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Optimal Fiscal Policy with Endogenous Product Variety

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  • Fabio Ghironi

    () (Boston College)

  • Sanjay K. Chugh

    (University of Maryland)

Abstract

We study Ramsey-optimal fiscal policy in an economy in which product varieties are the result of forward-looking investment decisions by firms. There are two main results. First, depending on the particular form of variety aggregation in preferences, firms' dividend payments may be either subsidized or taxed in the long run. This policy balances monopoly incentives for product creation with consumers' welfare benefit of product variety. In the most empirically relevant form of variety aggregation, socially efficient outcomes entail a substantial tax on dividend income, removing the incentive for over-accumulation of capital, which takes the form of variety. Second, optimal policy induces dramatically smaller, but efficient, fluctuations of both capital and labor markets than in a calibrated exogenous policy. Decentralization requires zero intertemporal distortions and constant static distortions over the cycle. The results relate to Ramsey theory, which we show by developing welfare-relevant concepts of efficiency that take into account product creation.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Boston College Department of Economics in its series Boston College Working Papers in Economics with number 775.

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Date of creation: 11 Aug 2011
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Handle: RePEc:boc:bocoec:775

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Keywords: zero intertemporal distortions; endogenous product variety; optimal taxation;

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References

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  1. Benassy, Jean-Pascal, 1998. "Is there always too little research in endogenous growth with expanding product variety?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 61-69, January.
  2. Benassy, Jean-Pascal, 1996. "Taste for variety and optimum production patterns in monopolistic competition," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 41-47, July.
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  4. Ester Faia, 2009. "Oligopolistic Competition and Optimal Monetary Policy," Kiel Working Papers 1552, Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
  5. Florin O. Bilbiie & Ippei Fujiwara & Fabio Ghironi, 2011. "Optimal Monetary Policy with Endogenous Entry and Product Variety," NBER Working Papers 17489, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  6. Nir Jaimovich, 2004. "Firm Dynamics, Markup Variations, and the Business Cycle," Discussion Papers 07-013, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, revised Mar 2007.
  7. John Bailey Jones, 1999. "Has Fiscal Policy Helped Stabilize the Postwar U.S. Economy?," Discussion Papers 99-03, University at Albany, SUNY, Department of Economics.
  8. Florin O. Bilbiie & Fabio Ghironi & Marc J. Melitz, 2012. "Endogenous Entry, Product Variety, and Business Cycles," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 120(2), pages 304 - 345.
  9. David M. Arseneau & Sanjay K. Chugh, 2009. "Tax smoothing in frictional labor markets," International Finance Discussion Papers 965, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
  10. Schmitt-Grohé, Stephanie & Uribe, Martín, 2001. "Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy under Imperfect Competition," CEPR Discussion Papers 2688, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  11. V. Lewis, 2009. "Optimal Monetary Policy and Firm Entry," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 09/604, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
  12. Sanjay K. Chugh & S. Boragan Aruoba, 2007. "Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy when Money is Essential," 2007 Meeting Papers 80, Society for Economic Dynamics.
  13. Sanjay K. Chugh & Andre Kurmann & David M. Arseneau, 2009. "Optimal Capital Taxation in an Economy with Capital Allocation Frictions," 2009 Meeting Papers 147, Society for Economic Dynamics.
  14. Ester Faia, 2006. "Optimal monetary policy rules with labor market frictions," Working Paper Series 698, European Central Bank.
  15. Yoonsoo Lee & Toshihiko Mukoyama, 2008. "Entry, Exit, and Plant-Level Dynamics over the Business Cycle," Working Papers 08-17, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
  16. David M. Arseneau & Sanjay K. Chugh, 2007. "Optimal fiscal and monetary policy with costly wage bargaining," International Finance Discussion Papers 893, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
  17. Armenter, Roc, 2008. "A note on incomplete factor taxation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(10-11), pages 2275-2281, October.
  18. Albert Marcet & Thomas J. Sargent & Juha Seppala, 1996. "Optimal taxation without state-contingent debt," Economics Working Papers 170, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Oct 2001.
  19. Siu, Henry E., 2004. "Optimal fiscal and monetary policy with sticky prices," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 575-607, April.
  20. Florin O. Bilbiie & Fabio Ghironi & Marc J. Melitz, 2007. "Monetary Policy and Business Cycles with Endogenous Entry and Product Variety," NBER Working Papers 13199, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  21. Benassy, Jean-Pascal, 1991. "Monopolistic competition," Handbook of Mathematical Economics, in: W. Hildenbrand & H. Sonnenschein (ed.), Handbook of Mathematical Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 37, pages 1997-2045 Elsevier.
  22. Mas-Colell, Andreu & Whinston, Michael D. & Green, Jerry R., 1995. "Microeconomic Theory," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195102680, September.
  23. Florin O. Bilbiie & Fabio Ghironi & Marc J. Melitz, 2008. "Monopoly Power and Endogenous Product Variety: Distortions and Remedies," NBER Working Papers 14383, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  24. Enchuan Shao & Pedro Silos, 2008. "Firm entry and labor market dynamics," Working Paper 2008-17, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. V. Lewis, 2010. "Product Diversity, Strategic Interactions and Optimal Taxation," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 10/661, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
  2. Florin O. Bilbiie & Ippei Fujiwara & Fabio Ghironi, 2011. "Optimal Monetary Policy with Endogenous Entry and Product Variety," NBER Working Papers 17489, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  3. Totzek, Alexander & Winkler, Roland C., 2010. "Fiscal stimulus in model with endogenous firm entry," MPRA Paper 26829, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Nov 2010.

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