I examine the "fiscal theory of the price level" according to which "non-Ricardian" policy and predetermined nominal government debt fiscally determine prices. I argue that the non-Ricardian policy assumption and, by implication, fiscal price level determination are inconsistent with a rational expectations equilibrium where all asset holdings reflect optimal household choices. In such a rational expectations equilibrium, policy must be Ricardian even if, in some states of nature, the government defaults or runs an exogenous real primary surplus sequence. I propose an alternative to the fiscal theory of the price level, based on nominal flows instead of nominal stocks. While this alternative framework establishes a consistent link between fiscal policy and the price level, it does not introduce inflationary fiscal effects beyond those suggested by Sargent and Wallace.
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Paper provided by Stockholm University, Institute for International Economic Studies in its series Seminar Papers with number
710.
Length: 19 pages Date of creation: 16 May 2002 Date of revision: Publication status: Published in Quartely Journal of Economics, 2004, pages 277-300. Handle: RePEc:hhs:iiessp:0710
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Find related papers by JEL classification: E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination
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