scholarly journals CARMEN REINHART AND KENNETH ROGOFF IN A TIME OF FISCAL AUSTERITY: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EXPANSIONARY AUSTERITY THEORY

Author(s):  
Alberto Botta

In this paper, we provide a critical analysis of the theory of the expansionary austerity. We take the hotly debated contribution by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff on the supposedly negative relationship between public debt and economic growth (when the debt-to-GDP ratio overcomes the 90 percent threshold) as the starting point of our analysis. We then move to analyze those contributions that more directly point to the possible expansionary outcomes of tough fiscal retrenchments. We eventually criticize the main conclusions of the expansionary austerity theory by presenting a simple short-run theoretical model. We show that fiscal consolidation might have expansionary outcomes only under pretty extreme, or very specific and uncertain circumstances. Expansionary austerity would hardly take place in the context of monetarily sovereign economies, or in presence of an accommodative monetary policy like that implemented by the ECB since late 2011, or into economic systems that are poorly integrated on international goods markets.

2020 ◽  
pp. 193672442098041
Author(s):  
Talknice Saungweme ◽  
Nicholas M. Odhiambo

This paper investigates the debt-growth nexus by testing both the impact of aggregate public debt on economic growth and the relative impact of domestic and foreign public debt on economic growth using South Africa as the case study—from 1970 to 2017. Based on the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique, the findings reveal that the impact of aggregated public debt on economic growth in South Africa is statistically significant and negative, both in the short run and in the long run. The results further reveal that domestic public debt and economic growth have a statistically significant and positive relationship in the short run only. Furthermore, foreign public debt has a statistically significant and negative relationship with economic growth but only in the long run. Therefore, the study recommends the government to manage effectively its debt and to finance long-term high-returning productive investments that should translate into economic growth. Finally, the study cautions the country against growing public debt, predominantly foreign debt, to finance its increasing recurrent expenditure needs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 23-38
Author(s):  
Talknice Saungweme ◽  
Nicholas M. Odhiambo

Abstract This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the impact of public debt service on economic growth; and it provides an evidence-based approach to public policy formulation in Zimbabwe. The empirical analysis was performed by applying the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique to annual time-series data from 1970 to 2017. The study findings reveal that the impact of public debt service on economic growth in Zimbabwe is negative in the short run but positive in the long run. The results are suggestive of the existence of a crowding-out effect of public debt service in Zimbabwe in the short run and a crowding-in effect in the long run. In view of these findings, the government should consider fiscal and financial policies that promote a constant supply of long-term finance, long-term fixed investments, and extension of a government securities maturity structure so as to ensure sustainable short- and long-term public debt service expenditures. The study further recommends the strengthening of non-distortionary revenue mobilisation reforms to reduce market distortions and boost domestic investment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-73
Author(s):  
John Abiodun Akinde ◽  
Elijah Oludayo

Different policies impact on the growth of the telecommunication sector in Nigeria. One of these policies which influence the expansion or contraction of the telecommunication output is monetary policy. To this end, this research examined the effect of monetary policy on telecommunication output in Nigeria. For the purpose of analysis, time series secondary data were sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin covering the periods1986 to 2018. Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) technique was employed after examining the stationarity of the data series using Augmented Dickey-Fuller technique. The bound co-integration test revealed that there is long run equilibrium between the monetary policy variables employed and telecommunication output. The ARDL result revealed that money supply had significant and positive effect on telecommunication output in the short and long run; liquidity ratio produced an insignificant and negative relationship with telecommunication output in the short run and insignificant positive effect in the long run; exchange rate had insignificant negative effect in the short run and a significant positive effect on telecommunication output in the long run; consumer price index had significant negative influence on telecommunication outputboth in the short run and long run. The study concluded that monetary policy stimulates telecommunication output in Nigeria. Thus, it was recommended that the monetary authority should pursue an expansionary monetary policy to sustain the positive influence of money supply on telecommunication output in Nigeria while rolling out policy to reduce the liquidity ratio of banks in the short run but increase it in the long run so that the long term favourable effect of liquidity ratio can be felt on telecommunication output.  


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anand Nadar

This study investigatesthe effectiveness of fiscal policy and monetary policy in India. We collected thetime series data for India ranging from 1960 to 2019 from World Development Indicator (WDI). Weapplied the bound test co-integration approach to check the long-run relationship between fiscalpolicy, monetary policy, and economic growth in the context of Indian economy. The short-run andlong-run effects of fiscal policy and monetary policy have been estimated using ARDL models. Theresults showed that there is a long-run relationship between fiscal and monetary policies witheconomic growth. The estimated short-run coefficients indicated that a few immediate short runimpacts of fiscal and monetary policies are insignificant. However, the short-run impacts becomesignificant as time passes. The long-run results suggested that the long-run impact of both fiscal andmonetary policies on economic growth are positive and significant. More specifically, the GDP levelincreases if the money supply and government expenditure increase (Expansionary fiscal andmonetary policies). On the other hand, the GDP level decreasesif the money supply and governmentexpenditure decrease (contractionary fiscal and monetary policies). Therefore, this studyrecommends to use expansionary policies to spur the Indian economy.


2011 ◽  
Vol 50 (4II) ◽  
pp. 599-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naeem Akram

Over the years Pakistan has failed to collect enough revenues for financing of its budget. Consequently, the problem of twin deficits emerged and to finance the developmental activities government has to rely on public external and domestic debt. The positive effects of public debt relate to the fact that in resource-starved economies debt financing if done properly leads to higher growth and adds to their capacity to service and repay public debt. The negative effects work through two main channels—i.e., ―Debt Overhang‖ and ―Crowding Out‖ effects. The present study examines the consequences of public debt for economic growth and investment in Pakistan for the period 1972-2009. It develops a hybrid model that explicitly incorporates the role of public debt in growth equations. As the some variables are I (1) and other are I (0) so Autoregressive Distributed Lag(ARDL) technique has been applied to estimate the model. Study finds that public external debt has negative relationship with per capita GDP and investment confirming the existence of ―Debt Overhang effect‖. However, due to insignificant relationships of debt servicing with investment and per capita GDP, the existence of the crowding out hypothesis could not be confirmed. Similarly, domestic debt has a negative relationship with investment and per capita GDP. In other words, it seems to have crowded out private investment. JEL classification: H63, O43, E22, C22 Keywords: Public Debt, Economic Growth, Investment, ARDL


Significance It includes large federal stimulus spending to spur economic growth and to alleviate the worst impacts of the collapse in global commodity prices, particularly oil. The budget represents a break on the part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with the prevailing orthodoxy around fiscal austerity and reliance on central bank monetary policy to support growth. Impacts Small business tax rates remain unchanged from levels set by the previous Conservative government. Troubled Quebec aerospace firm Bombardier may receive a federal bailout. Post-election leadership questions surrounding the Conservatives and NDP provide Trudeau with a weakened opposition for the time being. Ambitious federal projections of revenues recovered from tax havens and arrears are unlikely to be realised.


Author(s):  
Issoufou Oumarou

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to examine the existence or not of a long run or a short run relationship between public debt and economic in Niger and investigate the significance of this relationship. Approach/Methodology/Design: The study first applied time series econometrics tests such as Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) unit root test, Bound cointegration test and Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) on annual data obtained from the International monetary fund (IMF) and the West African States Central Bank (BCEAO). The observations cover the period from 1970 to 2019. The study then performed some residual tests including serial correlation, normality and heteroskedasticity for the accuracy of the prediction of the model. Findings: The empirical results showed no long run relationship between public debt and economic growth in Niger. The short run analysis revealed that public debt and budget balance have short run causal effects on economic growth in Niger. The coefficients are significant at 10% significance level. Practical Implications: This article gives valuable information to Niger policy makers regarding the effects of public debt on Niger economic growth. The article highlights the effects that public debt has on economic growth in Niger in the short and long run. Therefore helping policy makers decide whether to increase or reduce the borrowing trend. Originality/value: The results of the paper give valuable information on the relationship that public debt may have with economic growth in Sub Saharan African countries with the similar macroeconomic indicators with Niger.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sohail Amjed ◽  
Iqtidar Ali Shah

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate long-run and short-run relationships between trade diversification, financial system development, capital formation and economic growth.Design/methodology/approachARDL estimation approach is applied to analyze long-run and short-run relationships between the financial system development, capital formation, economic growth and trade diversification in case of the Sultanate of Oman over the period 39 years starting from 1979 till 2017.FindingsThe results show that financial system development and economic growth has a positive impact on trade diversification in the short-run and long-run. However, capital formation has a negative impact on trade diversification in the short run and long run. The negative relationship between trade diversification and capital formation implies that over the period of study, the investment in capital goods was made to enhance the production capacity of the oil sector to maximize revenue.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited to analyze long-run and short-run relationship between the financial system development, capital formation and economic growth and trade diversification in case of Sultanate of Oman.Practical implicationsTo achieve the diversification goal, the policymakers need to formulate policies to strengthen the financial system and invest in infrastructure development to promote the non-oil sector. The research findings of this study will provide insights to the policymakers to formulate an effective diversification policy.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence of the short-run and long-run analysis of the selected variables in the context of an oil-dependent country.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kodjovi Eklou ◽  
Mamour Fall

Do discretionary spending cuts and tax increases hurt social well-being? To answer this question, we combine subjective well-being data covering over half a million of individuals across 13 European countries, with macroeconomic data on fiscal consolidations. We find that fiscal consolidations reduce individual well-being in the short run, especially when they are based on spending cuts. In addition, we show that accompanying monetary and exchange rate policies (disinflation, depreciations and the liberalization of capital flows) mitigate the well-being cost of fiscal consolidations. Finally, we investigate the well-being consequences of the two well-knowns expansionary fiscal consolidations episodes taking place in the 80s (in Denmark and Ireland). We find that even expansionary fiscal consolidations can have well-being costs. Our results may therefore shed some light on why some governments may choose to consolidate through taxes even at the cost of economic growth. Indeed, if spending cuts are to generate a large well-being loss, they can trigger an opposition and protest against a fiscal consolidation plan and hence making it politically costly.


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