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The Case for Fiscal Policy

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Author Info
Philip Arestis, Malcolm Sawyer

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Abstract

This paper reconsiders the case for the use of fiscal policy based on a "functional finance" approach that advocates the use of fiscal policy to secure high levels of demand in the context of private aggregate demand, which would otherwise be too low. This "functional finance" view means that any budget deficit should be seen as a response to the perceived excess of private savings over investment at the desired level of economic activity. The paper outlines the "functional finance" approach and its relationship with fiscal policy. It then considers the three lines of argument that have been advanced against fiscal policy on the grounds of "crowding out." These lines are based on the response of interest rates, the supply-side equilibrium, and Ricardian equivalence. The paper advances the view that the arguments, which have been deployed against fiscal policy to the effect that it does not raise the level of economic activity, do not apply when a "functional finance" view of fiscal policy is adopted. A section on the intertermporal budget constraint considers whether this constraint rules out budget deficits, and concludes that in general it does not.

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Paper provided by Levy Economics Institute, The in its series Economics Working Paper Archive with number 382.

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Date of creation: May 2003
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Handle: RePEc:lev:wrkpap:382

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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. Buiter, Willem H, 2001. "Notes on 'A Code for Fiscal Stability.'," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 53(1), pages 1-19, January.
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  2. Philip Arestis & Malcolm Sawyer, 2003. "Reinventing fiscal policy," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, M.E. Sharpe, Inc., vol. 26(1), pages 3-25, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Barro, Robert J, 1989. "The Ricardian Approach to Budget Deficits," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 37-54, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Hyman P. Minsky, 1991. "Financial Crises: Systemic or Idiosyncratic," Economics Working Paper Archive 51, Levy Economics Institute, The. [Downloadable!]
  5. Philip Arestis & Malcolm Sawyer, 2002. "Can Monetary Policy Affect The Real Economy?," Economics Working Paper Archive 355, Levy Economics Institute, The. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Barro, Robert J, 1974. "Are Government Bonds Net Wealth?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(6), pages 1095-1117, Nov.-Dec.. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Gerald P. Dwyer, Jr. & R. W. Hafer, 1998. "The federal government's budget surplus: Cause for celebration?," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, issue Q 3, pages 42-51. [Downloadable!]
  8. Taylor, John B., 1993. "Discretion versus policy rules in practice," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 195-214, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Wynne Godley, 1999. "Seven Unsustainable Processes: Medium-Term Prospects and Policies for the United States and the World," Economics Strategic Analysis Archive 99-10, Levy Economics Institute, The. [Downloadable!]
  10. Chadha, Jagjit S & Dimsdale, Nicholas H, 1999. "A Long View of Real Rates," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(2), pages 17-45, Summer.
  11. Wynne Godley, . "Fiscal Policy To The Rescue," Economics Policy Note Archive 01-1, Levy Economics Institute, The. [Downloadable!]
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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. Angel Asensio, 2008. "(Post) Keynesian alternative to inflation targeting," Post-Print halshs-00335560_v1, HAL. [Downloadable!]
  2. Philip Arestis, Malcolm Sawyer, 2003. "Reinventing Fiscal Policy," Economics Working Paper Archive 381, Levy Economics Institute, The. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Jean-Marie Monnier & Bruno Tinel, 2006. "Endettement public et redistribution en France de 1980 à 2004," Cahiers de la Maison des Sciences Economiques r06006, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1). [Downloadable!]
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