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Learning about fiscal policy and the effects of policy uncertainty

Author

Listed:
  • Hollmayr, Josef
  • Matthes, Christian
Abstract
The recent crisis in the United States has often been associated with substantial amounts of policy uncertainty. In this paper we ask how uncertainty about fiscal policy affects the impact of fiscal policy changes on the economy when the government tries to counteract a deep recession. The agents in our model act as econometricians by estimating the policy rules for the different fiscal policy instruments, which include distortionary tax rates. Comparing the outcomes in our model to those under full-information rational expectations, we find that assuming that agents are not instantaneously aware of the new fiscal policy regime (or policy rule) in place leads to substantially more volatility in the short run and persistent differences in average outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Hollmayr, Josef & Matthes, Christian, 2013. "Learning about fiscal policy and the effects of policy uncertainty," Discussion Papers 51/2013, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:bubdps:512013
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Troy Davig & Andrew Foerster, 2019. "Uncertainty and Fiscal Cliffs," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 51(7), pages 1857-1887, October.
    3. Han, Zhao, 2021. "Low-frequency fiscal uncertainty," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 639-657.
    4. Yi Zhang & Mengyang Wang & Tao Shi & Huan Huang & Qi Huang, 2023. "Health Damage of Air Pollution, Governance Uncertainty and Economic Growth," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-21, February.
    5. Richter, Alexander W. & Throckmorton, Nathaniel A., 2015. "The consequences of an unknown debt target," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 76-96.
    6. Goodness C. Aye, 2019. "Fiscal Policy Uncertainty and Economic Activity in South Africa: An Asymmetric Analysis," Working Papers 201922, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    7. Hollmayr, Josef & Matthes, Christian, 2014. "Dynamics of Monetary-Fiscal Interaction under Learning," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100609, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    8. Tae-Seok Jang & Stephen Sacht, 2022. "Macroeconomic dynamics under bounded rationality: on the impact of consumers’ forecast heuristics," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 17(3), pages 849-873, July.
    9. Hollmayr, Josef & Kühl, Michael, 2019. "Learning about banks’ net worth and the slow recovery after the financial crisis," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    10. Nargiza Alymkulova & Nurlan Atabaev & Junus Ganiev, 2016. "Var — analysis of global financial economic crisis impact on public budget and unemployment: evidence from the economy of the Kyrgyz republic," Economy of region, Centre for Economic Security, Institute of Economics of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, vol. 1(4), pages 1090-1101.
    11. McClung, Nigel, 2020. "E-stability vis-à-vis determinacy in regime-switching models," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    12. Aye, Goodness C., 2021. "Short and Long Run Asymmetric Effects of Monetary and Fiscal Policy Uncertainty on Economic Activity in the U.S," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 74(1), pages 83-96.
    13. Hollmayr, Josef & Matthes, Christian, 2015. "Tales of transition paths: Policy uncertainty and random walks," Discussion Papers 14/2015, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    14. Alymkulova Nargiza Bakytovna & Atabaev Nurlan Uzgenovich & Ganiev Junus Mashrapovich, 2016. "Var - analysis of Global financial economic crisis impact on public budget and unemployment: evidence from the economy of the Kyrgyz Republic," Экономика региона, CyberLeninka;Федеральное государственное бюджетное учреждение науки «Институт экономики Уральского отделения Российской академии наук», vol. 12(4), pages 1090-1101.
    15. Caprioli, Francesco, 2015. "Optimal fiscal policy under learning," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 101-124.
    16. La Torre, Davide & Marsiglio, Simone & Mendivil, Franklin & Privileggi, Fabio, 2021. "Generalized Fractal Transforms with Condensation: a Macroeconomic-Epidemiological Application," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 202107, University of Turin.
    17. Hunjra, Ahmed Imran & Azam, Muhammad & Bruna, Maria Giuseppina & Verhoeven, Peter & Al-Faryan, Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh, 2022. "Sustainable development: The impact of political risk, macroeconomic policy uncertainty and ethnic conflict," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    18. Muhammad Shafiullah & Usman Khalid & Sajid M. Chaudhry, 2022. "Do stock markets play a role in determining COVID‐19 economic stimulus? A cross‐country analysis," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(2), pages 386-408, February.
    19. Josef Hollmayr & Michael Kuehl, 2016. "Imperfect Information about Financial Frictions and Consequences for the Business Cycle," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 22, pages 179-207, October.
    20. Goodness C. Aye, 2019. "Short and Long Run Asymmetric Effects of Monetary and Fiscal Policy Uncertainty on Economic Activity in the U.S," Working Papers 201923, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    DSGE; Fiscal Policy; Learning;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory

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