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Gauging the effects of fiscal stimulus packages in the euro area

Author

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  • Straub, Roland
  • Trabandt, Mathias
  • Coenen, Günter

Abstract

We seek to quantify the impact on euro area GDP of the European Economic Recovery Plan (EERP) enacted in response to the financial crisis of 2008-09. To do so, we estimate an extended version of the ECB’s New Area-Wide Model with a richly specified fiscal sector. The estimation results point to the existence of important complementarities between private and government consumption and, to a lesser extent, between private and public capital. We first examine the implied present-value multipliers for seven distinct fiscal instruments and show that the estimated complementarities result in fiscal multipliers larger than one for government consumption and investment. We highlight the importance of monetary accommodation for these findings. We then show that the EERP, if implemented as initially enacted, had a sizeable, although short-lived impact on euro area GDP. Since the EERP comprised both revenue and expenditurebased fiscal stimulus measures, the total multiplier is below unity. JEL Classification: C11, E32, E62

Suggested Citation

  • Straub, Roland & Trabandt, Mathias & Coenen, Günter, 2012. "Gauging the effects of fiscal stimulus packages in the euro area," Working Paper Series 1483, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20121483
    Note: 1065946
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bayesian inference; DSGE modelling; euro area; European Economic Recovery Plan; Fiscal multiplier; fiscal policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C11 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Bayesian Analysis: General
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory

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