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Optimal Fiscal Policy with Recursive Preferences

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  • Anastasios G Karantounias

Abstract

I study the implications of recursive utility, a popular preference specification in macro-finance, for the design of optimal fiscal policy. Standard Ramsey tax-smoothing prescriptions are substantially altered. The planner over-insures by taxing less in bad times and more in good times, mitigating the effects of shocks. At the intertemporal margin, there is a novel incentive for introducing distortions that can lead to an ex-ante capital subsidy. Overall, optimal policy calls for a much stronger use of debt returns as a fiscal absorber, leading to the conclusion that actual fiscal policy is even worse than we thought.

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  • Anastasios G Karantounias, 2018. "Optimal Fiscal Policy with Recursive Preferences," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 85(4), pages 2283-2317.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:restud:v:85:y:2018:i:4:p:2283-2317.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/restud/rdy005
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    Cited by:

    1. Benigno, Pierpaolo & Paciello, Luigi, 2014. "Monetary policy, doubts and asset prices," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 85-98.
    2. Piero Gottardi & Atsushi Kajii & Tomoyuki Nakajima, 2015. "Optimal Taxation and Debt with Uninsurable Risks to Human Capital Accumulation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(11), pages 3443-3470, November.
    3. Hengjie Ai & Ravi Bansal, 2016. "Risk Preferences and The Macro Announcement Premium," NBER Working Papers 22527, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Croce, Mariano & Nguyen, Thien & Raymond, Steve, 2019. "Persistent Government Debt and Aggregate Risk Distribution," CEPR Discussion Papers 13922, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Croce, M. & Nguyen, Thien T. & Raymond, S., 2021. "Persistent government debt and aggregate risk distribution," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(2), pages 347-367.
    6. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2018. "Optimal fiscal policy with Epstein-Zin preferences and utility-enhancing government services: lessons from Bulgaria (1999-2016)," EconStor Preprints 183134, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    7. Chien, YiLi & Wen, Yi, 2022. "The determination of public debt under both aggregate and idiosyncratic uncertainty," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    8. Anmol Bhandari & David Evans & Mikhail Golosov & Thomas Sargent, 2019. "The Optimal Maturity of Government Debt," 2019 Meeting Papers 1011, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    9. Steve Raymond & Lukas Schmid & Anastasios Karantounias & Mariano Croce, 2017. "A Tax Plan for Endogenous Innovation," 2017 Meeting Papers 109, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    10. Mikhail Golosov & David Evans & anmol bhandari, 2017. "Risk and Monetary Policy in a New Keynesian Model," 2017 Meeting Papers 1359, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    11. Stanca Lorenzo, 2023. "Recursive preferences, correlation aversion, and the temporal resolution of uncertainty," Working papers 080, Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics (Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Sociali e Matematico-Statistiche), University of Torino.
    12. Poonpolkul, Phitawat, 2023. "Age-dependent risk aversion: Re-evaluating fiscal policy impacts of population aging," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    13. Anthony Diercks, 2016. "The Equity Premium, Long-Run Risk, and Optimal Monetary Policy," 2016 Meeting Papers 207, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    14. Mariano Max Croce & Thien T. Nguyen & Steve Raymond, 2019. "Persistent Government Debt and Aggregate Risk Distribution," NBER Working Papers 26177, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Zhengyang Jiang & Hanno Lustig & Mindy Xiaolan & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2019. "Government Risk Premium Puzzle," 2019 Meeting Papers 437, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    16. Guanlong Ren & John Stachurski, 2018. "Dynamic Programming with Recursive Preferences: Optimality and Applications," Papers 1812.05748, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2020.
    17. Phitawat Poonpolkul, 2023. "Age-Dependent Risk Aversion: Re-evaluating Fiscal Policy Impacts of Population Aging," PIER Discussion Papers 198, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ramsey plan; Tax smoothing; Epstein-Zin; Recursive utility; Excess burden; Labour tax; Capital tax; Martingale; Fiscal insurance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt

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