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Is There a Fiscal Free Lunch in a Liquidity Trap?

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  • Jesper Linde

    (Federal Reserve Board)

  • Christopher J. Erceg

    (Federal Reserve Board)

Abstract

This paper uses a DSGE model to examine the effects of an expansion in government spending in a liquidity trap. The spending multiplier can be much larger than in the normal situation if the liquidity trap is very prolonged, and the budgetary costs minimal. But given this "fiscal free lunch," it is unclear why policymakers would want to limit the size of fiscal expansion. Our paper addresses this question in a model environment where the duration of the liquidity trap is determined endogenously, and depends on the size of the fiscal stimulus. We show that even if the multiplier is high for small increases in government spending, it may decrease substantially at higher spending levels; thus, it is crucial to distinguish between the average and marginal multiplier.
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Suggested Citation

  • Jesper Linde & Christopher J. Erceg, 2010. "Is There a Fiscal Free Lunch in a Liquidity Trap?," 2010 Meeting Papers 380, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:sed010:380
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies

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