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Can Monetary Policy Create Fiscal Capacity?

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  • Van Nieuwerburgh, Stijn
  • Elenev, Vadim
  • Landvoigt, Tim
  • Shultz, Patrick

Abstract

Governments around the world have gone on a massive fiscal expansion in response to the Covid crisis, increasing government debt to levels not seen in 75 years. How will this debt be repaid? What role do conventional and unconventional monetary policy play? We investigate debt sustainability in a New Keynesian model with an intermediary sector, realistic fiscal and monetary policy, endogenous convenience yields, and substantial risk premia. When conventional monetary policy is constrained by the ZLB during an economic crisis, increased government spending and lower tax revenue lead to a large rise in government debt and raise the risk of future tax increases. We find that quantitative easing (QE), forward guidance, and an expansion in government discretionary spending all contribute to lowering debt/GDP ratio and reducing this fiscal risk. A transitory QE policy deployed during a crisis stimulates aggregate demand.

Suggested Citation

  • Van Nieuwerburgh, Stijn & Elenev, Vadim & Landvoigt, Tim & Shultz, Patrick, 2021. "Can Monetary Policy Create Fiscal Capacity?," CEPR Discussion Papers 16414, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:16414
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    2. Corhay, Alexandre & Kind, Thilo & Kung, Howard & Morales, Gonzalo, 2021. "Discount rates, debt maturity, and the fiscal theory," SAFE Working Paper Series 323, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    3. Nissinen, Juuso & Sihvonen, Markus, 2024. "Bond convenience curves and funding costs," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    4. Diamond, William & Landvoigt, Tim & Sánchez, Germán Sánchez, 2025. "Printing away the mortgages: Fiscal inflation and the post-covid boom," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    5. Malmierca, María, 2022. "Stabilization and the policy mix in a monetary union," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 92-118.
    6. Diamond, William & Jiang, Zhengyang & Ma, Yiming, 2024. "The reserve supply channel of unconventional monetary policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    7. Wanping Yang & Zhenya Zhang & Yajuan Wang & Peidong Deng & Luyao Guo, 2022. "Impact of China’s Provincial Government Debt on Economic Growth and Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-21, January.
    8. Zhengyang Jiang & Hanno Lustig & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh & Mindy Z. Xiaolan, 2024. "The U.S. Public Debt Valuation Puzzle," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 92(4), pages 1309-1347, July.
    9. Jing Cynthia Wu & Yinxi Xie, 2025. "Unconventional Monetary and Fiscal Policy," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 56, April.
    10. George‐Marios Angeletos & Chen Lian & Christian K. Wolf, 2024. "Can Deficits Finance Themselves?," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 92(5), pages 1351-1390, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • E1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models
    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • E43 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects
    • 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
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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