Jointly Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy Rules under Borrowing Constraints /

We study the welfare properties of an economy where both monetary and fiscal policy follow simple rules, and where a subset of agents is borrowing constrained. The optimized fiscal rule is far more aggressive than automatic stabilizers, and stabilizes the income of borrowingconstrained agents, rathe...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kumhof, Michael
Other Authors: Bi, Huixin
Format: Journal
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2009.
Series:IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2009/286
Online Access:Full text available on IMF
Description
Summary:We study the welfare properties of an economy where both monetary and fiscal policy follow simple rules, and where a subset of agents is borrowing constrained. The optimized fiscal rule is far more aggressive than automatic stabilizers, and stabilizes the income of borrowingconstrained agents, rather than output. The optimized monetary rule features super-inertia and a very low coefficient on inflation, which minimizes real wage volatility. The welfare gains of optimizing the fiscal rule are far larger than the welfare gains of optimizing the monetary rule. The preferred fiscal instruments are government spending and transfers targeted to borrowing-constrained agents.
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Physical Description:1 online resource (39 pages)
Format:Mode of access: Internet
ISSN:1018-5941
Access:Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students