Ricardian Equivalence revisited: introductory notes

ABSTRACT These notes aim to revisit the debate, the model, the results, and main objections to the validity of the Ricardian Equivalence Theorem as presented in Barro (1974). It is intended to explore his thesis that tax and debt are equivalent and have no real effect on perceived wealth, demand, the real interest rate or on the economy. The thesis refers to the analysis of the ways of financing debt at a given level of government expenditure and does not address the effects of an expansion of this volume of spending, nor it specifically analyzes the effects of an increase in public debt due to a tax reduction policy. After this presentation, the thesis is debated, consolidating some of the premises that are necessary to validate it. The purpose of the paper is to explore the first round of debates on the theme, explaining the restrictions to which the Barro-Ricardo Theorem or the Ricardian Equivalence Theorem is subject, based on the publications by Barro (1976), Buchanan (1976) and Feldstein (1976), all of them within the ‘realm’ of economic orthodoxy. The final section presents some remarks and an analysis of Barro’s later work (1989 and 1996).

Public debt management and the interaction between fiscal and monetary policies

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the existing relations between the management of public bonds on the dynamics of debt, term structure of interest rates and economic cycle, through a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model (DSGE), which was estimated through Bayesian inference techniques using data from Brazil.Design/methodology/approachThe model developed was used to investigate the effects of the public debt average maturity management when the economy faces a monetary policy shock. For this, three management scenarios are evaluated, including Brazilian securities average term.FindingsContrary to what might be inferred from DSGE models that limited the analysis of the debt term by imposing only one-period bonds, a contractionary monetary policy shock does not necessarily cause public debt to increase significantly. Debt term structure plays a crucial role in this result since the government does not need to roll the debt over at higher costs when the debt term profile is longer, reducing the debt service costs and then the impact on the overall debt.Originality/valueDespite the relevance of this theme and its implications for the dynamics of the economy, there is still a gap to be filled in the literature when using DSGE models, since most part of the work that used this methodology limited the analysis of the debt term by imposing that government issues only one-period bonds. This paper differs from the others insofar as it promotes an investigation focused on the role played by debt maturity management on the performance of the contractionary monetary policy. This approach can generate a better understanding of debt management policy and its interaction with fiscal and monetary policies.

Deuda pública en México: dinámica e implicaciones de política

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors that have driven the public debt in Mexico and its consequences on the economy. The hypothesis proposed is that the increase in debt is related to factors such as discretion in the management of public resources, the guarantee of oil resources, the cost of financial bailouts and the growing social spending exercised. The research question is: How has public debt evolved in the medium and long term, and what are the consequences? The methodology used is qualitative in that it analyzes the facts and documents, and the second is quantitative in that it uses a regression model in which a growth rate of the variable in question is used. The data come from institutions such as the Bank of Mexico, the World Bank, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), as well as World Population Review. The paper concludes by highlighting the need for governments to adopt responsible policies in order to influence growth and economic development, and not that austerity policies cause low investment and unemployment in the country.

Financially-legal regulation of basic public debt management in the conditions of coronavirus pandemic

This article is devoted to the consideration of some issues related to the legal regulation of the main methods of public debt management in Russia in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. In the course of the study, the features of the external and internal debt of the Russian Federation are highlighted, various approaches to the definition of this category are considered, and some aspects of legal regulation in this area are analyzed. It is determined that the norms of financial law regulate a whole and diverse set of public relations related to the implementation of borrowing both in the domestic and foreign markets, and it is necessary to comprehensively regulate this institution. In conclusion, it is concluded that the coronavirus pandemic has greatly affected all aspects of financial activity, the state had to resort to additional borrowing on the domestic market to eliminate the consequences of the pandemic. Based on this, we need a well-thought-out strategy for the development of legislation in this area at all levels of the budget system of the Russian Federation.