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Nominal debt as a burden on monetary policy

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Author Info
Javier Díaz-Giménez
Giorgia Giovannetti
Ramon Marimon
Pedro Teles

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Abstract

We study the effects of nominal debt on the optimal sequential choice of monetary and debt policy. When the stock of debt is nominal, the incentive to generate unanticipated inflation increases the cost of the outstanding debt even if no unanticipated inflation episodes occur in equilibrium. Without full commitment, the optimal sequential policy is to deplete the outstanding stock of debt progressively until these extra costs disappear. Nominal debt is therefore a burden on monetary policy, not only because it must be serviced, but also because it creates a time inconsistency problem that distorts interest rates. The introduction of alternative forms of taxation may lessen this burden, if there is enough commitment to fiscal policy.

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Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in its series Working Paper Series with number WP-04-10.

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Date of creation: 2004
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fedhwp:wp-04-10

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Keywords: Debts; Public ; Financial crises ; Fiscal policy ; Monetary policy;

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
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.:
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  2. repec:cup:macdyn:v:1:y:1997:i:3:p:588-614 is not listed on IDEAS
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    Other versions:
  4. Fernando M. Martin, 2004. "A Positive Theory of Government Debt," Macroeconomics 0408013, EconWPA, revised 12 Oct 2004. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Chari, V.V. & Kehoe, Patrick J., 1999. "Optimal fiscal and monetary policy," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & M. Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 26, pages 1671-1745 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Fernando Alvarez & Patrick J. Kehoe & Pablo Andrés Neumeyer, 2004. "The Time Consistency of Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policies," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 72(2), pages 541-567, 03. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(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. Davide Debortoli & Ricardo Nunes, 2008. "Political disagreement, lack of commitment and the level of debt," International Finance Discussion Papers 938, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
  2. Javier Diaz-Gimenez & Giorgia Giovannetti & Ramon Marimon & Pedro Teles, 2008. "Nominal Debt as a Burden on Monetary Policy," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(3), pages 493-514, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Klaus Adam & Roberto M. Billi, 2007. "Monetary conservatism and fiscal policy," Research Working Paper RWP 07-01, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Fabio Canova & Evi Pappa, 2004. "Does it Cost to be Virtuous? The Macroeconomic Effects of Fiscal Constraints," Economics Working Papers 926, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Dec 2004. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Philippe Michel & Leopold von Thadden & Jean-Piere Vidal, 2005. "Debt stabilizing fiscal rules," Computing in Economics and Finance 2005 349, Society for Computational Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Stefan Niemann, 2009. "Dynamic Monetary-Fiscal Interactions and the Role of Monetary Conservatism," Economics Discussion Papers 667, University of Essex, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  7. Fernando M. Martin, 2004. "A Positive Theory of Government Debt," Macroeconomics 0408013, EconWPA, revised 12 Oct 2004. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Paul Klein & Per Krusell & José-Víctor Ríos-Rull, 2004. "Time-Consistent Public Expenditures," Levine's Bibliography 122247000000000652, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Laura Alfaro & Fabio Kanczuk, 2007. "Nominal versus Indexed Debt: A Quantitative Horse Race," NBER Working Papers 13131, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Canova, Fabio & Pappa, Evi, 2005. "The Elusive Costs and the Immaterial Gains of Fiscal Constraints," CEPR Discussion Papers 5406, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Roberto Billi & Klaus Adam, 2005. "Monetary and Fiscal Interactions without Commitment and the Value of Monetary Conservatism," Computing in Economics and Finance 2005 62, Society for Computational Economics. [Downloadable!]
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