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The cyclicality of fiscal policy: New evidence from unobserved components approach

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  • Bashar, Omar H.M.N.
  • Bhattacharya, Prasad Sankar
  • Wohar, Mark E.

Abstract

This paper employs the multivariate version of the unobserved components model to reinvestigate the cyclicality of fiscal policy in eleven OECD countries. The novelty of the multivariate approach lies in its superior ability to disentangle the correlations in cycles from the correlations in slopes of the relevant variables while allowing for those correlations in the model. The results suggest that fiscal policy is mildly counter-cyclical in seven of the eleven countries analyzed which resonates with the standard Keynesian models. However, the slope (growth) of government consumption is found to be positively correlated with real GDP in these economies. There is no evidence of procyclical fiscal policies in any of these eleven industrial countries. The results remain robust when we use subsamples and an alternative fiscal policy variable.

Suggested Citation

  • Bashar, Omar H.M.N. & Bhattacharya, Prasad Sankar & Wohar, Mark E., 2017. "The cyclicality of fiscal policy: New evidence from unobserved components approach," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 222-234.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jmacro:v:53:y:2017:i:c:p:222-234
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmacro.2017.07.010
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    4. Canh Phuc NGUYEN & Christophe SCHINCKUS, 2020. "The Spending Behavior of Government through the Lenses of Global Uncertainty and Economic Integration," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(2), pages 35-57, July.
    5. Alfan Mansur, 2023. "Simultaneous identification of fiscal and monetary policy shocks," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(2), pages 697-728, August.
    6. Aizenman, Joshua & Jinjarak, Yothin & Nguyen, Hien Thi Kim & Park, Donghyun, 2019. "Fiscal space and government-spending and tax-rate cyclicality patterns: A cross-country comparison, 1960–2016," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 229-252.
    7. Luis Ayala-Cañón & María Jesús Delgado-Rodríguez & Sonia De Lucas-Santos, 2022. "Synchronization and cyclicality of social spending in economic crises," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1153-1187, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fiscal policy; Cyclicality; Multivariate unobserved components model; OECD;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C3 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables
    • C5 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling
    • E3 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles
    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook

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