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Government Debt and Private Consumption: Theory and Evidence

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  • Becker, Torbjörn

    (Department of Economics)

Abstract

The Ricardian equivalence theorem has been widely debated since (at least) the seventies. The theorem states that househoolds should not change their consumption path in response to changed timing of taxes, given the path of government consumption. In the paper, theoretical models giving rise to the equivalence result as well as models predicting deviations from debt neutrality are presented. In general, the Ricardian models are based on unrealistic assumptions, such as infinite horizons, perfect capital markets and lump-sum taxes. The issue of Ricardian equivalence is thus perhaps better viewed as a question concerning to what extent the equivalence hypothesis is a reasonable approximation of the real world. This could only be established by empirical studies. To formulate a test of Ricardian equivalence, it is however vital to extend the standard analysis in deterministic models to stochastic models. In stochastic model we need to incorporate the fact that agents have to make predictions about future levels of government consumption, and that empirical study distinguishes between debt as a potential source of net wealth, which is the concern of the equivalence proposition, and debt's role as a signal of future levels of government consumption, which is due to the stochastic nature of the world. It is argued that there are few empirical studies that make this distinction, and in case the distinction is made, the evidence is in favor of the Ricardian equivalence proposition, namely that public debt is not net wealth to households. Changing the timing of taxes will therefore not change private consumption. In other words, although the Rivardian equivalence hypothesis is burdened with unrealistic assumptions, it seems (historically) to provide a reasonable approximation of actual data.

Suggested Citation

  • Becker, Torbjörn, 1995. "Government Debt and Private Consumption: Theory and Evidence," SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 71, Stockholm School of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:hhs:hastef:0071
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Gogas, Periklis & Plakandaras, Vasilios & Papadimitriou, Theophilos, 2014. "Public debt and private consumption in OECD countries," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 11(C), pages 1-7.
    2. Teboho Jeremiah Mosikari & Joel Hinaunye Eita, 2017. "Empirical test of the Ricardian Equivalence in the Kingdom of Lesotho," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 1351674-135, January.
    3. Hannes Kaadu & Lenno Uuskula, 2004. "Liquidity Constrains and Ricardian Equivalence in Estonia," Bank of Estonia Working Papers 2004-7, Bank of Estonia, revised 10 Oct 2004.
    4. Jorge A. Fornero, 2010. "Ricardian Equivalence Proposition in a NK DSGE Model for two Large Economies: The EU and the US," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 563, Central Bank of Chile.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public debt; private consumption; Ricardian equivalence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H60 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - General
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household

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