IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/wpaper/hal-03078952.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Commodity Price Volatility, Fiscal Balance and Real Interest Rate

Author

Listed:
  • Monoj Kumar Majumder
  • Mala Raghavan

    (UTAS - University of Tasmania [Hobart])

  • Joaquin Vespignani

    (UTAS - University of Tasmania [Hobart])

Abstract

The objective of this study is to explore the impact of commodity price volatility on the governments' fiscal balance. Using a dynamic panel data model for 108 countries from 1993 to 2018, this study finds that governments' fiscal balance deteriorates with commodity price volatility. A one standard deviation increase in commodity price volatility leads to a reduction of approximately 0.04 units in the fiscal balance as a percentage of gross domestic product. In addition, we examine the role of real interest rates in influencing the relationship between commodity price volatility and fiscal balance. The empirical results suggest that the negative impact of commodity price volatility on fiscal balance can be mitigated with a lower real interest rate.

Suggested Citation

  • Monoj Kumar Majumder & Mala Raghavan & Joaquin Vespignani, 2020. "Commodity Price Volatility, Fiscal Balance and Real Interest Rate," Working Papers hal-03078952, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03078952
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-03078952v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-03078952v1/document
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eugene Kouassi & Mbodja Mougoué & Kern O. Kymn, 2004. "Causality tests of the relationship between the twin deficits," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 503-525, September.
    2. Alberto Alesina & Filipe R. Campante & Guido Tabellini, 2008. "Why is Fiscal Policy Often Procyclical?," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 6(5), pages 1006-1036, September.
    3. Arezki, Rabah & Dumitrescu, Elena & Freytag, Andreas & Quintyn, Marc, 2014. "Commodity prices and exchange rate volatility: Lessons from South Africa's capital account liberalization," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 96-105.
    4. Graciela L. Kaminsky & Carmen M. Reinhart & Carlos A. Végh, 2005. "When It Rains, It Pours: Procyclical Capital Flows and Macroeconomic Policies," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2004, Volume 19, pages 11-82, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Alberto F. Alesina & Roberto Perotti, 1999. "Budget Deficits and Budget Institutions," NBER Chapters, in: Fiscal Institutions and Fiscal Performance, pages 13-36, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Pablo Lopez Murphy & Mr. Mauricio Villafuerte & Mr. Rolando Ossowski, 2010. "Riding the Roller Coaster: Fiscal Policies of Nonrenewable Resource Exporters in Latin America and the Caribbean," IMF Working Papers 2010/251, International Monetary Fund.
    7. Rabah Arezki & Elena Ivona Dumitrescu & Andreas Freytag & Marc Quintyn, 2014. "Commodity Prices and Exchange Rate: Lessons from South Africa's Capital Account Liberalization," Post-Print hal-01385922, HAL.
    8. Roubini, Nouriel & Sachs, Jeffrey D., 1989. "Political and economic determinants of budget deficits in the industrial democracies," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 903-933, May.
    9. Uwe Böwer & André Geis & Adalbert Winkler, 2007. "Commodity price fluctuations and their impact on monetary and fiscal policies in Western and Central Africa," Occasional Paper Series 60, European Central Bank.
    10. Tornell, Aaron & Velasco, Andres, 2000. "Fixed versus flexible exchange rates: Which provides more fiscal discipline?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 399-436, April.
    11. Dehn,Jan, 2000. "Commodity price uncertainty in developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2426, The World Bank.
    12. Michael Gavin & Ricardo Hausmann & Roberto Perotti & Ernesto Talvi, 1996. "Managing Fiscal Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean: Volatility, Procyclicality, and Limited Creditworthiness," Research Department Publications 4032, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    13. Duncan, Roberto, 2014. "Institutional quality, the cyclicality of monetary policy and macroeconomic volatility," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PA), pages 113-155.
    14. Talvi, Ernesto & Vegh, Carlos A., 2005. "Tax base variability and procyclical fiscal policy in developing countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 156-190, October.
    15. Woo, Jaejoon, 2003. "Social polarization, industrialization, and fiscal instability: theory and evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 223-252, October.
    16. Philippe Aghion & Peter Howitt, 2009. "The Economics of Growth," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262012634, April.
    17. International Monetary Fund, 2012. "Commodity Price Volatility and the Sources of Growth," IMF Working Papers 2012/012, International Monetary Fund.
    18. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    19. Alesina, Alberto & Hausmann, Ricardo & Hommes, Rudolf & Stein, Ernesto, 1999. "Budget institutions and fiscal performance in Latin America," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(2), pages 253-273, August.
    20. Dogrul, H. Günsel & Soytas, Ugur, 2010. "Relationship between oil prices, interest rate, and unemployment: Evidence from an emerging market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1523-1528, November.
    21. Regnier, Eva, 2007. "Oil and energy price volatility," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 405-427, May.
    22. Francis Y Kumah & John M Matovu, 2007. "Commodity Price Shocks and the Odds on Fiscal Performance: A Structural Vector Autoregression Approach," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 54(1), pages 91-112, May.
    23. Ethan Ilzetzki & Carlos A. Vegh, 2008. "Procyclical Fiscal Policy in Developing Countries: Truth or Fiction?," NBER Working Papers 14191, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Kalou, Sofia & Paleologou, Suzanna-Maria, 2012. "The twin deficits hypothesis: Revisiting an EMU country," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 230-241.
    25. Lane, Philip R., 2003. "The cyclical behaviour of fiscal policy: evidence from the OECD," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(12), pages 2661-2675, December.
    26. Frankel, Jeffrey A., 2011. "How Can Commodity Exporters Make Fiscal and Monetary Policy Less Procyclical?," Scholarly Articles 4735392, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    27. Issouf Samaké & Mr. Nikola Spatafora, 2012. "Commodity Price Shocks and Fiscal Outcomes," IMF Working Papers 2012/112, International Monetary Fund.
    28. Milesi-Ferretti, Gian Maria & Moriyama, Kenji, 2006. "Fiscal adjustment in EU countries: A balance sheet approach," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(12), pages 3281-3298, December.
    29. Samuel Guérineau & Hélène Ehrhart, 2012. "The impact of high and volatile commodity prices on public finances: Evidence from developing countries," Working Papers halshs-00659100, HAL.
    30. R. F. Engle & A. J. Patton, 2001. "What good is a volatility model?," Quantitative Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(2), pages 237-245.
    31. Samuel Guérineau & Hélène Ehrhart, 2012. "The impact of high and volatile commodity prices on public finances: Evidence from developing countries," Working Papers halshs-00659098, HAL.
    32. Marc F. Bellemare & Christopher B. Barrett & David R. Just, 2013. "The Welfare Impacts of Commodity Price Volatility: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 95(4), pages 877-899.
    33. de Haan, Jakob & Sturm, Jan-Egbert & Beekhuis, Geert, 1999. "The Weak Government Thesis: Some New Evidence," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 101(3-4), pages 163-176, December.
    34. Bleaney,Michael Francis & Halland,Havard, 2016. "Do resource-rich countries suffer from a lack of fiscal discipline ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7552, The World Bank.
    35. Alexandra Dwyer & George Gardner & Thomas Williams, 2011. "Global Commodity Markets - Price Volatility and Financialisation," RBA Bulletin (Print copy discontinued), Reserve Bank of Australia, pages 49-58, June.
    36. Ibrahim Alley, 2016. "Oil price volatility and fiscal policies in oil-exporting countries," OPEC Energy Review, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, vol. 40(2), pages 192-211, June.
    37. Aghion, Philippe & Bacchetta, Philippe & Rancière, Romain & Rogoff, Kenneth, 2009. "Exchange rate volatility and productivity growth: The role of financial development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(4), pages 494-513, May.
    38. Ã…dne Cappelen & Nils Petter Gleditsch & Olav Bjerkholt, 1984. "Military Spending and Economic Growth in the OECD Countries," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 21(4), pages 361-373, December.
    39. Leandro Medina, 2010. "The Dynamic Effects of Commodity Prices on Fiscal Performance in Latin America," IMF Working Papers 2010/192, International Monetary Fund.
    40. Mondal, Ripon Kumar & Khanam, Rasheda, 2018. "The impacts of international migrants’ remittances on household consumption volatility in developing countries," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 171-187.
    41. Tujula, Mika & Wolswijk, Guido, 2004. "What determines fiscal balances? An empirical investigation in determinants of changes in OECD budget balances," Working Paper Series 422, European Central Bank.
    42. repec:idb:wpaper:326 is not listed on IDEAS
    43. Graciela L Kaminsky, 2010. "Terms of Trade Shocks and Fiscal Cycles," RBA Annual Conference Volume (Discontinued), in: Renée Fry & Callum Jones & Christopher Kent (ed.),Inflation in an Era of Relative Price Shocks, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    44. Michael Gavin & Ricardo Hausmann & Roberto Perotti & Ernesto Talvi, 1996. "Managing Fiscal Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean: Volatility, Procyclicality, and Limited Creditworthiness," Research Department Publications 4032, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    45. Jan Dehn, 2000. "Commodity Price Uncertainty in Developing Countries," Economics Series Working Papers WPS/2000-12, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    46. Joseph Ayoola Omojolaibi & Festus O. Egwaikhide, 2014. "Oil price volatility, fiscal policy and economic growth: a panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) analysis of some selected oil-exporting African countries," OPEC Energy Review, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, vol. 38(2), pages 127-148, June.
    47. Winkler, Adalbert & Geis, André & Böwer, Uwe, 2007. "Commodity price fluctuations and their impact on monetary and fiscal policies in Western and Central Africa," Occasional Paper Series 60, European Central Bank.
    48. Medina, Leandro, 2010. "A Commodity Curse? The Dynamic Effects of Commodity Prices on Fiscal Performance in Latin America," MPRA Paper 21690, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    49. Rafiq, Shuddhasawtta & Salim, Ruhul & Bloch, Harry, 2009. "Impact of crude oil price volatility on economic activities: An empirical investigation in the Thai economy," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 121-132, September.
    50. Roubini, Nouriel, 1991. "Economic and political determinants of budget deficits in developing countries," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 10(1, Supple), pages 49-72, March.
    51. Jan Dehn, 2000. "Commodity price uncertainty in developing countries," CSAE Working Paper Series 2000-12, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    52. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    53. Jerrett, Daniel & Cuddington, John T., 2008. "Broadening the statistical search for metal price super cycles to steel and related metals," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 188-195, December.
    54. Edin, Per-Anders & Ohlsson, Henry, 1991. "Political determinants of budget deficits: Coalition effects versus minority effects," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 1597-1603, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Monoj Kumar Majumder & Mala Raghavan & Joaquin Vespignani, 2022. "The impact of commodity price volatility on fiscal balance and the role of real interest rate," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 1375-1402, September.
    2. Hélène Ehrhart & Samuel Guérineau, 2012. "Commodity price volatility and Tax revenues: Evidence from developing countries," CERDI Working papers halshs-00658210, HAL.
    3. Samuel Guérineau & Hélène Ehrhart, 2012. "The impact of high and volatile commodity prices on public finances: Evidence from developing countries," CERDI Working papers halshs-00659100, HAL.
    4. Céspedes, Luis Felipe & Velasco, Andrés, 2014. "Was this time different?: Fiscal policy in commodity republics," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 92-106.
    5. Samuel GUERINEAU & Hélène EHRHART, 2011. "Commodity price volatility and Tax revenues: Evidence from developing countries," Working Papers 201131, CERDI.
    6. Dakpoulé Da & Mahamadou Diarra, 2023. "Effect of International Commodity Price Shocks on Public Finances in Africa," Public Finance Review, , vol. 51(2), pages 236-261, March.
    7. Samuel Guérineau & Hélène Ehrhart, 2012. "The impact of high and volatile commodity prices on public finances: Evidence from developing countries," Working Papers halshs-00659100, HAL.
    8. Majumder, Monoj Kumar & Raghavan, Mala & Vespignani, Joaquin, 2020. "Commodity price volatility, external debt and exchange rate regimes," Working Papers 2020-13, University of Tasmania, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics.
    9. Samuel Guérineau & Hélène Ehrhart, 2012. "The impact of high and volatile commodity prices on public finances: Evidence from developing countries," Working Papers halshs-00659098, HAL.
    10. Guerguil, Martine & Mandon, Pierre & Tapsoba, René, 2017. "Flexible fiscal rules and countercyclical fiscal policy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 189-220.
    11. Monoj Kumar Majumder & Mala Valliammai Raghavan & Joaquin L. Vespignani, 2021. "Impact of commodity price volatility on external debt: the role of exchange rate regimes," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(57), pages 6626-6640, December.
    12. Arroyo Marioli, Francisco & Fatas, Antonio & Vasishtha, Garima, 2024. "Fiscal policy volatility and growth in emerging markets and developing economies," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 758-777.
    13. César Calderón & Roberto Duncan & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, 2016. "Do Good Institutions Promote Countercyclical Macroeconomic Policies?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 78(5), pages 650-670, October.
    14. Jeffrey Frankel, 2013. "A Solution to Fiscal Procyclicality: The Structural Budget Institutions Pioneered by Chile," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Luis Felipe Céspedes & Jordi Galí (ed.),Fiscal Policy and Macroeconomic Performance, edition 1, volume 17, chapter 9, pages 323-391, Central Bank of Chile.
    15. Enrique Alberola & Manuel Montero, 2006. "Debt Sustainability and Procyclical Fiscal Policies in Latin America," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Fall 2006), pages 157-193, August.
    16. João T. Jalles, 2020. "Explaining Africa's public consumption procyclicality: Revisiting old evidence," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(2), pages 297-323, August.
    17. Majumder, Monoj Kumar & Raghavan, Mala & Vespignani, Joaquin, 2020. "Oil curse, economic growth and trade openness," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    18. Luis N. Lanteri, 2016. "La política fiscal en economías exportadoras de materias primas. Evidencia para Argentina," Economic Analysis Working Papers (2002-2010). Atlantic Review of Economics (2011-2016), Colexio de Economistas de A Coruña, Spain and Fundación Una Galicia Moderna, vol. 1, pages 1-1, June.
    19. Jalles, João Tovar, 2020. "Social expenditure cyclicality: New time-varying evidence in developing economies," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 44(3).
    20. Ouedraogo, Rasmane & Sourouema, Windemanegda Sandrine, 2018. "Fiscal policy pro-cyclicality in Sub-Saharan African countries: The role of export concentration," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 219-229.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Commodity prices; commodity price volatility; fiscal balance; real interest rate JEL classification: E58; E62; G01;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03078952. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.