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Debt stabilizing fiscal rules

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Author Info
Philippe Michel
Leopold von Thadden () (European Central Bank, Kaiserstrasse 29, Postfach 16 03 19, 60066 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.)
Jean-Pierre Vidal () (European Central Bank,Kaiserstrasse 29, Postfach 16 03 19, 60066 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.)

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Abstract

Unstable government debt dynamics can typically be corrected by various fiscal instruments, like appropriate adjustments in government spending, public transfers, or taxes. This paper investigates properties of state-contingent debt targeting rules which link stabilizing budgetary adjustments around a target level of long-run debt to the state of the economy. The paper establishes that the size of steady-state debt is a key determinant of whether it is possible to find a rule of this type which can be implemented under all available fiscal instruments. Specifically, considering linear feedback rules, the paper demonstrates that there may well exist a critical level of debt beyond which this is no longer possible. From an applied perspective, this finding is of particular relevance in the context of a monetary union with decentralized fiscal policies. Depending on the level of long-run debt, there might be a conflict between a common fiscal framework which tracks deficit developments as a function of the state of the economy and the unrestricted choice of fiscal policy instruments at the national level. JEL Classification: E63; H62.

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Paper provided by European Central Bank in its series Working Paper Series with number 576.

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Length: 53 pages
Date of creation: Jan 2006
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Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20060576

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Related research
Keywords: Fiscal regimes; overlapping generations.;

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Leith, Campbell & von Thadden, Leopold, 2006. "Monetary and fiscal policy interactions in a New Keynesian model with capital accumulation and non-Ricardian consumers," Discussion Paper Series 1: Economic Studies 2006,21, Deutsche Bundesbank, Research Centre. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. P R Agénor & D Yilmaz, 2006. "The Tyranny of Rules: Fiscal Discipline, Productive Spending, and Growth," Centre for Growth and Business Cycle Research Discussion Paper Series 73, Economics, The Univeristy of Manchester. [Downloadable!]
  3. Daniel A. Dias & Carlos Robalo Marques & João M. C. Santos Silva, 2006. "Measuring the importance of the uniform nonsynchronization hypothesis," Working Paper Series 606, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
  4. Domenico Giannone & Lucrezia Reichlin, 2006. "Trends and cycles in the euro area: how much heterogeneity and should we worry about it?," Working Paper Series 595, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Francesco Paolo Mongelli & Juan Luis Vega, 2006. "What effects is EMU having on the euro area and its member countries? An overview," Working Paper Series 599, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
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