This paper analyzes the contributions of monetary and fiscal policy to postwar economic recoveries. We find that the Federal Reserve typically responds to downturns with prompt and large reductions in interest rates. Discretionary fiscal policy, in contrast, rarely reacts before the trough in economic activity, and even then the responses are usually small. Simulations using multipliers from both simple regressions and a large macroeconomic model show that the interest rate falls account for nearly all of the above-average growth that occurs early in recoveries. Our estimates also indicate that on several occasions expansionary policies have contributed substantially to above-normal growth outside of recoveries. Finally, the results suggest that the persistence of aggregate output movements is largely the result of the extreme persistence of the contribution of policy changes.
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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number
4765.
Length: Date of creation: Dec 1994 Date of revision: Publication status: published relationship to a non-chapter. This should not happen. Please contact NBER. Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:4765
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Chapter
Christina D. Romer & David H. Romer, 1994.
"What Ends Recessions?,"
NBER Chapters,
in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1994, Volume 9, pages 13-80
National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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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.:
Goldfeld, Stephen M. & Sichel, Daniel E., 1990.
"The demand for money,"
Handbook of Monetary Economics,
in: B. M. Friedman & F. H. Hahn (ed.), Handbook of Monetary Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 8, pages 299-356
Elsevier.
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