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Public investment, the rate of return, and optimal fiscal policy in a stochastically growing economy

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  • Tamai, Toshiki

Abstract

This study examines the optimal fiscal policy in a stochastic endogenous growth model with private and public capital. The government is willing to actualize a socially optimal equilibrium using a lump-sum tax and government debt linked to public investments, subject to the budget constraint under the golden rule of public finance. A socially optimal fiscal policy states that a deterministic rate of return on government bonds sets the marginal product of public capital. Moreover, public investments optimally adjust the ratio of private capital to public capital to equate the rates of return on such capital. The presence of stochastic disturbances results in a disparity between the optimal marginal products of the two types of capital, as reported in previous empirical studies. This disparity significantly affects the socially optimal growth rate in response to investment risk.

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  • Tamai, Toshiki, 2016. "Public investment, the rate of return, and optimal fiscal policy in a stochastically growing economy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 1-17.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jmacro:v:49:y:2016:i:c:p:1-17
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmacro.2016.04.006
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    Cited by:

    1. Kamiguchi, Akira & Tamai, Toshiki, 2023. "Public investment, national debt, and economic growth: The role of debt finance under dynamic inefficiency," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. Kamiguchi, Akira & Tamai, Toshiki, 2019. "Public investment, public debt, and population aging under the golden rule of public finance," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 110-122.
    3. Tamai, Toshiki, 2023. "The rate of discount on public investments with future bias in an altruistic overlapping generations model," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Akira Kamiguchi & Toshiki Tamai, 2017. "Public Investment and Golden Rule of Public Finance in an Overlapping Generations Model," KIER Working Papers 971, Kyoto University, Institute of Economic Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public capital; Optimal fiscal policy; Economic growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures
    • H60 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - General
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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