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Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy in an Economy with Endogenous Public Debt

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  • Vines, David
  • Luk, Paul

Abstract

This paper uses a New Keynesian framework to study the coordination of fiscal and monetary policies, in response to an inflation shock when the policymaker acts with commitment. We first show that, in the simplest New Keynesian model, fiscal policy plays no part in the optimal policy response, because of the comparative advantage which monetary policy has in the control of inflation. We then add endogenous public debt and show that the above result is no longer true. When the initial stock of debt is low, it is optimal for government spending to remain largely inactive, but when the initial stock of debt is high, government spending should play a significant stabilisation role in the first period. This finding is robust to adding endogenous capital accumulation and inflation persistence in the Phillips curve.

Suggested Citation

  • Vines, David & Luk, Paul, 2015. "Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy in an Economy with Endogenous Public Debt," CEPR Discussion Papers 10580, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10580
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    Cited by:

    1. Lucio Gobbi & Ronny Mazzocchi & Roberto Tamborini, 2022. "Monetary policy, rational confidence, and Neo‐Fisherian depressions," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(4), pages 1179-1199, November.
    2. Francesco Saraceno & Roberto Tamborini, 2015. "How can it work? On the impact of quantitative easing in the Eurozone," DEM Working Papers 2015/03, Department of Economics and Management.
    3. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/4ei7u710bj9par121c71ul9fdr is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Roberto Tamborini, 2023. "Inflation surprises in a New Keynesian economy with a true consumption function. The Eurozone as an inflation target zone," DEM Working Papers 2023/1, Department of Economics and Management.
    5. Francesco Saraceno & Roberto Tamborini, 2015. "How can it work? On the impact of quantitative easing in the Eurozone," DEM Working Papers 2015/03, Department of Economics and Management.
    6. Gobbi, Lucio & Mazzocchi, Ronny & Tamborini, Roberto, 2019. "Monetary policy, de-anchoring of inflation expectations, and the “new normal”," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 1-1.
    7. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/4ppcskgnsc8tmbhdrupis355j7 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Roberto Tamborini, 2022. "Inflation Surprises in a New Keynesian Economy with a True Consumption Function," CESifo Working Paper Series 10194, CESifo.
    9. Vines, David & Luk, Paul, 2015. "The Optimal Coordination of Fiscal and Monetary Policy in a New Keynesian Framework," CEPR Discussion Papers 10895, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fiscal policy; Monetary policy; Government debt; New keynesian model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E4 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates
    • E5 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit
    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook

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