Jointly Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy Rules under Borrowing Constraints

Jointly Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy Rules under Borrowing Constraints
Author: Mr.Michael Kumhof
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 41
Release: 2009-12-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1451874316

We study the welfare properties of an economy where both monetary and fiscal policy follow simple rules, and where a subset of agents is borrowing constrained. The optimized fiscal rule is far more aggressive than automatic stabilizers, and stabilizes the income of borrowingconstrained agents, rather than output. The optimized monetary rule features super-inertia and a very low coefficient on inflation, which minimizes real wage volatility. The welfare gains of optimizing the fiscal rule are far larger than the welfare gains of optimizing the monetary rule. The preferred fiscal instruments are government spending and transfers targeted to borrowing-constrained agents.

Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy

Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy
Author: Pierpaolo Benigno
Publisher:
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2003
Genre: Economic policy
ISBN:

We propose an integrated treatment of the problems of optimal monetary and fiscal policy, for an economy in which prices are sticky and the only available sources of government revenue are distorting taxes. Our linear-quadratic approach allows us to nest both conventional analyses of optimal monetary stabilization policy and analyses of optimal tax-smoothing as special cases of our more general framework. We show how a linear-quadratic policy problem can be derived which yields a correct linear approximation to the optimal policy rules from the point of view of the maximization of expected discounted utility in a dynamic stochastic general-equilibrium model. Finally, we derive targeting rules through which the monetary and fiscal authorities may implement the optimal equilibrium

Optimal Monetary Policy Under Bounded Rationality

Optimal Monetary Policy Under Bounded Rationality
Author: Jonathan Benchimol
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 52
Release: 2019-08-02
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1513511343

The form of bounded rationality characterizing the representative agent is key in the choice of the optimal monetary policy regime. While inflation targeting prevails for myopia that distorts agents' inflation expectations, price level targeting emerges as the optimal policy under myopia regarding the output gap, revenue, or interest rate. To the extent that bygones are not bygones under price level targeting, rational inflation expectations is a minimal condition for optimality in a behavioral world. Instrument rules implementation of this optimal policy is shown to be infeasible, questioning the ability of simple rules à la Taylor (1993) to assist the conduct of monetary policy. Bounded rationality is not necessarily associated with welfare losses.

Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Debt Crisis and Management

Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Debt Crisis and Management
Author: Mr.Cristiano Cantore
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 44
Release: 2017-03-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1475590180

The initial government debt-to-GDP ratio and the government’s commitment play a pivotal role in determining the welfare-optimal speed of fiscal consolidation in the management of a debt crisis. Under commitment, for low or moderate initial government debt-to-GPD ratios, the optimal consolidation is very slow. A faster pace is optimal when the economy starts from a high level of public debt implying high sovereign risk premia, unless these are suppressed via a bailout by official creditors. Under discretion, the cost of not being able to commit is reflected into a quick consolidation of government debt. Simple monetary-fiscal rules with passive fiscal policy, designed for an environment with “normal shocks”, perform reasonably well in mimicking the Ramsey-optimal response to one-off government debt shocks. When the government can issue also long-term bonds–under commitment–the optimal debt consolidation pace is slower than in the case of short-term bonds only, and entails an increase in the ratio between long and short-term bonds.

Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy in Dynamic Economies

Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy in Dynamic Economies
Author: Arturo Anton
Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing
Total Pages: 100
Release: 2009-09
Genre:
ISBN: 9783838314228

Over the past twenty five years, fiscal and monetary authorities around the world have pursued policies roughly consistent with the insights from optimal monetary and fiscal policy. In the area of monetary policy, the modern consensus is to set policy rules so that nominal interest rates and inflation are low. In the area of fiscal policy, statutory corporate income tax rates have decreased sharply in OECD countries on average over time. Typically, theoretical models in the literature usually examine either monetary or fiscal policies in isolation, but not both of them simultaneously. This book presents two alternative dynamic, general equilibrium models where the prescriptions from optimal monetary and fiscal policies are simultaneously examined. These models offer some new insights on the interaction of such policies, especially in terms of their effects on household s welfare. A third chapter examines optimal fiscal policy in the context of preference reversals. This book should be especially useful for policymakers in the area of macroeconomics and researchers working in the field.

Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policies in a Search Theoretic Model of Monetary Exchange

Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policies in a Search Theoretic Model of Monetary Exchange
Author: Gomis-Porqueras, Pere
Publisher:
Total Pages: 27
Release: 2008
Genre:
ISBN:

In this paper we study optimal monetary and fiscal policies, and the welfare costs of inflation, within the Lagos and Wright (2005) framework. Monetary equilibria may be inefficient without fiscal policy tools due to bargaining frictions. We show that subsidies in decentralized markets can be implemented to alleviate underproduction, while money is still essential. Deviations from the Friedman rule may be large, and having fiscal and monetary policies in place results in considerable welfare gains. When fiscal policies are held constant, the welfare costs of increasing inflation may be as high as 8% of lifetime consumption. When lump sum monetary transfers are not available, a positive production subsidy may be inflationary and welfare reducing. However, sales taxes in the decentralized market and production taxes in the centralized market may increase welfare. The optimality of the Friedman rule in this case depends crucially on the bargaining power of the buyer, and equilibria are not first best.

Monetary and Fiscal Policy through a DSGE Lens

Monetary and Fiscal Policy through a DSGE Lens
Author: Harold L. Cole
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2020-02-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0190076062

In Monetary and Fiscal Policy Through a DSGE Lens, Harold L. Cole develops and extends versions of a classic quantitative model of economic growth to take on a wide range of topics in monetary and fiscal policy. Bridging the gap between current undergraduate and graduate texts in the field, this comprehensive book covers the basic elements of advanced macroeconomics and equips readers to understand the debate on key policy questions. By using the simple DSGE, or dynamic stochastic general equilibrium, framework to build a series of quantitative models, the book combines a gradual introduction to advanced analytic methods with computer programming and quantitative policy analysis. In a clear discussion of the sophisticated interaction between theory and data, Cole explains how to gauge how well a model captures key elements in the data and how to reverse engineer a model to data. The book covers costs of inflation, optimal monetary policy, the impact of labor and capital taxes, and optimal fiscal policy. It systematically discusses technical material including the new Keynesian liquidity shock models, standard analytic methods, such as Lagrangian methods, and computational methods using Matlab and Python. With a strong computational emphasis, the volume teaches how to program up and solve systems of non-linear equations and develop models to study the macroeconomy. Knowing how to deeply understand and analyze models and develop computational code to evaluate the implications of those models is essential for students of macroeconomics. This book connects the standard undergraduate material to the elaborate models of advanced graduate courses with systematic and logical coverage of the basics of advanced modern macroeconomics.

Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy with Limited Asset Market Participation

Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy with Limited Asset Market Participation
Author: Sven Jari Stehn
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2009-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

This paper characterises the jointly optimal monetary and fiscal stabilisation policy in a new Keynesian model that allows for consumers who lacking access to asset markets consume their disposable income each period. With full asset market participation, the optimal policy relies entirely on the interest rate to stabilise cost-push shocks and government expenditure is not changed. When asset market participation is limited, there is a case for fiscal stabilisation policy. Active use of public spending raises aggregate welfare because it enables a more balanced distribution of the stabilisation burden across asset-holding and non-asset-holding consumers. The optimal response of government expenditure is sensitive to the financing scheme and whether the policymaker has access to a targeted transfer that can directly redistribute resources between consumers.