Fiscal Policy and the External Deficit

Fiscal Policy and the External Deficit
Author: John F. Helliwell
Publisher:
Total Pages: 52
Release: 1990
Genre: Balance of payments
ISBN:

This paper first surveys a number of partial and macroeconomic approaches to the determination of the current account, and then summarizes the evidence from multicountry economic models about the linkages between U.S. government spending and the U.S. current account during the 1 980s. The available evidence from a large number of multicountry models suggests that the U.S. fiscal policy of the first half of the 1980s was responsible for about half of the buildup in the external deficit, and that the accumulated net foreign debt is about 500 billion dollars higher than it would have been without the fiscal expansion.

Fiscal Limits, External Debt, and Fiscal Policy in Developing Countries

Fiscal Limits, External Debt, and Fiscal Policy in Developing Countries
Author: Huixin Bi
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 37
Release: 2014-03-31
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1475521669

This paper studies fiscal policy effects in developing countries with external debt and sovereign default risks. State-dependent distributions of fiscal limits are simulated based on macroeconomic uncertainty and fiscal policy specifications. The analysis shows that expected future revenue plays an important role in the low fiscal limits of developing countries, relative to those of developed countries. External debt carries additional risks since large devaluation of the real exchange rate can suddenly raise default probabilities. Consistent with majority views, fiscal consolidations are counterproductive in the short and medium runs. When an economy approaches its fiscal limits, government spending can be less expansionary than in a low-debt state. As more revenue is required to service debt in a high-debt state, higher tax rates raise the economic cost of increasing consumption, reducing the fiscal multiplier.

Current Account Deficits, External Liabilities and Economic Policy

Current Account Deficits, External Liabilities and Economic Policy
Author: Mr.J. D. Pitchford
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 52
Release: 1992-07-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1451847432

This paper assesses the policy significance of foreign liabilities and the current account deficits that give rise to them. Current account imbalances are shown to have some capacity to indicate difficulties elsewhere in the economy, but are imperfect indicators and subject to potential misinterpretation. The paper concludes that successful pursuit of internal balance could be an important factor in stabilizing current account balances, but, beyond that, there seems no good reason for using macroeconomic policy to target the current account as such. However, there may be grounds for microeconomic action to remedy specifically identified problems.

Untangling the US Deficit

Untangling the US Deficit
Author: Richard A. Iley
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2007-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1847207057

The book would be a good companion text for an undergraduate class in international finance or open-economy macroeconomics. Catherine L. Mann, Journal of Economic Literature Untangling the US Deficit is a unique and well-researched book and will be of great interest to academic economists and postgraduates. Policymakers, business and market economists will also find it an enlightening and challenging analysis. sirreadalot.org The book is written in a very accessible fashion, even though the authors strive to accommodate competing and complex views on the causes and cures of the US external deficit, which makes for enjoyable and informative reading. Their reliance on data, charts and bibliography result in persuasive arguments. Recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduates through practitioners. A. Sharma, Choice What are the causes of the US current account deficit? Are the problems made in the US or the rest of the world? Are these deficits sustainable, at what level? These are the types of questions the authors set out to answer, and in essence conclude that the answers do not matter for global stability as long as imbalances are left to market forces and the US can avoid large net income outflows. The beauty of this book, however, is watching the authors (the unusual combination of a business economist and an academic economist) arrive at this conclusion. They provide insights that can come only from years of practical and theoretical experience. William E. Becker, Indiana University Bloomington, US As the US current account deficit has expanded to a record level of $811 billion in 2006, debate about the deficit s causes and consequences has also grown. Is the deficit a product of American profligacy or a glut of savings in the rest of the world? Is it a serious problem or essentially benign? Untangling the US Deficit charts a course between the competing explanations in a systematic and rigorous approach, incorporating the latest academic research and market data. Particular attention is given to the China United States trade imbalance and to the special role of the US dollar and US capital markets in global finance. This unique and well-researched book will be of great interest to academic economists and postgraduates. Policy-makers, business and market economists will also find it to be an enlightening and challenging account.

U.S. Trade Deficit: Causes, Consequences, and Cures

U.S. Trade Deficit: Causes, Consequences, and Cures
Author: Albert E. Burger
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9400925204

On October 23 and 24, 1987, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis hosted its twelfth annual economic policy conference, "The U.S. Trade Deficit: Causes, Consequences, and Cures." This book contains the papers and comments delivered at that conference. A sharp decline in the value of the dollar against major foreign cur rencies began in March 1985 and continued through December 1987. Despite this decline, the U.S. trade deficit experienced considerable growth during this time. Many consider the simultaneous occurrence of these two events over so long a period to be a problem requiring a policy response. The conference addresses this issue. Various papers discuss the cause of the trade deficit, the reason for its size and persistence, its relation ship with other macroeconomic variables, its impact on other industrialized countries, and various policy proposals aimed at reducing the deficit. Session I Peter Hooper and Catherine L. Mann provide an analytical setting for the conference with their "The U.S. External Deficit: Its Causes and Persistence." Their observation that the unprecedentedly large U. S. trade imbalance is striking in both its size and its persistence could well be the subtitle of each of the papers presented. The macroeconomic studies, which Hooper and Mann summarize in their review of the existing literature, uniformly conclude that the deficit has not responded to fundamental macroeconomic determinants-relative U.S. income growth and the dollar's exchange rate-in the way that earlier, smaller U.S.

Fiscal Policy and the Current Account

Fiscal Policy and the Current Account
Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2010-05-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1455200808

This paper examines the relationship between fiscal policy and the current account, drawing on a larger country sample than in previous studies and using panel regressions, vector autoregressions, and an analysis of large fiscal and external adjustments. On average, a strengthening in the fiscal balance by 1 percentage point of GDP is associated with a current account improvement of 0.2–0.3 percentage point of GDP. This association is as strong in emerging and low-income countries as it is in advanced economies; and significantly higher when output is above potential.

Generic Study on Monetary and Fiscal Policy Co-Ordination

Generic Study on Monetary and Fiscal Policy Co-Ordination
Author: Vijayakumar Honnungar
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 29
Release: 2011-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3640942779

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2010 in the subject Economics - Finance, grade: A, The ESC Rennes School of Business (-), course: MSc, language: English, abstract: This paper attempts to study the importance of both Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy in the international context. And also to understand the chemistry between Monetary and Fiscal policy and extent to which the coordination can be achieved. In any open economy, Monetary policy is designed, formulated and being conducted by the central Bank, wherein the National Planning or Ministry of Finance of the respective country is responsible for designing, formulating and conducting the Fiscal policy for the nation. This research paper finds that there is a close linkage between Monetary and Fiscal policy and hence the proper coordination leads to addressing today's biggest talk of nation‟s deficit. Currently there is an abundance of literature available on both Monetary and Fiscal policy. There is also good number of books available containing plethora of information on the subject. This research paper addresses the importance, impact, and issues of Monetary and Fiscal policy in open economy.

Fiscal Policy, Stabilization, and Growth in Developing Countries

Fiscal Policy, Stabilization, and Growth in Developing Countries
Author: Mr.Mario I. Bléjer
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 404
Release: 1989-06-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781557750341

Edited by Mario I. Blejer and Ke-young Chu, this book investigates linkages among components of the public sector, as well as between macro and micro aspects of fiscal policy, in developing countries. It presents 13 papers prepared by economists of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department.