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Employment and growth in Europe and the US--the role of fiscal policy composition

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  • Tine Dhont
  • Freddy Heylen

Abstract

We construct a simple endogenous growth model to analyse the relationship between the composition of fiscal policy, economic growth and employment. The government sets different tax rates on labour income, capital income, and private consumption to finance productive expenditures, utility-enhancing consumption expenditures, and transfers related to structural non-employment. Our model is able to explain the different employment and growth records of European countries and the US since the 1990s. We use the model to investigate the strength of the effects of various fiscal policy shocks on steady state employment and growth. We also develop the transitional dynamics for many variables, including welfare. Our results highlight the trade-offs that may occur between performance indicators, and between the short and the long-run. Copyright 2009 Oxford University Press 2008 All rights reserved, Oxford University Press.

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  • Tine Dhont & Freddy Heylen, 2009. "Employment and growth in Europe and the US--the role of fiscal policy composition," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 61(3), pages 538-565, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:oxecpp:v:61:y:2009:i:3:p:538-565
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    Cited by:

    1. Lorenzo Carbonari & Vincenzo Atella & Paola Samà, 2018. "Hours worked in selected OECD countries: an empirical assessment," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(4), pages 525-545, July.
    2. Michał Konopczyński, 2018. "How Taxes, Education and Public Capital Influence Economic Growth in Poland," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 12(3), September.
    3. Freddy Heylen & Renaat Van de Kerckhove, 2014. "Heterogeneous ability and the effects of fiscal policy on employment, income and welfare in general equilibrium," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 14/898, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    4. Michał Konopczyński, 2022. "Optimal Fiscal Policy in a Small Open Economy: Insights from the Growth Model with Human Capital and Public Debt," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 14(2), pages 131-160, June.
    5. Pier Carlo Padoan, 2010. "Fiscal Policy in the Crisis: Impact, Sustainability, and Long-Term Implications," Working Papers id:3036, eSocialSciences.
    6. Tino Berger & Freddy Heylen, 2011. "Differences in Hours Worked in the OECD: Institutions or Fiscal Policies?," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(7), pages 1333-1369, October.
    7. Tim Buyse & Freddy Heylen & Renaat Van de Kerckhove, 2013. "Pension reform, employment by age, and long-run growth," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(2), pages 769-809, April.
    8. Saima Nawaz & M. Idrees Khawaja, 2016. "Fiscal Policy, Institutions And Growth: New Insights," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(05), pages 1251-1278, December.
    9. Michał Konopczyński, 2014. "How Budget Deficit Impairs Long-Term Growth and Welfare under Perfect Capital Mobility," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 6(3), pages 129-152, September.
    10. T. Buyse & F. Heylen & R. Van De Kerckhove, 2011. "Pension reform, employment by age, and long-run growth in OECD countries," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 11/719, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    11. Buyse, Tim & Heylen, Freddy & Van De Kerckhove, Renaat, 2017. "Pension reform in an OLG model with heterogeneous abilities," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 144-172, April.
    12. T. Buyse & F. Heylen, 2012. "Leaving the empirical (battle)ground: Output and welfare effects of fiscal consolidation in general equilibrium," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 12/826, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    13. Michał Konopczyński, 2014. "How Taxes and Spending on Education Influence Economic Growth in Poland," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 8(3), September.
    14. Gerdie Everaert & Freddy Heylen & Ruben Schoonackers, 2015. "Fiscal policy and TFP in the OECD: measuring direct and indirect effects," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 605-640, September.
    15. Michał Konopczyński, 2018. "Optimal fiscal policy in an emerging economy with credit constraints: theory and application for Poland," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 10(3), pages 169-231, September.
    16. R. Schoonackers & F. Heylen, 2011. "Fiscal Policy and TFP in the OECD: A Non-Stationary Panel Approach," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 11/701, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    17. Freddy Heylen & Renaat Van de Kerckhove, 2018. "Getting Low Educated And Older People Into Work: Fiscal Policy In An Olg Model With Heterogeneous Abilities," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 18/946, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    18. Heylen Freddy & Van de Kerckhove Renaat, 2013. "Employment by age, education, and economic growth: effects of fiscal policy composition in general equilibrium," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 1-55, October.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models

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