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Covid-19, economic growth and South African fiscal policy

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  • Philippe Burger

    (University of the Free State)

  • Estian Calitz

    (University of Stellenbosch)

Abstract

Even before Covid-19 South African fiscal policy was unsustainable, following years of fast-rising debt levels. We show this estimating a fiscal reaction function in a Markov-switching model. However, the effects of the Covid-19 crisis worsened the fiscal position further. To restore fiscal sustainability in the aftermath of the crisis some commentators argue that higher government expenditure will grow GDP sufficiently to stabilise the debt/GDP ratio. We reject this, showing that although a real increase in expenditure stimulates economic growth (a short-run, once-off effect), the public expenditure/GDP ratio exceeds the level at which an increase in the ratio positively impacts growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Philippe Burger & Estian Calitz, 2020. "Covid-19, economic growth and South African fiscal policy," Working Papers 15/2020, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:sza:wpaper:wpapers350
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    Cited by:

    1. Sarb, 2020. "OBEN 2001 November 2020," Occasional Bulletin of Economic Notes 11003, South African Reserve Bank.
    2. Christopher Loewald & David Faulkner & Konstantin Makrelov, 2020. "Time consistency and economic growth a case study of south african macroeconomic policy," Working Papers 10421, South African Reserve Bank.
    3. Yacoub Alatrash & Gani Nurmukhametov, 2021. "Fiscal Policy Effectiveness Under Different Debt Regimes: The Case of Egypt," Working Papers 1527, Economic Research Forum, revised 20 Dec 2021.
    4. Baneng Naape & Ndzalama C. Mathebula, 2022. "How do petrol prices respond to variations in crude oil and the exchange rate? Evidence from South Africa," Journal of New Economy, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 23(3), pages 23-42, October.
    5. Joseph Mawejje & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2022. "Macroeconomic determinants of fiscal policy in East Africa: a panel causality analysis," Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(53), pages 105-123, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covid-19; Coronavirus; Public debt; budget deficit; primary balance; economic growth; government expenditure; tax revenue;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E63 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Comparative or Joint Analysis of Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Stabilization; Treasury Policy
    • H62 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Deficit; Surplus
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt

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