Share:


Effectiveness of fiscal policy measures in different public debt regimes

Abstract

The aim of the research is to illustrate how the degree of effectiveness of fiscal policy measures varies depending on the level of public debt within a group of Central and Eastern European (CEE) states. To this end, a T-SVAR (Threshold Structural Vector Autoregressive) model was implemented, based on two regimes, calibrated as a function of the evolution of public debt. The results illustrate that, in most of the countries analysed, increasing government expenditure generates a stronger increase in economic growth under the low public debt regime in comparison with the situation at the level of the high public debt regime. Thus, the effectiveness of fiscal policy measures declines as the level of government debt rises. Another result obtained within the analysis highlights that the positive effect of public debt reduction on economic growth is more strongly felt in the higher public debt regime than under a low public debt regime. On the basis of these results, it is recommended that the CEE countries continue their efforts to reduce public debt in order to increase the effectiveness of fiscal policy measures.

Keyword : fiscal policy, public debt, Threshold Structural Vector Autoregressive, Central and Eastern Europe, government expenditure, economic growth

How to Cite
Gherghina, R., Grecu, R.-A., Constantinescu, C. M., Duca, I., Postole, M. A., & Ciobănașu, M. (2024). Effectiveness of fiscal policy measures in different public debt regimes. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 25(4), 628–646. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2024.21996
Published in Issue
Aug 29, 2024
Abstract Views
285
PDF Downloads
297
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Aizenman, J., Kletzer, K., & Pinto, B. (2007). Economic growth with constraints on tax revenues and public debt: implications for fiscal policy and cross-country differences (NBER Working Paper No. W12750). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w12750

Arellano, C., Bai, Y., & Lizarazo, S. (2017). Sovereign risk contagion (NBER Working Paper No. W24031). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w24031

Arroyo, M. F., Fatas, A., & Vasishtha, G. (2024). Fiscal policy volatility and growth in emerging markets and developing economies. International Review of Economics & Finance, 92, 758–777. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2024.01.041

Aschauer, D. A. (1989). Public investment and productivity growth in the Group of Seven. Economic Perspectives, 13(5), 17–25. https://doi.org/10.1006/redy.1998.0050

Asteriou, D., Pilbeam, K., & Pratiwi, C. E. (2021). Public debt and economic growth: Panel data evidence for Asian countries. Journal of Economics and Finance, 45, 270–287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12197-020-09515-7

Augustine, B., & Rafi, O. M. (2023). Public debt-economic growth nexus in emerging and developing economies: Exploring nonlinearity. Finance Research Letters, 52, Article 103540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2022.103540

Baglan, D., & Yoldas, E. (2013). Government debt and macroeconomic activity: A predictive analysis for advanced economies. Studies in Nonlinear Dynamics & Econometrics, 20(3). https://doi.org/10.1515/snde-2014-0075

Balke, N. S. (2000). Credit and economic activity: credit regimes and nonlinear propagation of shocks. Review of Economics and Statistics, 82(2), 344–349. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest.2000.82.2.344

Barro, R. J. (1979). On the determination of the public debt. Journal of political Economy, 87(5, Part 1), 940–971. https://doi.org/10.1086/260807

Barro, R. J. (1990). Government spending in a simple model of endogeneous growth. Journal of Political Economy, 98(5, Part 2), S103–S125. https://doi.org/10.1086/261726

Barro, R. J. (1995). Optimal debt management (NBER Working papers). https://doi.org/10.3386/w5327

Baum, A., Checherita-Westphal, C., & Rother, P. (2013). Debt and growth: New evidence for the euro area. Journal of International Money and Finance, 32, 809–821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jimonfin.2012.07.004

Berg, A., Ostry, J. D., & Zettelmeyer, J. (2012). What makes growth sustained?. Journal of Development Economics, 98(2), 149–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2011.08.002

Burnside, C., Eichenbaum, M., & Rebelo, S. (2001). Prospective deficits and the Asian currency crisis. Journal of Political Economy, 109(6), 1155–1197. https://doi.org/10.1086/323271

Caner, M., Fan, Q., & Grennes, T. (2021). Partners in debt: An endogenous non-linear analysis of the effects of public and private debt on growth. International Review of Economics & Finance, 76, 694–711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2021.07.010

Cecchetti, S. G., Mohanty, M. S., & Zampolli, F. (2011). The real effects of debt (BIS Working Paper No. 352). https://ssrn.com/abstract=1946170

Chang, T., & Chiang, G. (2009). Revisiting the government revenue-expenditure nexus: Evidence from 15 OECD countries based on the panel data approach. Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (Finance a uver), 59(2), 165–172. http://ideas.repec.org/a/fau/fauart/v59y2009i2p165-172.html

Checherita-Westphal, C., & Rother, P. (2010). The impact of high and growing government debt on economic growth: an empirical investigation for the euro area (ECB Working Paper, No. 1237). European Central Bank (ECB), Frankfurt a. M. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1659559

Chen, C., Yao, S., Hu, P., & Lin, Y. (2017). Optimal government investment and public debt in an economic growth model. China Economic Review, 45, 257–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2016.08.005

Chudik, A., Mohaddes, K., Pesaran, M. H., & Raissi, M. (2017). Is there a debt-threshold effect on output growth?. Review of Economics and Statistics, 99(1), 135–150. https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00593

Cochrane, J. H. (2011). Inflation and debt. National Affairs, 9(2), 56–78. http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/inflation-and-debt

Coman (Nuţă), A. C., Lupu, D., & Nuţă, F. M. (2023). The impact of public education spending on economic growth in Central and Eastern Europe. An ARDL approach with structural break, Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 36(1), 1261–1278. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2022.2086147

Cooray, A., Dzhumashev, R., & Schneider, F. (2017). How does corruption affect public debt? An empirical analysis. World Development, 90, 115–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.08.020

Cordella, M. T., Ricci, M. L. A., & Ruiz-Arranz, M. (2005). Debt overhang or debt irrelevance? Revisiting the debt-growth link (IMF Working Papers, 223). https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451862423.001

DeLong, J. B., Summers, L. H., Feldstein, M., & Ramey, V. A. (2012). Fiscal policy in a depressed economy [with comments and discussion]. In Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (pp. 233–297). The Johns Hopkins University Press. https://doi.org/10.1353/eca.2012.0000

Dotsey, M. (1994). Some unpleasant supply side arithmetic. Journal of Monetary Economics, 33(3), 507–524. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3932(94)90041-8

Easterly, W., & Rebelo, S. (1993). Fiscal policy and economic growth. Journal of Monetary Economics, 32(3), 417–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3932(93)90025-B

Eberhardt, M. M., & Presbitero, A. (2013). This time they are different: heterogeneity and nonlinearity in the relationship between debt and growth (Working Paper No. 2013/248). International Monetary Fund. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781484309285.001

Égert, B. (2015). Public debt, economic growth and nonlinear effects: Myth or reality?. Journal of Macroeconomics, 43, 226–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmacro.2014.11.006

Elbadawi, I. A. (1997). 5 Debt overhang and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. In External finance for low-income countries. International Monetary Fund. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451957198.071

Elmendorf, D. W., & Mankiw, N. G. (1999). Government debt. Handbook of Macroeconomics, 1, 1615–1669. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1574-0048(99)10038-7

Elmeskov, J., & Sutherland, D. (2012). Post-crisis debt overhang: Growth implications across countries. SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1997093

Eminidou, S., Geiger, M., & Zachariadis, M. (2023). Public debt and state-dependent effects of fiscal policy in the euro area. Journal of International Money and Finance, 130, Article 102746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jimonfin.2022.102746

Lau, E., de Alba, J. M., & Liew, K. H. (2022). Debt and economic growth in Asian developing countries. Economic Analysis and Policy, 76, 599–612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2022.09.011

Gale, W. G., & Orszag, P. R. (2003). Fiscal follies: The real budget problem and how to fix it. The Brookings Review, 21(4), 7–11. https://doi.org/10.2307/20081125

Glomm, G., & Ravikumar, B. (1997). Productive government expenditures and long-run growth. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 21(1), 183–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1889(95)00929-9

Gómez-Puig, M., Sosvilla-Rivero, S., & Martinez-Zarzoso, I. (2022). On the heterogeneous link between public debt and economic growth. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 77, Article 101528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intfin.2022.101528

Greiner, A. (2011). Economic growth, public debt and welfare: Comparing three budgetary rules. German Economic Review, 12(2), 205–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0475.2010.00516.x

Gupta, S., Clements, B., Baldacci, E., & Mulas-Granados, C. (2005). Fiscal policy, expenditure composition, and growth in low-income countries. Journal of International Money and Finance, 24(3), 441–463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jimonfin.2005.01.004

Hemming, R., & Ter-Minassian, T. (2003). VI public debt dynamics and fiscal adjustment. Managing Financial Crises, 65. https://www.elibrary.imf.org/display/book/9781589062085/C6.xml?tabs=fulltext

Heylen, F., Hoebeeck, A., & Buyse, T. (2013). Government efficiency, institutions, and the effects of fiscal consolidation on public debt. European Journal of Political Economy, 31, 40–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2013.03.001

Imbs, J., & Ranciere, R. (2005). The overhang hangover (Vol. 5210). World Bank Publications. https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-3673

Jora, O. D., Iacob, M., & Crețan, G. C. (2017). Is there a market for statehood (or ought it to be)? The (im)perfect and the (un)free competition among sovereignties. In İ. Șiriner, Ș. A. Koç, & H. Yildiz (Eds.), Current debates in economics & econometrics, Vol. 2. IJOPEC Publication. file:///C:/Users/Administrator/Downloads/9781912503032.pdf.

Kharroubi, E., & Aghion, P. (2008). Cyclical macro policy and industry growth: The effect of counter-cyclical fiscal policy (2008 Meeting Papers No. 837). Society for Economic Dynamics. https://ideas.repec.org/p/red/sed008/837.html

Kose, M. A., Nagle, P. S. O., Ohnsorge, F., & Sugawara, N. (2021). What has been the impact of COVID-19 on debt? Turning a wave into a tsunami (CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP16775). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3980291

Kourtellos, A., Stengos, T., & Tan, C. M. (2013). The effect of public debt on growth in multiple regimes. Journal of Macroeconomics, 38, 35–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmacro.2013.08.023

Krugman, P., & Eggertsson, G. B. (2011). Debt, deleveraging and the liquidity trap (2011 Meeting Papers No. 1166). Society for Economic Dynamics. https://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:red:sed011:1166

Kumar, M. M. S., & Baldacci, M. E. (2010). Fiscal deficits, public debt, and sovereign bond yields (IMF Working Papers 2010/184). International Monetary Fund. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781455202188.001

Kumar, M., & Woo, J. (2010). Public debt and growth (IMF Working Paper No. 10/174). https://doi.org/10.5089/9781455201853.001

Lee, S., Park, H., Seo, M. H., & Shin, Y. (2017). Testing for a debt‐threshold effect on output growth. Fiscal Studies, 38(4), 701–717. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-5890.12134

Masuch, K., Moshammer, E., & Pierluigi, B. (2017). Institutions, public debt and growth in Europe. Public Sector Economics, 41(2), 159–205. https://doi.org/10.3326/pse.41.2.2

Mensah, A. K., Hu, J., & Tsang, A. (2019). Foreign institutional ownership and the choice between public and private debt. Journal of International Accounting Research, 18(2), 31–64. https://doi.org/10.2308/jiar-52384

Miller, M. H., & Modigliani, F. (1961). Dividend policy, growth, and the valuation of shares. The Journal of Business, 34(4), 411–433. https://doi.org/10.1086/294442

Minea, A., & Parent, A. (2012). Is high public debt always harmful to economic growth? Reinhart and Rogoff and some complex nonlinearities (Working Papers 201218). CERDI. http://www.cerdi.org/ed

Miricescu, E. C., Țâțu, L., & Cornea, D. (2016). The determinants of the sovereign debt rating: Evidence for the European Union Countries. Eonomic Computation and Economic Cybernetics Studies and Research, 50(1), 175–188. https://ideas.repec.org/a/cys/ecocyb/v50y2016i1p175-188.html

Ndoricimpa, A. (2020). Threshold effects of public debt on economic growth in Africa: A new evidence. Journal of Economics and Development, 22(2), 187–207. https://doi.org/10.1108/JED-01-2020-0001

Nuță, A. C., & Nuță, F., M. (2020). Modelling the influences of economic, demographic, and institutional factors on fiscal pressure using OLS, PCSE, and FD-GMM Approaches. Sustainability, 12(4), Article 1681. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041681

Pattillo, C., & Ricci, L. A. (2011). External debt and growth. Review of Economics and Institutions, 2(3), 30. https://doi.org/10.5202/rei.v2i3.45

Perlo‐Freeman, S., & Webber, D. J. (2009). Basic needs, government debt and economic growth. World Economy, 32(6), 965–994. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9701.2009.01181.x

Pescatori, M. A., Sandri, M. D., & Simon, J. (2014). Debt and growth: Is there a magic threshold?. International Monetary Fund. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781484306444.001

Presbitero, A. F. (2012). Total public debt and growth in developing countries. The European Journal of Development Research, 24, 606–626. https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2011.62

Reinhart, C. M., & Rogoff, K. S. (2010). Growth in a time of debt. American Economic Review, 100(2), 573–578. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.2.573

Saint-Paul, G. (1992). Fiscal policy in an endogenous growth model. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107(4), 1243–1259. https://doi.org/10.2307/2118387

Sala-i-Martin, X. (1997). Transfers, social safety nets, and economic growth. Staff Papers (International Monetary Fund), 44(1), 81–102. https://doi.org/10.2307/3867498

Sargent, T. J., & Wallace, N. (1981). Some unpleasant monetarist arithmetic. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Quarterly Review, 5(3), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.21034/qr.531

Seleteng, M., Bittencourt, M., & Van Eyden, R. (2013). Non-linearities in inflation–growth nexus in the SADC region: A panel smooth transition regression approach. Economic Modelling, 30, 149–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2012.09.028

Teles, V. K., & Mussolini, C. C. (2014). Public debt and the limits of fiscal policy to increase economic growth. European Economic Review, 66(C), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2013.11.003

Tran, N. (2018). Debt threshold for fiscal sustainability assessment in emerging economies. Journal of Policy Modelling, 40(2), 375–394. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2939470

Woo, J. (2009). Why do more polarized countries run more procyclical fiscal policy? Review of Economics and Statistics, 91(4), 850–870. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest.91.4.850

Woo, J., & Kumar, M. S. (2015). Public debt and growth. Economica, 82(328), 705–739. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecca.12138