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Why are fiscal multipliers moderate even under monetary accommodation?

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  • Bredemeier, Christian
  • Juessen, Falko
  • Schabert, Andreas

Abstract

Estimated fiscal multipliers for the US are typically moderate, despite evidence of the Fed lowering, rather than raising, interest rates after government spending hikes. We rationalize these puzzling observations building on the imperfect substitutability of assets. We find that interest rates important for private borrowing/saving do not follow the response of the monetary policy rate, which is reflected by rising liquidity premia after spending hikes. A model with a structural specification of asset liquidity can replicate these findings and predicts moderate output effects of fiscal expansions even when monetary policy rates fall or are fixed at the zero lower bound.

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  • Bredemeier, Christian & Juessen, Falko & Schabert, Andreas, 2022. "Why are fiscal multipliers moderate even under monetary accommodation?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:141:y:2022:i:c:s0014292121002531
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2021.103970
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    Cited by:

    1. Bayer, Christian & Born, Benjamin & Luetticke, Ralph, 2023. "The liquidity channel of fiscal policy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 86-117.
    2. Matthieu Darracq Paries & Georg Muller & Niki Papadopoulou, 2022. "Fiscal Multipliers with Sovereign Risk and Fragile Banks," Working Papers 2022-5, Central Bank of Cyprus.
    3. Darracq Pariès, Matthieu & Müller, Georg & Papadopoulou, Niki, 2023. "Fiscal multipliers within the euro area in the context of sovereign risk and bank fragility," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    4. Christian Bredemeier & Falko Juessen & Roland Winkler, 2023. "Bringing Back the Jobs Lost to Covid‐19: The Role of Fiscal Policy," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 55(7), pages 1703-1747, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fiscal multiplier; Monetary policy; Real interest rates; Liquidity premium; Zero lower bound;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • E63 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Comparative or Joint Analysis of Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Stabilization; Treasury Policy

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