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Perceptions and misperceptions of fiscal inflation

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  • Eric M. Leeper
  • Todd B. Walker

Abstract

The Great Recession and worldwide financial crisis have exploded fiscal imbalances and brought fiscal policy and inflation to the forefront of policy concerns. Those concerns will only grow as aging populations increase demands on government expenditures in coming decades. It is widely perceived that fiscal policy is inflationary if and only if it leads the central bank to print new currency to monetize deficits. Monetization can be inflationary. But it is a misperception that this is the only channel for fiscal inflations. Nominal bonds, the predominant form of government debt in advanced economies, derive their value from expected future nominal primary surpluses and money creation; changes in the price level can align the market value of debt to its expected real backing. This introduces a fresh channel, not requiring monetization, through which fiscal deficits directly affect inflation. The paper begins by pointing out similarities and differences between the Weimar Republic after World War I and the United States today. It describes various ways in which fiscal policy can directly affect inflation and explains why these fiscal effects are difficult to detect in time series data.

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  • Eric M. Leeper & Todd B. Walker, 2011. "Perceptions and misperceptions of fiscal inflation," BIS Working Papers 364, Bank for International Settlements.
  • Handle: RePEc:bis:biswps:364
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    Cited by:

    1. Philip Turner, 2011. "Is the long-term interest rate a policy victim, a policy variable or a policy lodestar?," BIS Working Papers 367, Bank for International Settlements.
    2. Eric M. Leeper & Todd B. Walker, 2012. "Perceptions and Misperceptions of Fiscal Inflation," NBER Chapters, in: Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis, pages 255-299, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Tryphonides, Andreas, 2018. "Learning from Errors: The case of monetary and fiscal policy regimes," IRTG 1792 Discussion Papers 2018-022, Humboldt University of Berlin, International Research Training Group 1792 "High Dimensional Nonstationary Time Series".
    4. Qureshi, Irfan, 2015. "Monetary Policy Shifts and Central Bank Independence," MPRA Paper 81646, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Sep 2017.
    5. Hernán Rincón & Diego Rodríguez & Jorge Toro & Santiago Téllez, 2017. "FISCO: modelo fiscal para Colombia," Revista ESPE - Ensayos sobre Política Económica, Banco de la Republica de Colombia, vol. 35(83), pages 161-187, June.
    6. Michael D. Bordo & Robert N. McCauley, 2019. "Triffin: Dilemma or Myth?," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 67(4), pages 824-851, December.
    7. Michael D. Bordo & Mickey D. Levy, 2021. "Do enlarged fiscal deficits cause inflation? The historical record," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 59-83, February.
    8. Roseline Nyakerario Misati & Esman Morekwa Nyamongo & Lucas Kamau Njoroge & Sheila Kaminchia, 2012. "Feasibility of inflation targeting in an emerging market: evidence from Kenya," Journal of Financial Economic Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(2), pages 146-159, May.
    9. Boris Hofmann & Marco Jacopo Lombardi & Benoit Mojon & Athanasios Orphanides, 2021. "Fiscal and monetary policy interactions in a low interest rate world," BIS Working Papers 954, Bank for International Settlements.
    10. Mr. Manmohan Singh & Mr. Peter Stella, 2012. "Money and Collateral," IMF Working Papers 2012/095, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Alain Durré, 2013. "Politique économique mixte et chocs asymétriques : le cas de la zone euro," Reflets et perspectives de la vie économique, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(2), pages 67-82.
    12. Christos Shiamptanis, 2015. "Risk Assessment Under A Nonlinear Fiscal Policy Rule," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 53(3), pages 1539-1555, July.
    13. Staffa, Ruben Marek & von Schweinitz, Gregor, 2023. "Fiscal policy under the eyes of wary bondholders," IWH Discussion Papers 26/2023, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    14. Ascari, Guido & Florio, Anna & Gobbi, Alessandro, 2018. "High trend inflation and passive monetary detours," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 138-142.
    15. Chowdhury, Mohammad Tarequl Hasan & Bhattacharya, Prasad Sankar & Mallick, Debdulal & Ulubaşoğlu, Mehmet Ali, 2016. "Exchange rate regimes and fiscal discipline: The role of trade openness," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 106-128.
    16. De Graeve, Ferre & Queijo von Heideken, Virginia, 2015. "Identifying fiscal inflation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 83-93.
    17. Joanna Mackiewicz­‑Łyziak, 2014. "Wpływ długu publicznego na oczekiwania inflacyjne konsumentów w Europie," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 5, pages 113-132.
    18. Ranjan Kumar Mohanty & Sidheswar Panda, 2020. "How Does Public Debt Affect the Indian Macroeconomy? A Structural VAR Approach," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 14(3), pages 253-284, August.
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    21. Perevyshin, Yuri (Перевышин, Юрий), 2017. "Peculiarities of Interaction of Monetary and Fiscal Policy Under the Inflation Targeting Regime [Особенности Взаимодействия Денежно-Кредитной И Фискальной Политики При Режиме Инфляционного Таргетир," Working Papers 031711, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    monetary-fiscal interactions; fiscal theory; monetization;
    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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