Consumption Behavior and the Effects of Government Fiscal Policies

Consumption Behavior and the Effects of Government Fiscal Policies PDF Author: Randall P. Mariger
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674166356
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
In Consumption Behavior and the Effects of Government Fiscal Policies, Randall Mariger explores how people make decisions about how much to consume and save over their lifetimes. An understanding of these issues illuminates not only individual behavior but important properties of the macro economy as well. The most popular framework for analyzing consumption has been the life-cycle theory. Mariger tests two fundamental, and controversial, assumptions underlying the theory--that there are no planned bequests and that human capital is marketable. To do this, he fits a structural consumption model that incorporates endogenous liquidity constraints (non-marketability of human capital), but no planned bequests, to data on a cross-section of U. S. families. This estimated model, in conjunction with estimates of alternative models, enables him to make inferences about the respective effects of liquidity constraints and social security wealth on consumption. This latter effect yields indirect evidence concerning planned bequests. Mariger also presents direct evidence concerning bequest behavior. Among his findings are that the model fits the data very well in spite of its tight theoretical structure; that liquidity constraints are prevalent and have important effects on consumption behavior; that planned bequests appear not to be common among families in the lower 99.1% of the wealth distribution; and that families in the upper 0.9% of the wealth distribution appear to plan substantial bequests. Mariger devotes the latter part of his book to studying the implications of his estimated consumption model for the effects of government fiscal policies. More specifically, he simulates the model to infer the effects of government tax/debt policy, as well as those of the social security system, on aggregate savings.

Consumption Behavior and the Effects of Government Fiscal Policies

Consumption Behavior and the Effects of Government Fiscal Policies PDF Author: Randall P. Mariger
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674166356
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Get Book Here

Book Description
In Consumption Behavior and the Effects of Government Fiscal Policies, Randall Mariger explores how people make decisions about how much to consume and save over their lifetimes. An understanding of these issues illuminates not only individual behavior but important properties of the macro economy as well. The most popular framework for analyzing consumption has been the life-cycle theory. Mariger tests two fundamental, and controversial, assumptions underlying the theory--that there are no planned bequests and that human capital is marketable. To do this, he fits a structural consumption model that incorporates endogenous liquidity constraints (non-marketability of human capital), but no planned bequests, to data on a cross-section of U. S. families. This estimated model, in conjunction with estimates of alternative models, enables him to make inferences about the respective effects of liquidity constraints and social security wealth on consumption. This latter effect yields indirect evidence concerning planned bequests. Mariger also presents direct evidence concerning bequest behavior. Among his findings are that the model fits the data very well in spite of its tight theoretical structure; that liquidity constraints are prevalent and have important effects on consumption behavior; that planned bequests appear not to be common among families in the lower 99.1% of the wealth distribution; and that families in the upper 0.9% of the wealth distribution appear to plan substantial bequests. Mariger devotes the latter part of his book to studying the implications of his estimated consumption model for the effects of government fiscal policies. More specifically, he simulates the model to infer the effects of government tax/debt policy, as well as those of the social security system, on aggregate savings.

Automatic Fiscal Policies to Combat Recessions

Automatic Fiscal Policies to Combat Recessions PDF Author: Laurence S. Seidman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317476271
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
Drawing on the most prominent research in the field, this timely book offers bold new fiscal policies that can complement current automatic stabilizers and counter-cyclical monetary policy to help combat recessions. Dr. Seidman argues for an independent fiscal policy board or the Federal Reserve to decide changes in the magnitude of Congress's fiscal policy package of stimulus or restraint, with recommendations going into effect immediately, subject only to Congressional override.

Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis

Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis PDF Author: Alberto Alesina
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022601844X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 596

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Book Description
The recent recession has brought fiscal policy back to the forefront, with economists and policy makers struggling to reach a consensus on highly political issues like tax rates and government spending. At the heart of the debate are fiscal multipliers, whose size and sensitivity determine the power of such policies to influence economic growth. Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis focuses on the effects of fiscal stimuli and increased government spending, with contributions that consider the measurement of the multiplier effect and its size. In the face of uncertainty over the sustainability of recent economic policies, further contributions to this volume discuss the merits of alternate means of debt reduction through decreased government spending or increased taxes. A final section examines how the short-term political forces driving fiscal policy might be balanced with aspects of the long-term planning governing monetary policy. A direct intervention in timely debates, Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis offers invaluable insights about various responses to the recent financial crisis.

It’s Not All Fiscal

It’s Not All Fiscal PDF Author: Laura Jaramillo
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 151358474X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 30

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Book Description
We attempt to disentangle income and wealth effects on consumption by disaggregating both the different types of income and wealth. We estimate a consumption function for a panel of quarterly data for 14 advanced economies spanning 1998 to 2012, using an error correction specification. We find a significant long-term relation between consumption and the different components of income and wealth. While fiscal policy had direct effects on consumption, the analysis suggests that wealth effects were sizeable, and therefore need to be kept in mind when analyzing consumption trends going forward.

Inequality and Fiscal Policy

Inequality and Fiscal Policy PDF Author: Mr.Benedict J. Clements
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1513567756
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 450

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Book Description
The sizeable increase in income inequality experienced in advanced economies and many parts of the world since the 1990s and the severe consequences of the global economic and financial crisis have brought distributional issues to the top of the policy agenda. The challenge for many governments is to address concerns over rising inequality while simultaneously promoting economic efficiency and more robust economic growth. The book delves into this discussion by analyzing fiscal policy and its link with inequality. Fiscal policy is the government’s most powerful tool for addressing inequality. It affects households ‘consumption directly (through taxes and transfers) and indirectly (via incentives for work and production and the provision of public goods and individual services such as education and health). An important message of the book is that growth and equity are not necessarily at odds; with the appropriate mix of policy instruments and careful policy design, countries can in many cases achieve better distributional outcomes and improve economic efficiency. Country studies (on the Netherlands, China, India, Republic of Congo, and Brazil) demonstrate the diversity of challenges across countries and their differing capacity to use fiscal policy for redistribution. The analysis presented in the book builds on and extends work done at the IMF, and also includes contributions from leading academics.

Private Sector Consumption Behavior and Non-Keynesian Effects of Fiscal Policy

Private Sector Consumption Behavior and Non-Keynesian Effects of Fiscal Policy PDF Author: Ms.Rina Bhattacharya
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1451853580
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 29

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Book Description
This paper explores the hypothesis that the propensity to consume out of income is not constant but varies, perhaps in a nonlinear fashion, with fiscal variables. It examines whether there is any empirical evidence to support the hypothesis that households move from non-Ricardian to Ricardian behavior as government debt reaches high levels and as uncertainty about future taxes increases. The paper also examines the possibility of a relationship (along the lines of the Bertola-Drazen model) between the propensity to consume out of income and the government consumption-to-GDP ratio.

Monetary-fiscal Policy Interactions and Fiscal Stimulus

Monetary-fiscal Policy Interactions and Fiscal Stimulus PDF Author: Troy Davig
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fiscal policy
Languages : en
Pages : 39

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Book Description
Increases in government spending trigger substitution effects-both inter- and intra-temporal-and a wealth effect. The ultimate impacts on the economy hinge on current and expected monetary and fiscal policy behavior. Studies that impose active monetary policy and passive fiscal policy typically find that government consumption crowds out private consumption: higher future taxes create a strong negative wealth effect, while the active monetary response increases the real interest rate. This paper estimates Markov-switching policy rules for the United States and finds that monetary and fiscal policies fluctuate between active and passive behavior. When the estimated joint policy process is imposed on a conventional new Keynesian model, government spending generates positive consumption multipliers in some policy regimes and in simulated data in which all policy regimes are realized. The paper reports the model's predictions of the macroeconomic impacts of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's implied path for government spending under alternative monetary-fiscal policy combinations.

Tax Policy and the Economy

Tax Policy and the Economy PDF Author: James M. Poterba
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780262161671
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
Part of a series that presents recent research on the effects of taxation on economic performance and analyses of the effects of potential tax reforms, this volume includes: an evaluation of Medicaid in the 1980s; medical savings accounts; and implications of a broad-based consumption tax.

Dynamics of Devaluation and "Equivalent" Fiscal Policies for a Small Open Economy

Dynamics of Devaluation and Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1451931239
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 33

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Book Description
In pursuing a steady-state reserve target, policymakers in small open economies can resort to devaluation or to temporary increases in public saving. This paper contrasts the dynamic implications of these alternative policies in a model with optimizing agents who possess perfect foresight. In general, the private sector cannot be insulated from the effects of the government’s reserve-accumulation policies. The dynamic effects of devaluation depend on the fiscal policy rule in effect. In contrast to devaluation, the “equivalent” fiscal policies imply discontinuities in private consumption and temporary tax increases may cause key macroeconomic variables to overshoot their steady-state values.

Monetary and Fiscal Policy: Politics

Monetary and Fiscal Policy: Politics PDF Author: Torsten Persson
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262660884
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 476

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Book Description
This is the first of two volumes on a theory of macroeconomic policy that analyzes which policies are credible or politically feasible. Instead of looking at policy as an end product, the contributors approach policy as an ongoing process of revised goals, changes in tactics, and political pressures. They consider what kinds of incentives within different institutional settings, drive policy-making and the behaviour of policy-makers. The approach explains why certain monetary and fiscal policies are implemented, and provides insights into situations that occur repeatedly in macroeconomic policy, such as the bias toward government deficits, partisan competition and central bank independence.