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Fiscal sustainability in an emerging market economy: When does public debt turn bad?

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  • Baharumshah, Ahmad Zubaidi
  • Soon, Siew-Voon
  • Lau, Evan

Abstract

This paper proposes a Markov-switching model to assess the sustainability of fiscal policy in Malaysia for the period 1980–2014. Our results indicate the policymakers in the past have followed a sustainable fiscal policy, except during the brief periods of economic difficulty. The empirical analysis reveals that the government should cut the deficits only if they exceed a certain level, to ensure their sustainability in the long-run. Specifically, we find that after public debt exceeds a certain threshold level (above 55% of the gross domestic product), it is negatively correlated with economic activity. In addition to the threshold effect, we confirm the presence of a unidirectional causal relation between debt and growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Baharumshah, Ahmad Zubaidi & Soon, Siew-Voon & Lau, Evan, 2017. "Fiscal sustainability in an emerging market economy: When does public debt turn bad?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 99-113.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jpolmo:v:39:y:2017:i:1:p:99-113
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpolmod.2016.11.002
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    Cited by:

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    2. Mohammed Daher Alshammary & Zulkefly Abdul Karim & Norlin Khalid & Riayati Ahmad, 2020. "Debt-Growth Nexus in the MENA Region: Evidence from a Panel Threshold Analysis," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-12, November.
    3. Shiv Shankar & Pushpa Trivedi, 2023. "Assessing India’s fiscal sustainability considering debt–deficit and financing dynamics," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 41-70, June.
    4. Maitra, Biswajit, 2019. "Macroeconomic impact of public debt and foreign aid in Sri Lanka," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 372-394.
    5. Chemnyongoi, Hellen, 2023. "Fiscal Policy Sustainability in Kenya," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 7(4), June.
    6. Ryota Nakatani, 2021. "Fiscal Rules for Natural Disaster- and Climate Change-Prone Small States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-26, March.
    7. Lau, Evan & Moll de Alba, Jaime & Liew, Kim-Hing, 2022. "Debt and economic growth in Asian developing countries," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 599-612.
    8. Helder Ferreira de Mendonça & Iven Silva Valpassos, 2022. "Combination of economic policies: how the perfect storm wrecked the Brazilian economic growth," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 1135-1157, September.
    9. Chen, Shyh-Wei & Wu, An-Chi, 2018. "Is there a bubble component in government debt? New international evidence," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 467-486.
    10. Campos, Eduardo Lima & Cysne, Rubens Penha, 2021. "Estimating debt limits for emerging countries," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 836-855.
    11. Alloza, Mario & Andrés, Javier & Pérez, Javier J. & Rojas, Juan A., 2020. "Implicit public debt thresholds: An operational proposal," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 42(6), pages 1408-1424.
    12. Afonso, António & Alves, José & Jalles, João Tovar, 2022. "To consolidate or not to consolidate? A multi-step analysis to assess needed fiscal sustainability," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 106-123.
    13. Nini Johana Marín-Rodríguez & Juan David Gonzalez-Ruiz & Sergio Botero, 2023. "Assessing Fiscal Sustainability in the Landscape of Economics Research," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-19, December.
    14. Qureshi, Saba & Rehman, Ijaz Ur & Qureshi, Fiza, 2018. "Does gold act as a safe haven against exchange rate fluctuations? The case of Pakistan rupee," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 685-708.
    15. Yacoub Alatrash & Gani Nurmukhametov, 2021. "Fiscal Policy Effectiveness Under Different Debt Regimes: The Case of Egypt," Working Papers 1527, Economic Research Forum, revised 20 Dec 2021.
    16. Akram, Vaseem & Rath, Badri Narayan, 2020. "What do we know about fiscal sustainability across Indian states?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 307-321.
    17. Yoshino, Naoyuki & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Mizoguchi, Tetsuro, 2018. "Fiscal Policy Conditions for Government Budget Stability and Economic Recovery: Comparative Analysis of Japan and Greece," ADBI Working Papers 851, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    18. Jos Mauricio Gil Le n & John William Rosso Murillo & Edgar Alonso Ramirez Hern ndez, 2019. "Public Debt and Stability in Economic Growth: Evidence for Latin America," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 9(4), pages 137-147.
    19. Bystrov, Victor & Mackiewicz, Michał, 2020. "Recurrent explosive public debts and the long-run fiscal sustainability," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 437-450.
    20. Ehigiamusoe, Kizito Uyi & Lean, Hooi Hooi, 2020. "The role of deficit and debt in financing growth in West Africa," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 216-234.
    21. Pandow, Bilal, 2018. "International practices and situating public debt management in Oman," MPRA Paper 85651, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    22. Olumide Olusegun Olaoye & Phillip A. Olomola, 2023. "Sub‐Saharan Africa's rising public debt stock: Is there a cause for concern?," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 91(1), pages 85-115, March.
    23. Rubo Zhao & Yixiang Tian & Ao Lei & Francis Boadu & Ze Ren, 2019. "The Effect of Local Government Debt on Regional Economic Growth in China: A Nonlinear Relationship Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-22, May.
    24. Tran, Ngan, 2018. "Debt threshold for fiscal sustainability assessment in emerging economies," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 375-394.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Endogenous multiple breaks; Fiscal sustainability; Debt; Economic growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • F34 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Lending and Debt Problems
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt

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