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The Output Effects of Fiscal Consolidations: Does Spending Composition Matter?

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  • Ardanaz, Martín
  • Cavallo, Eduardo A.
  • Izquierdo, Alejandro
  • Puig, Jorge

Abstract

This paper studies whether changes in the composition of public spending affect the macroeconomic consequences of fiscal consolidations. Based on a sample of 44 developing countries and 26 advanced economies during 1980-2019, results show that while fiscal consolidations tend to be on average, contractionary, the size of the output fall depends on the behavior of public investment vis-a-vis public consumption during the fiscal adjustment, with heterogeneous responses growing over time. When public investment is penalized relative to public consumption and thus, its share in public expenditures decreases, a 1 percent of GDP consolidation reduces output by 0.7 percent within three years of the fiscal shock. In contrast, safeguarding public investment from budget cuts vis-a-vis public consumption can neutralize the contractionary effects of fiscal adjustments on impact, and can even spur output growth over the medium term. The component of GDP that mostly drives the heterogeneity between both types of adjustments is private investment. The results hold up to a number of robustness tests, including alternative identification strategies of fiscal shocks. The findings have policy implications for the design of fiscal adjustment strategies to protect economic growth as countries recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

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  • Ardanaz, Martín & Cavallo, Eduardo A. & Izquierdo, Alejandro & Puig, Jorge, 2021. "The Output Effects of Fiscal Consolidations: Does Spending Composition Matter?," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 11857, Inter-American Development Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:idb:brikps:11857
    DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0003881
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fiscal consolidations; public investment; public consumption; ?scal multiplier;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H50 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - General
    • H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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