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Monetary Policy and Liquid Government Debt

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  • David Andolfatto
  • Fernando M. Martin

Abstract

We examine the conduct of monetary policy in a world where the supply of outside money is controlled by the fiscal authority-a scenario increasingly relevant for many developed economies today. Central bank control over the long-run inflation rate depends on whether fiscal policy is Ricardian or Non-Ricardian. The optimal monetary policy follows a generalized Friedman rule that eliminates the liquidity premium on scarce treasury debt. We derive conditions for determinacy under both fiscal regimes and show that they do not necessarily correspond to the Taylor principle. In addition, Non-Ricardian regimes may suffer from multiplicity of steady-states when the government runs persistent deficits.

Suggested Citation

  • David Andolfatto & Fernando M. Martin, 2018. "Monetary Policy and Liquid Government Debt," Working Papers 2018-2, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
  • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2018-002
    DOI: 10.20955/wp.2018.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Fernando M. Martin, 2016. "The Value of Constraints on Discretionary Government Policy," Working Papers 2016-19, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
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    14. Begona Dominguez & Pedro Gomis-Porqueras, 2019. "The effects of secondary markets for government bonds on inflation dynamics," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 32, pages 249-273, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. David Andolfatto & Andrew Spewak, 2019. "Understanding Lowflation," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 101(1), pages 1-26.
    2. George-Marios Angeletos & Fabrice Collard & Harris Dellas, 2023. "Public Debt as Private Liquidity: Optimal Policy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 131(11), pages 3233-3264.
    3. Haydory Akbar Ahmed, 2020. "Monetary base and federal government debt in the long‐run: A non‐linear analysis," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(2), pages 167-184, April.
    4. Pedro Gomis‐Porqueras, 2020. "Fiscal Requirements for Dynamic and Real Determinacies in Economies with Private Provision of Liquidity: A Monetarist Assessment," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(1), pages 229-267, February.
    5. Begona Dominguez & Pedro Gomis-Porqueras, 2019. "The effects of secondary markets for government bonds on inflation dynamics," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 32, pages 249-273, April.
    6. Lucas Herrenbrueck, Zijian Wang, 2023. "Interest Rates, Moneyness, and the Fisher Equation," Discussion Papers dp23-11, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.
    7. Dhital, Saroj & Gomis-Porqueras, Pedro & Haslag, Joseph H., 2021. "Monetary and fiscal policy interactions in a frictional model of fiat money, nominal public debt and banking," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    8. David Andolfatto, 2021. "Assessing the Impact of Central Bank Digital Currency on Private Banks," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(634), pages 525-540.
    9. Lucas Herrenbrueck, 2019. "Interest Rates, Moneyness, and the Fisher Equation," Discussion Papers dp19-01, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.
    10. Swapan-Kumar Pradhan & Elod Takats & Judit Temesvary, "undated". "How does fiscal policy affect the transmission of monetary policy into cross-border bank lending? Cross-country evidence," BIS Working Papers 1226, Bank for International Settlements.
    11. Kim, Jeong-Yoo & Choi, Hyung Sun, 2023. "Monetary policy, fiscal policy and cross signal jamming," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    12. Berentsen, Aleksander & Waller, Christopher, 2018. "Liquidity premiums on government debt and the fiscal theory of the price level," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 173-182.
    13. Lukas Altermatt & Kohei Iwasaki & Randall Wright, 2023. "General Equilibrium with Multiple Liquid Assets," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 51, pages 267-291, December.
    14. Begoña Domínguez & Pedro Gomis‐Porqueras, 2023. "Normalizing the Central Bank's Balance Sheet: Implications for Inflation and Debt Dynamics," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 55(4), pages 945-974, June.
    15. Zenglian Zhang & Wenju Zhao, 2018. "Research on Financial Pressure, Poverty Governance, and Environmental Pollution in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-24, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    monetary policy; inflation; Taylor rule; determinacy; Ricardian; liquid bonds;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E40 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - General
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • E60 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General
    • 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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