A comparison of nominal and indexed debt under fiscal constraints

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of International Money and Finance
Year: 2019
Volume: 91
Issue: C
Pages: 177-194

Authors (2)

Westerhout, Ed (not in RePEc) Beetsma, Roel (Universiteit van Amsterdam)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper makes a welfare comparison between the issuance of price-indexed and nominal public debt in the presence of fiscal constraints, viz. a debt constraint, a deficit constraint and a combination of both. Distortionary taxes or public consumption are regulated to avoid the violation of the relevant fiscal constraint(s). Under a debt constraint indexed debt is generally preferred, while under a deficit constraint the results are more mixed. Introducing inflation persistence and raising the maturity of the debt tend to increase the magnitude of the welfare differences between the two types of debt. Welfare differences are further affected by the degree to which public consumption and tax revenues are indexed to actual versus structural nominal GDP.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jimfin:v:91:y:2019:i:c:p:177-194
Journal Field
International
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-24