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Employment and growth in Europe and the US - The role of fiscal policy composition

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  • T. DHONT
  • F. HEYLEN

Abstract

We analyze the impact of the composition of fiscal policy on employment and long-run growth. Our theoretical model builds on Barro (JPE, 1990) which we extend by endogenizing the decision to work and by allowing three kinds of government expenditures and three kinds of taxes. The model explains what we basically observe in the data for European countries: relatively high employment and growth in the Nordic countries, but poor employment and low growth in the core countries of the euro area. Our model can also explain employment and growth in the US.

Suggested Citation

  • T. Dhont & F. Heylen, 2006. "Employment and growth in Europe and the US - The role of fiscal policy composition," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 06/420, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    • Handle: RePEc:rug:rugwps:06/420
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    Cited by:

    1. Lorenzo Carbonari & Vincenzo Atella & Paola Samà, 2018. "Hours worked in selected OECD countries: an empirical assessment," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(4), pages 525-545, July.
    2. Michał Konopczyński, 2018. "How Taxes, Education and Public Capital Influence Economic Growth in Poland," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 12(3), September.
    3. Freddy Heylen & Renaat Van de Kerckhove, 2014. "Heterogeneous ability and the effects of fiscal policy on employment, income and welfare in general equilibrium," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 14/898, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    4. Michał Konopczyński, 2022. "Optimal Fiscal Policy in a Small Open Economy: Insights from the Growth Model with Human Capital and Public Debt," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 14(2), pages 131-160, June.
    5. Pier Carlo Padoan, 2010. "Fiscal Policy in the Crisis: Impact, Sustainability, and Long-Term Implications," Working Papers id:3036, eSocialSciences.
    6. Tino Berger & Freddy Heylen, 2011. "Differences in Hours Worked in the OECD: Institutions or Fiscal Policies?," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(7), pages 1333-1369, October.
    7. Tim Buyse & Freddy Heylen & Renaat Van de Kerckhove, 2013. "Pension reform, employment by age, and long-run growth," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(2), pages 769-809, April.
    8. Saima Nawaz & M. Idrees Khawaja, 2016. "Fiscal Policy, Institutions And Growth: New Insights," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(05), pages 1251-1278, December.
    9. Michał Konopczyński, 2014. "How Budget Deficit Impairs Long-Term Growth and Welfare under Perfect Capital Mobility," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 6(3), pages 129-152, September.
    10. T. Buyse & F. Heylen & R. Van De Kerckhove, 2011. "Pension reform, employment by age, and long-run growth in OECD countries," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 11/719, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    11. Buyse, Tim & Heylen, Freddy & Van De Kerckhove, Renaat, 2017. "Pension reform in an OLG model with heterogeneous abilities," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 144-172, April.
    12. T. Buyse & F. Heylen, 2012. "Leaving the empirical (battle)ground: Output and welfare effects of fiscal consolidation in general equilibrium," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 12/826, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    13. Michał Konopczyński, 2014. "How Taxes and Spending on Education Influence Economic Growth in Poland," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 8(3), September.
    14. Gerdie Everaert & Freddy Heylen & Ruben Schoonackers, 2015. "Fiscal policy and TFP in the OECD: measuring direct and indirect effects," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 605-640, September.
    15. Michał Konopczyński, 2018. "Optimal fiscal policy in an emerging economy with credit constraints: theory and application for Poland," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 10(3), pages 169-231, September.
    16. R. Schoonackers & F. Heylen, 2011. "Fiscal Policy and TFP in the OECD: A Non-Stationary Panel Approach," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 11/701, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    17. Freddy Heylen & Renaat Van de Kerckhove, 2018. "Getting Low Educated And Older People Into Work: Fiscal Policy In An Olg Model With Heterogeneous Abilities," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 18/946, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    18. Heylen Freddy & Van de Kerckhove Renaat, 2013. "Employment by age, education, and economic growth: effects of fiscal policy composition in general equilibrium," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 1-55, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fiscal policy; taxes; transfers; government spending; employment; endogenous growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models

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