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What Determines Government Spending Multipliers?

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  • Corsetti, Giancarlo
  • Müller, Gernot
  • Meier, André

Abstract

This paper studies how the effects of government spending vary with the economic environment. Using a panel of OECD countries, we identify fiscal shocks as residuals from an estimated spending rule and trace their macroeconomic impact under different conditions regarding the exchange rate regime, public indebtedness, and health of the financial system. The unconditional responses to a positive spending shock broadly confirm earlier findings. However, conditional responses differ systematically across exchange rate regimes, as real appreciation and external deficits occur mainly under currency pegs. We also find output and consumption multipliers to be unusually high during times of financial crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Corsetti, Giancarlo & Müller, Gernot & Meier, André, 2012. "What Determines Government Spending Multipliers?," CEPR Discussion Papers 9010, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9010
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Exchange rate regime; Financial crisis; Fiscal policy; Fiscal rules; Government spending; Multiplier; Public finances;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • F41 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Open Economy Macroeconomics

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