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How Can Government Spending Stimulate Consumption?

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  • Daniel Murphy

    (University of Virginia)

Abstract

Recent empirical work finds that government spending shocks can cause aggregate consumption to increase. This paper builds on the framework of imperfect information in Lucas (1972) and Lorenzoni (2009) to show how government spending can stimulate consumption. Owners of firms targeted by an increase in government spending perceive an increase in their permanent income relative to their future tax liabilities, while owners of firms not targeted remain unaware of the implicit increase in future tax liabilities, causing aggregate consumption to increase. I show that a testable implication of this model—namely that the value of firms should increase in response to government spending shocks, implying all else equal an increase in aggregate stock returns—is consistent with empirical evidence. (Copyright: Elsevier)

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Murphy, 2015. "How Can Government Spending Stimulate Consumption?," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 18(3), pages 551-574, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:issued:13-162
    DOI: 10.1016/j.red.2014.09.006
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    Cited by:

    1. Gitana Dudzevičiūtė & Agnė Šimelytė & Aušra Liučvaitienė, 2018. "Government expenditure and economic growth in the European Union countries," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 45(2), pages 372-386, February.
    2. Miranda-Pinto, Jorge & Murphy, Daniel & Walsh, Kieran James & Young, Eric R., 2023. "Saving constraints, inequality, and the credit market response to fiscal stimulus," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    3. Alan J. Auerbach & Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Daniel Murphy, 2019. "Local Fiscal Multipliers and Fiscal Spillovers in the United States," NBER Working Papers 25457, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Ambler, Steve & Bouakez, Hafedh & Cardia, Emanuela, 2017. "Does the crowding-in effect of public spending on private consumption undermine neoclassical models?," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 399-410.
    5. Auerbach, Alan J. & Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Murphy, Daniel, 2021. "Inequality, fiscal policy and COVID19 restrictions in a demand-determined economy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    6. Alan Auerbach & Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Daniel Murphy, 2020. "Local Fiscal Multipliers and Fiscal Spillovers in the USA," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 68(1), pages 195-229, March.
    7. Alan J. Auerbach & Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Daniel Murphy, 2020. "Effects of Fiscal Policy on Credit Markets," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 110, pages 119-124, May.
    8. Murphy, Daniel & Walsh, Kieran James, 2022. "Government spending and interest rates," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    9. Yuliya Demyanyk & Elena Loutskina & Daniel Murphy, 2019. "Fiscal Stimulus and Consumer Debt," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 728-741, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Government spending supplier; Wealth effect; Rigid wages;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E30 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory

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