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On the (De)Stabilizing Effect of Public Debt in a Ramsey Model with Heterogeneous Agents

Author

Listed:
  • Kazuo Nishimura

    (RIEB, Kobe University - Kobe University, KIER, Kyoto University - Kyoto University)

  • Carine Nourry

    (GREQAM - Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - ECM - École Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, IUF - Institut universitaire de France - M.E.N.E.S.R. - Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche)

  • Thomas Seegmuller

    (GREQAM - Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - ECM - École Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Alain Venditti

    (GREQAM - Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - ECM - École Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, EDHEC Business School - Département Comptabilité, Droit, Finance et Economie)

Abstract

We introduce public debt in a Ramsey model with heterogenous agents and a public spending externality affecting utility which is financed by income tax and public debt. We show that public debt considered as a fixed portion of GDP can have a stabilizing or destabilizing effect depending on some fundamental elasticities. When the public spending externality is weak and the elasticity of capital labor substitution is low enough, public debt can only be destabilizing, generating damped or persistent macroeconomic fluctuations. Whereas when the public spending externality and the elasticity of capital labor substitution are strong enough, public debt can be stabilizing, driving to monotone convergence an economy experiencing damped or persistent fluctuations without debt.

Suggested Citation

  • Kazuo Nishimura & Carine Nourry & Thomas Seegmuller & Alain Venditti, 2014. "On the (De)Stabilizing Effect of Public Debt in a Ramsey Model with Heterogeneous Agents," Working Papers halshs-01059567, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01059567
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    Cited by:

    1. Boucekkine, Raouf & Nishimura, Kazuo & Venditti, Alain, 2015. "Introduction to financial frictions and debt constraints," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 271-275.
    2. Becker, Robert A. & Borissov, Kirill & Dubey, Ram Sewak, 2015. "Ramsey equilibrium with liberal borrowing," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 296-304.
    3. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Yuan, Yan, 2016. "Marginal Rate of Transformation and Rate of Substitution measured by DEA environmental assessment: Comparison among European and North American nations," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 270-287.
    4. Arnaud Cheron & Kazuo Nishimura & Carine Nourry & Thomas Seegmuller & Alain Venditti, 2019. "Growth and Public Debt: What Are the Relevant Trade‐Offs?," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 51(2-3), pages 655-682, March.
    5. Nishimura, Kazuo & Seegmuller, Thomas & Venditti, Alain, 2015. "Fiscal policy, debt constraint and expectations-driven volatility," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 305-316.
    6. KONDO Atsumasa, "undated". "The Role of Productivity Growth Rates for Rising Inequality in an Economy with Heterogeneous Agents," ESRI Discussion paper series 326, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    public debt; borrowing constraint; endogenous cycles; heterogeneous agents; public spending;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C62 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Existence and Stability Conditions of Equilibrium
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies

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