Can a Government Enhance Long-Run Growth by Changing the Composition of Public Expenditure?

Can a Government Enhance Long-Run Growth by Changing the Composition of Public Expenditure? PDF Author: Mr.Santiago Acosta Ormaechea
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1475550596
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 45

Get Book

Book Description
This paper studies the effects of public expenditure reallocations on long-run growth. To do this, we assemble a new dataset based on the IMF’s GFS yearbook for the period 1970-2010 and 56 countries (14 low-, 16 medium-, and 26 high-income countries). Using dynamic panel GMM estimators, we find that a reallocation involving a rise in education spending has a positive and statistically robust effect on growth, when the compensating factor remains unspecified or when this is associated with an offsetting reduction in social protection spending. We also find that public capital spending relative to current spending appears to be associated with higher growth, yet results are non-robust in this latter case.

Can a Government Enhance Long-Run Growth by Changing the Composition of Public Expenditure?

Can a Government Enhance Long-Run Growth by Changing the Composition of Public Expenditure? PDF Author: Mr.Santiago Acosta Ormaechea
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1475550596
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 45

Get Book

Book Description
This paper studies the effects of public expenditure reallocations on long-run growth. To do this, we assemble a new dataset based on the IMF’s GFS yearbook for the period 1970-2010 and 56 countries (14 low-, 16 medium-, and 26 high-income countries). Using dynamic panel GMM estimators, we find that a reallocation involving a rise in education spending has a positive and statistically robust effect on growth, when the compensating factor remains unspecified or when this is associated with an offsetting reduction in social protection spending. We also find that public capital spending relative to current spending appears to be associated with higher growth, yet results are non-robust in this latter case.

Unproductive Public Expenditures

Unproductive Public Expenditures PDF Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1557755418
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 56

Get Book

Book Description
Public expenditure policy, together with efforts to raise revenue,is at the core of efficient and equitable adjustment. Public expenditureproductivity has critical implications for fiscal adjustment, particularly as the competition for limited public resources intensifies.By providing a framework for defining and analyzing public expenditureproductivity and unproductive expenditures, this pamphlet discusseshow economic policymakers may approach these issues.

Government Expenditure and Economic Growth

Government Expenditure and Economic Growth PDF Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1451974159
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 30

Get Book

Book Description
This paper examines the empirical evidence on the contribution that government and, in particular, capital expenditure make to the growth performance of a sample of developing countries. Using the Denison growth accounting approach, this study finds that social expenditures may have a significant impact on growth in the short run, but infrastructure expenditures may have little influence. While current expenditures for directly productive purposes may exert a positive influence, capital expenditure in these sectors appears to exert a negative influence. Experiments with other explanatory variables confirm the importance of the growth of exports to the overall growth rate.

Expansionary Austerity New International Evidence

Expansionary Austerity New International Evidence PDF Author: Mr.Daniel Leigh
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1455294691
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 41

Get Book

Book Description
This paper investigates the short-term effects of fiscal consolidation on economic activity in OECD economies. We examine the historical record, including Budget Speeches and IMFdocuments, to identify changes in fiscal policy motivated by a desire to reduce the budget deficit and not by responding to prospective economic conditions. Using this new dataset, our estimates suggest fiscal consolidation has contractionary effects on private domestic demand and GDP. By contrast, estimates based on conventional measures of the fiscal policy stance used in the literature support the expansionary fiscal contractions hypothesis but appear to be biased toward overstating expansionary effects.

public expenditure and growth

public expenditure and growth PDF Author: Santiago Herrera
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Access to Finance
Languages : en
Pages : 68

Get Book

Book Description
Abstract: Given that public spending will have a positive impact on GDP if the benefits exceed the marginal cost of public funds, the present paper deals with measuring costs and benefits of public spending. The paper discusses one cost seldom considered in the literature and in policy debates, namely, the volatility derived from additional public spending. The paper identifies a relationship between public spending volatility and consumption volatility, which implies a direct welfare loss to society. This loss is substantial in developing countries, estimated at 8 percent of consumption. If welfare losses due to volatility are this sizeable, then measuring the benefits of public spending is critical. Gauging benefits based on macro aggregate data requires three caveats: a) considering of the impact of the funding (taxation) required for the additional public spending; b) differentiating between investment and capital formation; c) allowing for heterogeneous response of output to different types of capital and differences in network development. It is essential to go beyond country-specificity to project-level evaluation of the benefits and costs of public projects. From the micro viewpoint, the rate of return of a project must exceed the marginal cost of public funds, determined by tax levels and structure. Credible evaluations require microeconomic evidence and careful specification of counterfactuals. On this, the impact evaluation literature and methods play a critical role. From individual project evaluation, the analyst must contemplate the general equilibrium impacts. In general, the paper advocates for project evaluation as a central piece of any development platform. By increasing the efficiency of public spending, the government can permanently increase the rate of productivity growth and, hence, affect the growth rate of GDP.

Fiscal Policy, Public Expenditure Composition, and Growth

Fiscal Policy, Public Expenditure Composition, and Growth PDF Author: Willi Semmler
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 36

Get Book

Book Description


Fiscal Policy and Long-Term Growth

Fiscal Policy and Long-Term Growth PDF Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1498344658
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Get Book

Book Description
This paper explores how fiscal policy can affect medium- to long-term growth. It identifies the main channels through which fiscal policy can influence growth and distills practical lessons for policymakers. The particular mix of policy measures, however, will depend on country-specific conditions, capacities, and preferences. The paper draws on the Fund’s extensive technical assistance on fiscal reforms as well as several analytical studies, including a novel approach for country studies, a statistical analysis of growth accelerations following fiscal reforms, and simulations of an endogenous growth model.

Fiscal Adjustment for Stability and Growth

Fiscal Adjustment for Stability and Growth PDF Author: Mr.James Daniel
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 9781589065130
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 80

Get Book

Book Description
The pamphlet (which updates the 1995 Guidelines for Fiscal Adjustment) presents the IMF’s approach to fiscal adjustment, and focuses on the role that sound government finances play in promoting macroeconomic stability and growth. Structured around five practical questions—when to adjust, how to assess the fiscal position, what makes for successful adjustment, how to carry out adjustment, and which institutions can help—it covers topics such as tax policies, debt sustainability, fiscal responsibility laws, and transparency.

Fiscal Policy, Public Expenditure Composition, and Growth

Fiscal Policy, Public Expenditure Composition, and Growth PDF Author: Willi Semmler
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Access to Finance
Languages : en
Pages : 36

Get Book

Book Description
Abstract: This paper responds to the development policy debate involving the World Bank and the IMF on the use of fiscal policy not only for economic stabilization but also to promote economic growth and increase per capita income. A key issue in this debate relates to the effect of the composition of public expenditure on economic growth. Policy makers and some researchers have argued that expenditure on growth-enhancing functions could enhance future revenue and justify the provision of "fiscal space" in the budget. But there are no simple ways to identify the growth-maximizing composition of public expenditure. The current paper lays out a research strategy to explore the effects of fiscal policy, including the composition of public expenditure, on economic growth, using a time series approach. Based on the modeling strategy of Greiner, Semmler and Gong (2005) we develop a general model that features a government that undertakes public expenditure on (a) education and health facilities which enhance human capital, (b) public infrastructure such as roads and bridges necessary for market activity, (c) public administration to support government functions, (d) transfers and public consumption facilities, and (e) debt service. The proposed model is numerically solved, calibrated and the impact of the composition of public expenditure on the long-run per capita income explored for low-, lower-middle- and upper-middle-income countries. Policy implications and practical policy rules are spelled out, the extension to an estimable model indicated, a debt sustainability test proposed, and the out-of-steady-state dynamics studied.

The Growth of Government and the Reform of the State in Industrial Countries

The Growth of Government and the Reform of the State in Industrial Countries PDF Author: Mr.Vito Tanzi
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 50

Get Book

Book Description
This paper describes the growth of public spending in industrial countries over the past century. It identifies several periods: the periods between 1870 and 1913; the period between the two World Wars; the post World War II period up to 1960; and the period after 1960. Public spending started growing during World War I but its growth accelerated after 1960. The paper outlines the reasons for this growth and speculates that recent government growth has not brought about much economic or social progress. The paper sees the future of government mainly in setting the “rules of the game,” and provides a rough blueprint for reform. It also discusses experiences with government reform in selected count les, and predicts that over the next decades, public spending as a share of GDP will fall.