Deficits, full employment and the use of fiscal policy

1995 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Pressman
Author(s):  
Engin Oner

Adam Smith being its founder, in the Classical School, which gives prominence to supply and adopts an approach of unbiased finance, the economy is always in a state of full employment equilibrium. In this system of thought, the main philosophy of which is budget balance, that asserts that there is flexibility between prices and wages and regards public debt as an extraordinary instrument, the interference of the state with the economic and social life is frowned upon. In line with the views of the classical thought, the classical fiscal policy is based on three basic assumptions. These are the "Consumer State Assumption", the assumption accepting that "Public Expenditures are Always Ineffectual" and the assumption concerning the "Impartiality of the Taxes and Expenditure Policies Implemented by the State". On the other hand, the Keynesian School founded by John Maynard Keynes, gives prominence to demand, adopts the approach of functional finance, and asserts that cases of underemployment equilibrium and over-employment equilibrium exist in the economy as well as the full employment equilibrium, that problems cannot be solved through the invisible hand, that prices and wages are strict, the interference of the state is essential and at this point fiscal policies have to be utilized effectively.Keynesian fiscal policy depends on three primary assumptions. These are the assumption of "Filter State", the assumption that "public expenditures are sometimes effective and sometimes ineffective or neutral" and the assumption that "the tax, debt and expenditure policies of the state can never be impartial".


2021 ◽  
pp. 2150018
Author(s):  
Yasuhito Tanaka

This study aimed to provide a game-theoretic interpretation of the analyses of involuntary unemployment by deficiency of aggregate demand and fiscal policy to achieve full employment using an overlapping generations model. We showed that involuntary unemployment is in a Nash equilibrium of a game with a firm and consumers. Moreover, we showed that full employment can be achieved through fiscal policies that create budget deficits in recessionary conditions with involuntary unemployment. Once full employment is achieved, it can be sustained without a budget deficit.


1957 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Dean A. Worcester

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Mohd Rozaimy Ridzuan ◽  
Noor Amira Syazwani Abd Rahman

The COVID-19 crisis is casting a long shadow over ASEAN and its member states. The number of individuals infected by it is continued to surge daily. COVID-19 has rapidly morphed into unprecedented health, economic and geopolitical crisis. Among the sectors that have practically ground to a halt are the tourism, aviation and travel sectors. This paper attempts to examine the initiatives taken by several ASEAN countries in mitigating the impact of COVID-19. A comparative analysis of the economic stimulus packages of selected ASEAN countries were analysed in order to dampen the effect of COVID-19. To make evident this statement, several evidences are presented in this paper by referring to published data, and information from secondary sources such as scholarly articles and journals, newspapers and data from the web. The findings were also strengthened by connecting those initiatives with a political economy theory of fiscal policy. The study found that the majority of ASEAN countries employ fiscal policy in order to stimulate the economy and encourage full employment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-38
Author(s):  
Yasuhito Tanaka

AbstractIt is widely argued that public debt is a burden on the future generations. We analyze another aspect of public debt as an economic stimulus program, that is, the measure to realize full employment from an under-employment state. Using a continuous time version of a dynamic analysis of debt-to-GDP ratio we show that a fiscal policy to realize full employment from a state of under-employment can reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio. More precisely we show that the larger the extra growth rate (increasing rate) of real GDP by a fiscal policy is, the smaller the debt-to-GDP ratio at the time when full employment is realized is. Also we show that even if the marginal propensity to consume is very small (including zero), an aggressive fiscal policy can realize full employment without increasing the debt-to-GDP ratio. Further, we consider a condition to realize full employment from a state of under-employment within one year without increasing debt-to-GDP ratio.


2010 ◽  
Vol 211 ◽  
pp. R45-R50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger E.A. Farmer

This paper describes research that integrates Keynesian and Walrasian economics in a new way. The author develops a model in which high unemployment can persist and any unemployment rate can occur as an equilibrium. Equilibrium is selected by the self-fulfilling beliefs of asset market participants. Using this new framework, the author argues that fiscal policy is not the best solution to the problem of restoring full employment. A policy of asset market management, similar to quantitative easing, is put forward as a more effective approach.


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