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Spending-based austerity measures and their effects on output and unemployment

Author

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  • Bermperoglu, Dimitrios
  • Pappa, Evi
  • Vella, Eugenia

Abstract

We compare the output and unemployment effects of fiscal adjustments in different types of government outlays in the US, Canada, Japan, and the UK. We identify shocks in government consumption, investment, vacancies and government wages in a SVAR using sign restrictions extracted from a New-Keynesian model with matching frictions in the private and public sector, endogenous labor force participation and heterogeneous unemployed jobseekers. Government vacancy cuts are associated with the highest output losses and the lowest gains in terms of deficit reductions. This is because such shocks generate an additional wealth effect: they induce a fall in the number of working members of the household that leads to a fall in private consumption and investment demand. On the other hand, government wage cuts are the least destructive device for cutting the budget.

Suggested Citation

  • Bermperoglu, Dimitrios & Pappa, Evi & Vella, Eugenia, 2013. "Spending-based austerity measures and their effects on output and unemployment," CEPR Discussion Papers 9383, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9383
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Cantelmo, Alessandro & Melina, Giovanni, 2018. "Monetary policy and the relative price of durable goods," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1-48.
    2. Juin‐Jen Chang & Hsieh‐Yu Lin & Nora Traum & Shu‐Chun S. Yang, 2021. "Fiscal Consolidation and Public Wages," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 53(2-3), pages 503-533, March.
    3. International Monetary Fund, 2015. "Belgium: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2015/071, International Monetary Fund.
    4. Munkacsi, Zsuzsa, 2015. "Fiscal austerity, unemployment and family firms," Discussion Papers 06/2015, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    5. Andrea Tafuro, 2015. "The Effects of Fiscal Policy on Employment: an Analysis of the Aggregate Evidence," Working Papers 2015: 03, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    6. Alymkulova Nargiza Bakytovna & Atabaev Nurlan Uzgenovich & Ganiev Junus Mashrapovich, 2016. "Var - analysis of Global financial economic crisis impact on public budget and unemployment: evidence from the economy of the Kyrgyz Republic," Экономика региона, CyberLeninka;Федеральное государственное бюджетное учреждение науки «Институт экономики Уральского отделения Российской академии наук», vol. 12(4), pages 1090-1101.
    7. Eckardt, Sebastian & Mills, Zachary, 2014. "What goes up must come down -- cyclicality in public wage bill spending," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6760, The World Bank.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    austerity; NK model; output and unemployment multipliers; search and matching frictions; sign restrictions; VARs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C11 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Bayesian Analysis: General
    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy

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