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Buy National or Buy International? The optimal design of government spending in an open economy

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  • Larch, Mario
  • Lechthaler, Wolfgang

Abstract

Should governments only purchase domestic goods to increase welfare? And would government spending be higher if it was used for domestic goods only? Such proposals, which we call Buy National, were discussed in many countries in the context of the fiscal stimuli used to fight the recent global recession. We augment a simple trade model by government spending and find that the optimal size of government spending of Buy National is higher than the optimal level of government spending that does also include foreign-produced goods (Buy International). However, even though the optimal level of government spending is higher, real GDP and hence welfare are both lower in the Buy National regime.

Suggested Citation

  • Larch, Mario & Lechthaler, Wolfgang, 2013. "Buy National or Buy International? The optimal design of government spending in an open economy," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 87-108.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:26:y:2013:i:c:p:87-108
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2012.08.010
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    Cited by:

    1. Andersen, Torben M. & Sørensen, Allan, 2023. "The interdependencies between the private and public sectors in open economies," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    2. Gitana Dudzevičiūtė & Agnė Šimelytė & Aušra Liučvaitienė, 2018. "Government expenditure and economic growth in the European Union countries," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 45(2), pages 372-386, February.
    3. Mulabdic, Alen & Rotunno, Lorenzo, 2022. "Trade barriers in government procurement," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    4. Ang, James & Knill, April & Mauck, Nathan, 2017. "Cross-border opportunity sets: An international empirical study based on ownership types," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 1-26.
    5. Ali Shaddady, 2022. "Is Government Spending an Important Factor in Economic Growth? Nonlinear Cubic Quantile Nexus from Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA)," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-26, November.
    6. Larch, Mario & Lechthaler, Wolfgang, 2016. "Buy National And The Business Cycle," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(5), pages 1196-1218, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Buy American; Buy International; Buy National; Optimal government spending;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • F40 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - General
    • H30 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - General
    • H87 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - International Fiscal Issues; International Public Goods

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