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Can Deficits Finance Themselves?

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  • George-Marios Angeletos
  • Chen Lian
  • Christian K. Wolf

Abstract

We ask how fiscal deficits are financed in environments with two key features: (i) nominal rigidity, and (ii) a violation of Ricardian equivalence due to finite lives or liquidity constraints. In such environments, deficits can contribute to their own financing through two channels: a boom in real economic activity, which expands the tax base; and a surge in inflation, which erodes the real value of nominal government debt. Our main theoretical result establishes that this mechanism becomes more potent as fiscal adjustment is delayed, leading to full self-financing in the limit. In this scenario, the government can run a deficit today, refrain from tax hikes or spending cuts in the future, and still see its debt converge back to its initial level. We further demonstrate that a significant degree of self-financing is achievable when the theory is disciplined by empirical evidence on marginal propensities to consume, nominal rigidities, and the speed of fiscal adjustment.

Suggested Citation

  • George-Marios Angeletos & Chen Lian & Christian K. Wolf, 2023. "Can Deficits Finance Themselves?," NBER Working Papers 31185, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31185
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    Cited by:

    1. Kopiec, Paweł, 2024. "Monetary-Fiscal Forward Guidance," MPRA Paper 120563, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Elfsbacka-Schmöller, Michaela & McClung, Nigel, 2024. "Can growth stabilize debt? A fiscal theory perspective," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 2/2024, Bank of Finland, revised 2024.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook

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