The Stability Pact and Feedback Policy Effects

We use a two-country dynamic model in a monetary union in which we introduce a wealth private behaviour. We study the implications of public debt on monetary and fiscal policies in the short and the long run. We analyse the effects of asymmetric fiscal policies in Euroland: the first country has fiscal room for manoeuvre whereas the second country is fettered by the Stability Pact. We show that such a situation creates two feedback effects which reduce the efficiency of economic policies. First, because of the inability of one government to implement an expansionist fiscal policy, the other government has to substitute for it in order to stabilise inflation and production. Second, the ECB's involvement in macroeconomic stabilisation will also be exacerbated. The more substantial these effects, the more co-operation is needed between European governments and the ECB.monetary and fiscal policies, EMU, Stability Pact, fiscal theory of inflation, public debt.

Is public capital productive in Europe?

This paper addresses the issue of whether and by how much public investment or public capital can enhance economic performance. In comparison with the literature on the subject, we apply many different methodologies to answer these questions. A VAR model (for France, Italy, Germany, the UK and the USA), a panel composed of 6 European countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands) and a regional panel (French regions) are therefore estimated. Public investment is shown to be a significant determinant of output; this is also true for public capital but to a lesser extent than public investment with a VAR methodology. The size of the estimated coefficient is also more realistic than those obtained in the literature. This empirical result confirms that the focus of some economists on safeguarding the level of public investment is not misplaced. The debate on the introduction of a “golden rule of public finance” in EMU is legitimate.public capital, VAR model, panel, European economies

Automatic Stabilisation, Discretionary Policy and the Stability Pact

This paper describes recent trends on the efficiency of stabilisers in the European Union. Using both macro evidence on the cyclical sensitivity of budget deficit to economic activity, and micro evidence on the tax and expenditure profiles, we conclude, in agreement with the recent literature, that the importance of automatic stabilisation has decreased. After remarking that this trend is contradictory with the current economic institutions of Europe relying exclusively on automatic stabilisation for the conduct of fiscal policy, we argue that increasing flexibility, one alternative way to reduce cyclical fluctuations, does not seem a viable path. The paper concludes defending the appropriateness of discretionary fiscal policy. We argue by means of a simple model that the theoretical arguments against its use are not conclusive, and we describe a recent stream of literature, based on structural VAR models, that concludes rather robustly for the effectiveness of discretionary fiscal policy in the short and long run.Automatic stabilisers, progressivity, unemployment benefits, discretionary fiscal policy, European fiscal institutions

Has the Adoption of Inflation Targeting Represented a Regime Switch? Empirical evidence from Canada, Sweden and the UK

Since 1990, a growing number of countries have adopted inflation targeting (IT) around the world. Empirical evidence on its advantages has been mixed so far, and most assessments have been based on a control group methodology. In this paper, using a MSVAR technique, we assess the adoption of IT in three industrialised countries over time; in addition, we compare their outcomes with a non-IT country, the US. Results are manifold. First, an inflation targeting regime exists, although it does not constitute a change in monetary policy reaction. Second, this conclusion is robust on a subsample excluding the periods of high inflation and early sharp disinflation. Third, the sacrifice ratio of higher output volatility generally attributed to inflation stabilisation policies is not sensitive to the adoption of inflation targeting. Fourth, this framework is shown to be conducive to higher monetary policy leeway.Inflation targeting; MSVAR; Counterfactuals.

Discussing Euro Volatility

This paper deals with Euro introduction and ask whether it is likely to increase the exchange rates volatility on a world-wide scale. Following this purpose, we present a three country-model (US, Germany and France) and compare the exchange rate volatility according to the nature of the shock (demand or supply shock) and to the exchange rate regime in Europe (flexible, EMS or EMU). Each country is represented by two authorities: a central bank and a government (a single central bank and two governments in Europe in the case of EMU). Within this framework, we compute Nash-equilibria. In theory, the exchange rate of a large closed country fluctuates more than the exchange rate of a small open country (the size effect), but results are ambiguous in the specific case of the Euro. An increase in volatility would only occur after demand and external supply shocks. Volatility would be reduced following internal supply shocks. The conclusions are the opposite if the sensitivity of intra-European trade to relative prices is particularly strong. In the case of common shocks in Europe, the excess of volatility would help economic stabilisation. As for asymmetric shocks (hitting only one country), the Euro would fluctuate less than the currency of the hit country in the previous monetary system (EMS), but this stability would harm economic stabilisation, as loss functions show. We note also that the independence of the ECB could lead to strong variations of the Euro after inflationary shocks if the ECB and European governments do not share the same inflation target. The constraints on fiscal policies which are induced by the Stability pact could make more active monetary policies necessary: these would be a source of instability for the Euro.

The fiscal theory of the price level and sluggish inflation: how important shall the wealth effect be?

According to the fiscal theory of the price level (FTPL), the interactions between monetary and fiscal policies with governments facing the possibility to act in a non-Ricardian manner make the general price level be fully determined. Here, depending on the expectations framework, we show to what extent the validity of the FTPL also depends on consumers being non-Ricardian. With prices driven by rational expectations, the qualitative results of the strategic interactions between policies do not depend on the Ricardian or non-Ricardian behaviour by the households. With sluggish inflation, the strong version of the FTPL does not bring to a dynamically stable economy. The economy is stable only for a weak version of the FTPL; but, this time, stability conditions depend strongly on the existence and size of the wealth effect. If inflation is sluggish, the FTPL is incompatible with Ricardian consumers.fiscal theory of the price level, inflation rate, monetary policy, fiscal policy, public debt.

Wealth effects and public debt in an endogenous growth model

The debate on public finances’ sustainability has long focused on the conditions for the accumulation of debt. This implied that, empirically, the analyses revolved around estimations of dynamic versions of the debt accumulation equation, through unit root tests and cointegration tests between e.g. revenues and primary expenditures, or debt and deficit. Bohn [2007, Journal of Monetary Economics], has forcefully argued in favour of a stronger focus on theory. The model of this paper shows to which extent and under which conditions earlier results considering fiscal policy in an endogenous growth setting are modified if government spending is not entirely tax-financed. Therefore the model uses Barro’s [1990, Journal of Political Economy] production function and Blanchard [1985, Journal of Political Economy]-type consumers to assess fiscal sustainability and the determinants of long-run (or potential) growth, in presence of productive capital services. The main conclusion is that, provided public spending is not too high, it will be growth-enhancing. This feature does not hurt fiscal sustainability if taxes are adjusted appropriately. We also calibrate the model to show that the current level of public capital is low in France, the UK and the USA.Endogenous Growth, Government Spending, Public Investment, Debt Sustainability

Has Inflation Targeting Changed Monetary Policy Preferences?

The literature on inflation targeting has up to now focused on its impact on macroeconomic performance or private expectations. In contrast, this paper proposes to investigate empirically whether the institutional adoption of this framework has changed the policy preferences of the central banker. We test the hypothesis that inflation targeting has constituted a switch towards a greater focus on inflation. We use three complementary methods: a structural break analysis, time-varying parameters and Markov-Switching VAR which make possible to estimate linear or nonlinear, and forward or backward looking specifications, to account for heteroskedasticity without having to assume a date break ex ante. Our main result is that inflation targeting has not led to a stronger response to inflation. We infer that the inflation targeting paradigm should not be confounded with the inflation targeting framework.Monetary Policy; Inflation Targeting; Taylor Rule; Structural Break; Time-Varying coefficients, Markov-Switching VAR

Efficiency of stability-oriented institutions: the European case

Stability-oriented European institutions correspond to the general prescriptions of the ‘new macroeconomics consensus’. This contribution provides an assessment of the pros and cons of these institutions in terms of macro stabilisation and exchange-rate swings drawing on different scenarios. We argue that the institutions which have been associated with the Euro – limits on public deficits and a conservative central bank – have somewhat jeopardized the efficiency of this new exchange-rate regime. Adaptation of institutions is thus needed: either cooperation or coordination may enhance European welfare.monetary policy, fiscal policy, central bank; stability pact; time-consistency; exchange rate, cooperation, coordination

Monetary policy transmission mechanisms in the CEECs: How important are the differences with the euro area?

We use a structural VAR model with short-term restrictions to investigate the relative importance of interest rate, exchange rate and credit channels in the monetary policy transmission (MPT) for the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland over 1993:1-2004:3. Main results are as follows. First, in the three countries, following a positive shock on the interest rate, prices increase instead of decreasing, due to the immediate depreciation of the nominal exchange rate. The results thus exhibit an "exchange rate" puzzle conducing to the appearance of a "price-puzzle". Second, none channel is very powerful for the MPT in the three countries. Nevertheless, the exchange rate and the interest rate channels play a growing role over the recent period in Poland, compared with the same channels in the Czech Republic and Hungary. As nominal exchange rate fluctuations allow for greater real shocks dampening in Poland, the cost of entering EMU may be more costly for this country than for the Czech Republic or Hungary.monetary policy transmission, VAR models, exchange rate regimes