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Optimal Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy Interaction in a non-Ricardian Economy

Author

Listed:
  • Massimiliano Rigon

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Francesco Zanetti

    (University of Oxford)

Abstract

This paper studies optimal discretionary monetary policy and its interaction with fiscal policy in a New Keynesian model with finitely-lived consumers and gov- ernment debt. Optimal discretionary monetary policy involves debt stabilization to reduce consumption dispersion across cohorts of consumers. The welfare relevance of debt stabilization is proportional to the debt-to-output ratio and inversely related to the household's probability of survival that a¤ects the household's propensity to consume out financial wealth. Debt stabilization bias implies that discretionary optimal policy is suboptimal compared with the inflation targeting rule that fully stabilizes the output gap and the inflation rate while leaving debt to freely fluctuate in response to demand shocks.

Suggested Citation

  • Massimiliano Rigon & Francesco Zanetti, 2017. "Optimal Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy Interaction in a non-Ricardian Economy," BCAM Working Papers 1708, Birkbeck Centre for Applied Macroeconomics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bbk:bbkcam:1708
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Lorenzo Esposito & Giuseppe Mastromatteo, 2019. "Defaultnomics: Making Sense of the Barro-Ricardo Equivalence in a Financialized World," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_933, Levy Economics Institute.
    2. Atsushi Tanaka, 2021. "Central Bank Capital and Credibility: A Literature Survey," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 63(2), pages 249-262, June.
    3. Vasileios Karaferis, 2025. "Inequality, Labour Market Dynamics and the Policy Mix: Insights from a FLANK," Edinburgh School of Economics Discussion Paper Series 319, Edinburgh School of Economics, University of Edinburgh.
    4. Nicoletta Batini & Alessandro Cantelmo & Giovanni Melina & Stefania Villa, 2021. "How loose, how tight? A measure of monetary and fiscal stance for the euro area," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 73(4), pages 1536-1556.
    5. Bhatnagar, Aryaman, 2023. "Monetary policy with non-Ricardian households," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 12-26.
    6. Concetta Rondinelli & Roberta Zizza, 2020. "Spend today or spend tomorrow? The role of inflation expectations in consumer behaviour," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1276, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    7. Atsushi Tanaka, 2020. "Central Bank Capital and Credibility: A Literature Survey," Discussion Paper Series 208, School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University, revised May 2020.
    8. Stefano Grassi & Marco Lorusso & Francesco Ravazzolo, 2025. "Adaptive Importance Sampling Estimation of an Open Economy Model with Fiscal Policy," BEMPS - Bozen Economics & Management Paper Series BEMPS111, Faculty of Economics and Management at the Free University of Bozen.
    9. Richard McManus & F Gulcin Ozkan & Dawid Trzeciakiewicz, 2021. "Fiscal consolidations and distributional effects: which form of fiscal austerity is least harmful?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 73(1), pages 317-349.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • 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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