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Is Government Spending at the Zero Lower Bound Desirable?

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  • Florin Bilbiie
  • Tommaso Monacelli
  • Roberto Perotti

Abstract

Government spending at the zero lower bound (ZLB) is not necessarily welfare enhancing, even when its output multiplier is large. We illustrate this point in the context of a standard New Keynesian model. In that model, when government spending provides direct utility to the household, its optimal level is at most 0.5- 1 percent of GDP for recessions of -4 percent; the numbers are higher for deeper recessions. When spending does not provide direct utility, it is generically welfare- detrimental: it should be kept unchanged at a long run-optimal value. These results are confirmed in a medium-scale DSGE version of the model featuring sticky wages and equilibrium unemployment. Keywords: Government spending multiplier, zero lower bound, welfare. JEL Classification Numbers: E62, D91, E21.

Suggested Citation

  • Florin Bilbiie & Tommaso Monacelli & Roberto Perotti, 2015. "Is Government Spending at the Zero Lower Bound Desirable?," Working Papers 555, IGIER (Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research), Bocconi University.
    • Handle: RePEc:igi:igierp:555
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    government spending multiplier; zero lower bound; welfare. jel classification numbers: e62; d91; e21.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory

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