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New Keynesian versus old Keynesian government spending multipliers: A comment

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  • Hughes Hallett, Andrew
  • Rannenberg, Ansgar
  • Schreiber, Sven

Abstract

Cogan et al. (2009, 2010) claim that the stimulus package passed by the United States Congress in February 2009 had a multiplier far below one. However, the stimulus’ multiplier strongly depends on the assumed monetary policy response. Based on official statements from the Fed chairman, the economic outlook, past behavior of the FOMC, optimal policy considerations, and financial market expectations, we find that in February 2009 a period of monetary accommodation of three years would have been a reasonable prediction. This implies that an appropriate real time assessment of the stimulus’ effects would have been more optimistic than Cogan et al.’s.

Suggested Citation

  • Hughes Hallett, Andrew & Rannenberg, Ansgar & Schreiber, Sven, 2014. "New Keynesian versus old Keynesian government spending multipliers: A comment," Discussion Papers 2014/6, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:fubsbe:20146
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Obama fiscal stimulus; fiscal multiplier; interest rate forecasts;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E37 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications
    • E47 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications

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