reduction? Are there alternatives thatallow satisfactory output growth without jeopardizing creditworthiness?How can the necessary surplus of savings over investment bebrought about at levels of investment high enough to sustainoutput growth? Should the government contribute to the internal adjustmentby reducing its deficit? Macroeconomic targets for inflationand growth, and creditworthiness constraints on debt issue,impose restrictions on the extent to which deficits can be financed.Can the government cover the deficit within these targets andconstraints? The absence of such consistency forebodes futurepolicy change and so undermines the credibility of the adjustmentprogram. The author uses empirical work on Turkey to illustratethe interactions between fiscal deficits and the macroeconomicvariables upon which fiscal consistency hinges.     

政府间收入分成与财政收入预算偏离

降低收入决算和预算之间的偏离程度是现代预算制度的基本要求,长期以来,中国政府的收入预算偏离一直处于高位运行状态。本文研究了政府间财政收入分成对收入预算偏离的影响。理论上,财政收入分成的上升会对下级政府产生减小财政压力和加大财政扩张两种截然相反的影响,前者会减少政府的收入预算偏离,而后者则会扩大收入预算偏离。运用市县层面加总的预决算数据,实证分析较为稳健地支持了财政压力机制:财政收入分成降低1个百分点,收入预算偏离会增加0.3个百分点。进一步分析表明,收入分成对预算偏离的影响相比市县级,在省本级层面不显著,并且其对预算偏离的影响会随着经济发展水平的上升而降低。本文研究的现实意义是,政府间收入划分的改革方案要兼顾长期稳定性与财力支持性,这对于降低收入预算偏离、推进现代预算制度建设和国家治理现代化具有重要作用。     

The chicken or the egg? A note on the dynamic interrelation between government bond spreads and credit default swaps

This note provides the first empirical assessment of the dynamic interrelation between government bond spreads and their associated credit default swaps (CDS). We use data for the Southern European countries (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) that found themselves with a problematic public sector in the dawn of the recent financial distress. We find that CDS prices Granger-cause government bond spreads after the eruption of the 2007 sub-prime crisis. Feedback causality is detected during periods of financial and economic turmoil, thereby indicating that high risk aversion tends to perplex the transmission mechanism between CDS prices and government bond spreads.     

Government finance in the wake of currency crises

We address three questions: (i) Can classical models be reconciled with the fact that many crises are marked by high rates of depreciation and small increases in seignorage revenue? (ii) What are the implications of different financing methods for post-crisis rates of inflation and depreciation? (iii) How do governments pay for the fiscal costs associated with currency crises? To study these questions we use a general equilibrium model in which prospective government deficits trigger a currency crisis. We then use our model in conjunction with fiscal data to interpret government financing in the wake of three recent currency crises: Korea (1997), Mexico (1994) and Turkey (2001).     

An analysis of currency crisis in South Korea

This paper provides empirical evidence on the causes and timing of the 1997 currency crisis in South Korea. A persistent weakness in the economic fundamentals through out much of the pre-crisis period created necessary conditions for the crisis. However, the timing of the currency crisis was determined by a unique combination of an unprecedented increase in default risk faced by the banking system and a decrease in foreign exchange reserves (FXRES) that restricted the ability of the government to bail out. A VAR model identifies two important variables that were crucial in triggering the currency crisis. One is the ratio of dishonored bills (DS) that measures default risk and serves as a proxy for the market value of banks. The other is FXRES that measures the strength of the government's bailout policies. Estimates from a vector autoregressive (VAR) model confirm a strong impact of the lagged changes in the ratio of DS and FXRES on the current changes in the won's value. Immediately before the November crisis, the ratio of DS reached an all-time high while reserves dropped to 1-month imports. These developments significantly contributed to the negative expectations resulting in a massive capital outflow followed by a drastic devaluation of the currency.     

Population Ageing,Fiscal Pressure and Tax Smoothing: A CGE Application to Australia*

This paper analyses the fiscal pressure from population ageing using an intertemporal CGE model, applied to Australia, and compares the results with those of a recent government‐commissioned study. The latter study uses an alternative modelling approach based on extrapolation rather than optimising behaviour of consumers and firms. The deadweight losses from the fiscal pressure caused by population ageing are equivalent to an annual loss of consumption of $260 per person per year in 2003 dollars in the balanced‐budget scenario. A feasible degree of tax smoothing would reduce this welfare loss by an equivalent of $70 per person per year. Unlike the extrapolation‐based model, the CGE approach takes account of feedback effects of ageing‐induced tax increases on consumption and labour supply, which in turn impact on the ultimate magnitude of fiscal pressure and therefore tax increases. However, a counterfactual simulation suggests that the difference in terms of deadweight losses between the two modelling approaches is modest, at about $30 per person per year.