A comparison of nominal and indexed debt under fiscal constraints
Westerhout,Ed Beetsma,R.M.W.J.
Westerhout,Ed
Beetsma,R.M.W.J.
Abstract
This paper makes a welfare comparison between the issuance of price-indexed and nominal public debt in the presence of fiscal constraints, viz. a debt constraint, a deficit constraint and a combination of both. Distortionary taxes or public consumption are regulated to avoid the violation of the relevant fiscal constraint(s). Under a debt constraint indexed debt is generally preferred, while under a deficit constraint the results are more mixed. Introducing inflation persistence and raising the maturity of the debt tend to increase the magnitude of the welfare differences between the two types of debt. Welfare differences are further affected by the degree to which public consumption and tax revenues are indexed to actual versus structural nominal GDP.
Description
Date
2019-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Indexed debt, nominal debt, E62 - Fiscal Policy ; Modern Monetary Theory, H62 - Deficit ; Surplus, H63 - Debt ; Debt Management ; Sovereign Debt, SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
Citation
Westerhout, E & Beetsma, R M W J 2019, 'A comparison of nominal and indexed debt under fiscal constraints', Journal of International Money and Finance, vol. 91, pp. 177-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jimonfin.2018.12.006
License
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess