This paper examines how the scale and composition of public debt can affect economies that implement a combination of “passive” monetary policy and “active” fiscal policy. This policy configuration is argued to be of both historical and contemporary interest in the cases of the U.S. and Japanese economies. It is shown that higher average levels and moderate average maturities of debt can induce...

This study explores the effects of macroeconomic policies on measures of macroeconomic performance such as growth and inflation by setting up a dynamic post-Keynesian model with government and central bank interventions. In doing so, this study reconsiders the arguments in favor of a policy regime. The model in this paper generates several varieties of economic growth regimes and inflation dyna...

In this paper, we analyze how lack of credibility and transparency of monetary and fiscal policies undermines the effectiveness of macroeconomic policies to isolate the economy from commodity price fluctuations. We develop a general equilibrium model for a commodity exporting economy where macro policies are conducted through rules. We show that the responses of output, aggregate demand, and in...

This paper considers a small open economy where government pursues debt targeting policy. In this setting, I find the optimal debt targeting rule crucially hinges on the assumption of bond market structure, i.e. whether household can purchase state-contingent bond. In addition, the country’s foreign asset holding and government’s debt level may have substantial impact on the optimal debt target...

We examine global economic dynamics under learning in a New Keynesian model in which the interest-rate rule is subject to the zero lower bound. Under normal monetary and fiscal policy, the intended steady state is locally but not globally stable. Large pessimistic shocks to expectations can lead to deflationary spirals with falling prices and falling output. To avoid this outcome we recommend a...

Australian governments have recently moved from cash accounting to accrual accounting. In doing so they have made simultaneous use of two rival accrual accounting frameworks: AAS 31 and GFS. AAS 31 and GFS operating result measures differ significantly. To date, the AAS 31 framework has enjoyed primacy. This paper evaluates these two frameworks, and suggests that GFS is superior. Accrual accoun...

This paper computes welfare-maximizing monetary and fiscal policy rules in a real business cycle model augmented with sticky prices, a demand for money, taxation, and stochastic government consumption. We consider simple feedback rules whereby the nominal interest rate is set as a function of output and inflation, and taxes are set as a function of total government liabilities. We implement a s...

This paper explores the constraints imposed by expectations formation on the effectiveness of stabilization policy. Agents have incomplete information about the economic environment and form beliefs by extrapolating from observed patterns in historical data. Regimes with Ricardian fiscal policy (as in the standard account of monetary policy design) and also non-Ricardian fiscal policy are consi...