Essays on Optimal Fiscal Policy in a Small Open Economy [microform]

Essays on Optimal Fiscal Policy in a Small Open Economy [microform]
Author: Constantine Angyridis
Publisher: Library and Archives Canada = Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2005
Genre:
ISBN: 9780494027738

In the final essay, I utilize the model developed in the previous one, in order to further investigate the effect of lending and borrowing constraints on the government's implemented fiscal policy. It is demonstrated that the transition from a balanced-budget policy regime to one in which the government is allowed to borrow and lend in order to smooth taxes across time generates significant welfare gains. However, these gains diminish as the persistence of the stochastic process for government expenditures increases. Under a particular assumption regarding the determination of asset prices in the model, it is shown that compared to the two previous policy regimes, overall welfare can be improved upon further if the government is allowed to issue state-contingent debt. This thesis consists of three essays on the conduct of optimal fiscal policy in the context of a stochastic small open economy. In all cases, the model employed to conduct the analysis is characterized by an asymmetry between the government and the representative household with respect to their accessibility to financial markets. In particular, the government is allowed to borrow and lend at a risk-free interest rate, while the household is assumed to have access to complete financial markets. The first essay discusses the restrictions that need to be placed in the presence of shocks to technology on the specification of the production and utility functions, in order for the optimal tax rate on capital income to be zero in all periods (except the initial one). The second essay considers an environment similar to that in Aiyagari et al. (2002) for a closed economy, with no capital and stochastic government expenditures. Using the same parameterization as these authors, it is shown that assuming away market completeness with respect to the public sector of the economy only, is sufficient to yield equilibrium outcomes that are consistent with Barro's (1979) "tax smoothing" result.

Essays on Monetary and Fiscal Policy Interactions in Small Open Economies

Essays on Monetary and Fiscal Policy Interactions in Small Open Economies
Author: Thitima Chucherd
Publisher:
Total Pages: 474
Release: 2013
Genre: Fiscal policy
ISBN:

This thesis addresses interactions between monetary and fiscal policies in a theoretical dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model of a small open economy and in an empirical model under a structural vector error correction model (SVECM). The thesis consists of three essays. The contribution is both theoretical and empirical that enables a better understanding of the complexity of interactions between monetary and fiscal policies in small open economies. The first essay examines the equilibrium determinacy under monetary and fiscal rules. The goal is to investigate how monetary and fiscal policy interactions ensure a unique and non-explosive (determinate) equilibrium for a small open economy. The study focuses when policy makers implement a set of policy mixes to address domestic output price inflation control for monetary policy, debt stabilization for fiscal policy, and joint output stabilization tasks. The result indicates that two policy schemes facilitate a determinate equilibrium. First, monetary policy actively controls inflation when fiscal policy sets a sufficient feedback on debt. Second, monetary policy becomes passive against inflation when fiscal policy is insolvent. Adding output stabilization to each rule simply causes variants of this fundamental. An interest rate rule with output stabilization can be more passive against inflation while providing a stronger response to the output gap. Fiscal policy is required to set higher feedback on debt along with its stronger counter-cyclical policy. The second essay links between the equilibrium determinacy and policy optimization. This essay provides insights into the design of policy mixes and compares determinacy outcomes between two theoretical models of a small open economy: with and without an explicit exchange rate role. This study shows that policy interactions in a small open economy with an endogenous exchange rate is quite sophisticated, especially when a monetary rule is added with an output stabilization task and/or targeted to Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation. Additional concern for monetary policy in an open economy causes a partial offset to its reaction on domestic output price inflation that weakens its effect on the real debt burden. To minimize economic fluctuations, policy makers should mute the role of output stabilization for monetary policy, and set minimum feedback on debt that is compatible with the degree of counter-cyclical fiscal policy. Substantially active response to inflation is satisfactory for monetary policy with CPI inflation targeting. The third essay empirically presents monetary and fiscal policy interactions in Thailand's SVECM suggested by a theoretical DSGE model developed from the previous essays. This essay shows that the DSGE-SVECM model can be supported by Thai data. A shock to monetary policy is effective with a lag. Government spending policy is also effective with a lag and some crowding-out effects on output. An adverse shock in tax policy unexpectedly stimulates the economy, indicating room for enhancing economic growth by relaxing revenue constraint. Monetary policy is mainly implemented to correct a consequence of a fiscal shock on inflation (and also the domestic and foreign shocks), while fiscal policy appears to counter a consequence of the monetary policy shock on output.

Monetary Integration

Monetary Integration
Author: Warner Max Corden
Publisher: Princeton, N.J. : International Finance Section, Princeton University
Total Pages: 58
Release: 1972
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Science, the Endless Frontier

Science, the Endless Frontier
Author: Vannevar Bush
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 186
Release: 2021-02-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 069120165X

The classic case for why government must support science—with a new essay by physicist and former congressman Rush Holt on what democracy needs from science today Science, the Endless Frontier is recognized as the landmark argument for the essential role of science in society and government’s responsibility to support scientific endeavors. First issued when Vannevar Bush was the director of the US Office of Scientific Research and Development during the Second World War, this classic remains vital in making the case that scientific progress is necessary to a nation’s health, security, and prosperity. Bush’s vision set the course for US science policy for more than half a century, building the world’s most productive scientific enterprise. Today, amid a changing funding landscape and challenges to science’s very credibility, Science, the Endless Frontier resonates as a powerful reminder that scientific progress and public well-being alike depend on the successful symbiosis between science and government. This timely new edition presents this iconic text alongside a new companion essay from scientist and former congressman Rush Holt, who offers a brief introduction and consideration of what society needs most from science now. Reflecting on the report’s legacy and relevance along with its limitations, Holt contends that the public’s ability to cope with today’s issues—such as public health, the changing climate and environment, and challenging technologies in modern society—requires a more capacious understanding of what science can contribute. Holt considers how scientists should think of their obligation to society and what the public should demand from science, and he calls for a renewed understanding of science’s value for democracy and society at large. A touchstone for concerned citizens, scientists, and policymakers, Science, the Endless Frontier endures as a passionate articulation of the power and potential of science.

Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning

Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning
Author: Carl Patton
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2015-08-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317350006

Updated in its 3rd edition, Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning presents quickly applied methods for analyzing and resolving planning and policy issues at state, regional, and urban levels. Divided into two parts, Methods which presents quick methods in nine chapters and is organized around the steps in the policy analysis process, and Cases which presents seven policy cases, ranging in degree of complexity, the text provides readers with the resources they need for effective policy planning and analysis. Quantitative and qualitative methods are systematically combined to address policy dilemmas and urban planning problems. Readers and analysts utilizing this text gain comprehensive skills and background needed to impact public policy.

Firm Innovation and Productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean

Firm Innovation and Productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean
Author: Inter-American Development Bank
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2016-07-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1349581518

This volume uses the study of firm dynamics to investigate the factors preventing faster productivity growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, pushing past the limits of traditional macroeconomic analyses. Each chapter is dedicated to an examination of a different factor affecting firm productivity - innovation, ICT usage, on-the-job-training, firm age, access to credit, and international linkages - highlighting the differences in firm characteristics, behaviors, and strategies. By showcasing this remarkable heterogeneity, this collection challenges regional policymakers to look beyond one-size-fits-all solutions and create balanced policy mixes tailored to distinct firm needs. This book is open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO license.

Theoretical Issues in International Borrowing

Theoretical Issues in International Borrowing
Author: Jeffrey Sachs
Publisher:
Total Pages: 68
Release: 1983
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

The current crisis in international lending points up a lesson re-learned several times in the past 150 years: the international loan markets function very differently from the textbook model of competitive lending. This paper discusses various extensions of the basic model. First, we amend the textbook model to show how limitations on a government'staxing authority may greatly affect its optimal borrowing strategy. Second, we explore the implications of adebtor country's option to repudiate debt. Third, we show that efficient lending may require collective actions by bank syndicates, and that a breakdown in collective action can result in serious inefficiencies and even financial panics.