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Inflation’s role in optimal monetary-fiscal policy

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  • Leeper, Eric M.
  • Zhou, Xuan

Abstract

We address the optimal marginal source of financing shocks that raise fiscal needs in the presence of a maturity structure for nominal government debt, distortionary taxes, and sticky prices. We find: (1) the importance of innovations in current and expected inflation that revalue debt increases with both the average maturity and the level of debt; (2) an analytical trade off between inflation and output-gap stabilization as a function of debt maturity; (3) at current debt levels and maturity lengths in advanced economies, inflation would account for as much as 50 percent of marginal optimal financing; (4) maturity attenuates welfare losses from nominal rigidities.

Suggested Citation

  • Leeper, Eric M. & Zhou, Xuan, 2021. "Inflation’s role in optimal monetary-fiscal policy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-18.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:moneco:v:124:y:2021:i:c:p:1-18
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2021.10.006
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    Cited by:

    1. Francesco Bianchi & Leonardo Melosi, 2022. "Inflation as a Fiscal Limit," Working Paper Series WP 2022-37, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    2. Olegs Tkacevs & Karsten Staehr & Katri Urke, 2023. "Fiscal Performance under Inflation and Inflation Surprises: Evidence from Fiscal Reaction Functions for the Euro Area," Working Papers 2023/04, Latvijas Banka.
    3. Bonam, Dennis & Ciccarelli, Matteo & Gomes, Sandra & Aldama, Pierre & Bańkowski, Krzysztof & Buss, Ginters & da Costa, José Cardoso & Christoffel, Kai & Elfsbacka Schmöller, Michaela & Jacquinot, Pasc, 2024. "Challenges for monetary and fiscal policy interactions in the post-pandemic era," Occasional Paper Series 337, European Central Bank.
    4. Xiaoshan Chen & Eric M. Leeper & Campbell Leith, 2022. "Strategic interactions in U.S. monetary and fiscal policies," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 13(2), pages 593-628, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inflation; Tax smoothing; Debt management; Debt maturity; Fiscal finance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • 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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