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Real transfers and the Friedman rule

Author

Listed:
  • Bernardino Adão

    (Banco de Portugal)

  • André C. Silva

    (Universidade NOVA de Lisboa)

Abstract

We find that the Friedman rule is not optimal with real government transfers and distortionary taxation. As transfers cannot be taxed, a positive nominal net interest rate is the indirect way to tax the additional income derived from transfers. This result holds for heterogeneous agents, standard homogeneous preferences, and constant returns to scale production functions. The presence of real transfers changes the standard optimal taxation result of uniform taxation. Higher transfers imply higher optimal inflation rates. We calibrate a model with transfers to the US economy and obtain optimal values for inflation substantially above the Friedman rule.

Suggested Citation

  • Bernardino Adão & André C. Silva, 2019. "Real transfers and the Friedman rule," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 67(1), pages 155-177, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joecth:v:67:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s00199-018-1105-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s00199-018-1105-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Bernardino Adão & André C. Silva, 2021. "Government financing, inflation, and the financial sector," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 71(4), pages 1357-1396, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Friedman rule; Fiscal policy; Monetary policy; Taxes; Transfers; Inflation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E63 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Comparative or Joint Analysis of Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Stabilization; Treasury Policy
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation

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