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  • Strategic Analysis 20 July 2023

    Will the US Debt Ceiling Deal Derail the Pandemic Recovery?

    Giuliano Toshiro Yajima, Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, Gennaro Zezza and Michalis Nikiforos
    Abstract

    In this Strategic Analysis, Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, Michalis Nikiforos, Giuliano T. Yajima, and Gennaro Zezza discuss how the current state and structural features of the US economy might affect its future trajectory. The recent recovery after the pandemic has been remarkable, when compared to previous cycles, and offers evidence of the efficacy of fiscal policy. Moreover, the inflation rate has been finally decelerating as the problems in global value chains that emerged after the pandemic are resolving and the price of commodities and oil, which spiked after the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, are stabilizing.

    Yet despite the recent success of fiscal policy in promoting output and employment growth, the recent debt ceiling deal—culminating in the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act—risks putting the US economy on the austerity path of the previous decade. And given the structural weaknesses of the US economy—including its high current account deficits, high level of indebtedness of firms, and overvalued stock and real estate prices—this projected fiscal policy tightening, combined with the impacts of high interest rates, could lead to a significant slowdown of the US economy.

    The US economy, the authors contend, is in need of a structural transformation toward modernizing its infrastructure, promoting industrial policy, and investing in the greening of its economy and environmental sustainability. A necessary condition for achieving these goals is an increase in government expenditure; they show that such an increase could also have positive demand effects on output and employment. 

    Download Strategic Analysis, July 2023 PDF (1.54 MB)
  • Working Paper No.1023 14 July 2023

    Climate Change and Fiscal Marksmanship

    Balamuraly B, Lekha S. Chakraborty, Amandeep Kaur and Ajay Narayan Jha
    Abstract

    According to the theory of efficient markets, economic agents use all available information to form rational expectations. The rational expectations hypothesis asserts that information is scarce, the economic system generally does not waste information, and that expectations depend specifically on the structure of the entire system. Fiscal marksmanship—the accuracy of budgetary forecasting—can be one important piece of such information that rational agents must consider in forming expectations. Against the backdrop of fiscal rules, our paper explores the budgetary forecast errors of climate change–related public spending in India. The fiscal rules stipulate that fiscal deficit–to–GDP ratio should be maintained at 3 percent. However, in the post-COVID fiscal strategy, a medium-term fiscal consolidation path of 4.5 percent fiscal deficit–to­–GDP is envisioned by 2025–26. Within this fiscal consolidation framework, we analyzed the budget credibility of fiscal commitments for climate change in India. We analyzed the fiscal behavioral variables in terms of bias, variation, and randomness, and captured the systemic variations in budgetary forecast related to climate change for a period 2017–18 to 2020–21 across sectors. We identified the sectors where systematic components of forecasting errors are relatively higher than random components, where minimizing errors through altering the fiscal behavioral models is done by revising the assumptions and by applying better forecasting methods. A state-level decomposition of the public spending revealed that disaggregated fiscal space available for developmental spending constitutes around 60 percent of the total. However, identifying the specifically targeted public spending related to climate change across all states and analyzing its fiscal markmanship can further the subnational inferences.

    Download Working Paper No. 1023 PDF (538.13 KB)
  • Working Paper No.1022 12 July 2023

    Has the Time for a European Job Guarantee Policy Arrived?

    Rania Antonopoulos
    Abstract

    As country after country in the European Union is called to respond to the current challenge of our time—high inflation and declining real wages—governments must engage in a transformative agenda and go beyond emergency energy vouchers and income support cash-transfers. And if the goal is to lead the way to a resilient and sustainable European Union, business as usual will not do. The share of wages to GDP has been declining since the late 1970s, deregulation of labor markets has increased insecurity and precariousness, and, among ordinary working people, a sense of uncertainty, disenfranchisement, and mistrust in governing institutions is prevalent. A thorough re-evaluation of policies is needed. In response to the deterioration of living standards, a guarantee of minimum wages adequate to secure a decent living standard should be a starting point; a permanent policy of automatic adjustment of wages to inflation rates in all member states should be promoted; and strengthening collective bargaining agreements ought to be re-invigorated for a fair sharing of productivity between wages and profits. An EU Job Guarantee should be at the center of this policy transformation. This bold agenda, advocated in this paper, can mobilize people to regain trust that a Social Europe is possible.

    Download Working Paper No. 1022 PDF (413.22 KB)
  • Working Paper No.1021 29 June 2023

    Can It Be Prevented This Time?

    Lorenzo Esposito and Giuseppe Mastromatteo
    Abstract

    Since the nineties, crises have punctuated financial markets, shattering the conventional wisdom about how these markets work and how to regulate them, and forcing a deep rethinking of the supervisory framework that, however, did not change much of the banks’ behavior and incentives. In particular, banking regulation did not face the nexus profitability-riskiness. Based on Minsky’s financial instability hypothesis, we discuss the literature on banks’ profitability and its relation to the originate-to-distribute model. We also propose a different strategy for banking regulation, based on a profitability cap that prevents financial innovation from overwhelming supervision. Finally, we discuss the data for the US case, confirming the importance of profitability as a signal of incoming troubles and the possibility of using the profitability cap to greatly simplify banking regulation.

    Download Working Paper No. 1021 PDF (751.72 KB)
  • Working Paper No.1020 28 June 2023

    The Macrodynamics of Indian Rupee Swap Yields

    Khawaja Mamun and Tanweer Akram
    Abstract

    This paper econometrically models the dynamics of Indian rupee (INR) swap yields based on key macroeconomic factors using the autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) approach. It examines whether the short-term interest rate has a decisive influence on long-term INR swap yields after controlling for other factors, such as core inflation, the growth of industrial production, the logarithm of the equity price index, and the logarithm of the INR exchange rate. The estimated models show that the short-term interest rate has an important influence on the swap yields. This implies that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) can sway borrowing and lending rates not just on Indian government bonds but also INR-denominated private-market financial instruments, such as swaps and swaptions.

    Download Working Paper No. 1020 PDF (781.63 KB)
  • Policy Notes No.2 26 June 2023

    The Challenges for the New Greek Government

    Dimitri B. Papadimitriou and Nikolaos Rodousakis
    Abstract

    Following the recent (June 25, 2023) elections in Greece, Institute President Dimitri B. Papadimitriou and Research Scholar Nikolaos Rodousakis outline the economic and policy challenges facing the Greek government.

    Download Policy Note 2023/2 PDF (394.49 KB)
  • Policy Notes No.2 26 June 2023

    Οι Προκλήσεις της Νέας Κυβέρνησης στην Ελλάδα

    Dimitri B. Papadimitriou and Nikolaos Rodousakis
  • Working Paper No.1019 08 May 2023

    An Inquiry Concerning Japanese Yen Interest Rate Swap Yields

    Khawaja Mamun and Tanweer Akram
    Abstract

    This paper econometrically models Japanese yen (JPY)–denominated interest rate swap yields. It examines whether the short-term interest rate exerts an influence on the long-term JPY swap yield after controlling for several key macroeconomic variables, such as core inflation, the growth of industrial production, the percentage change in the equity price index, and the percentage change in the exchange rate. It also tests whether there are structural breaks in the dynamics of Japanese swap yields and related variables. The estimated econometric models show that the short-term interest rate exerts an important influence on the long-term swap yield in some periods but not in other periods in which core inflation exerts a marked influence on the swap yield. The findings from the econometric models reveal a discernable relationship between the call rate and the swap yield of different maturity tenors clearly held prior to April 2014 but did not in the subsequent period. These findings highlight the limits and scope of John Maynard Keynes’s contention that the central bank’s policy rate commands a decisive influence over the long-term market rate through the short-term interest rate. The policy implications of the estimated models’ results are discussed.

    Download Working Paper No. 1019 PDF (1.05 MB)
  • Policy Notes No.1 01 May 2023

    Greece: Higher GDP Growth at What Cost?

    Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, Gennaro Zezza and Giuliano Toshiro Yajima
    Abstract

    In 2022, Greek GDP grew at a higher rate than the eurozone average as the nation’s economy rebounded from the COVID-19 shock.

    However, it was not all welcome news. In particular, Greece registered its largest current account deficit since 2009. Despite a widespread focus on fiscal profligacy, it is excessive current account and trade deficits—largely caused by private sector imbalances—that are at the root of Greece’s multiple economic challenges. This policy note identifies the major determinants causing the deterioration of the current account balance in order to devise appropriate corrective policies.

    Download Policy Note 2023/1 PDF (435.05 KB)
  • Working Paper No.1018 21 April 2023

    The Unbearable Weight of Aging

    L. Randall Wray, Yeva Nersisyan and Xinhua Liu
    Abstract

    The aging of the global population is in the headlines following a report that China’s population fell as deaths surpassed births. Pundits worry that a declining Chinese workforce means trouble for other economies that have come to rely on China’s exports. France is pushing through an increase of the retirement age in the face of what is called a demographic “time bomb” facing rich nations, created by rising longevity and low birthrates. As we approach the debt limit in the US, while President Biden has promised to protect Social Security, many have returned to the argument that the program is financially unsustainable. This paper argues that most of the discussion and policy solutions proposed surrounding aging of populations are misfocused on supposed financial challenges when they should be directed toward the challenges facing resource provision. From the resource perspective, the burden of caring for tomorrow’s seniors seems far less challenging. Indeed, falling fertility rates and an end to global population growth should be welcomed. With fewer children and longer lives, investment in the workers of the future will ensure growth of productivity that will provide the resources necessary to support a higher ratio of retirees to those of working age. Global population growth will peak and turn negative, reducing demands on earth’s biosphere and making it easier to transition to environmental sustainability. Rather than facing a demographic “time bomb,” we can welcome the transition to a mature-aged profile.

    Download Working Paper No. 1018 PDF (665.40 KB)
  • Working Paper No.1017 12 April 2023

    Rentiers, Strategic Public Goods, and Financialization in the Periphery

    Gabriel Porcile and Gilberto Tadeu Lima
    Abstract

    This paper revisits a traditional theme in the literature on the political economy of development, namely how to redistribute rents from traditional exporters of natural resources toward capitalists in technology-intensive sectors with a higher potential for innovation and the creation of higher-productivity jobs. Porcile and Lima argue that this conflict has been reshaped in the past three decades by two major transformations in the international economy. The first is the acceleration of technical change and the key role governments play in supporting international competitiveness. This role provides the strategic public goods to foster innovation and the diffusion of technology (what Christopher Freeman called “technological infrastructure”). The second is the impact of financial globalization in limiting the ability of governments in the periphery to tax and/or issue debt to finance those public goods. Capital mobility allows exporters of natural resources to send their foreign exchange abroad to arbitrate between domestic and foreign assets, and to avoid taxation. Using a macroeconomic model for a small, open economy, the authors argue that in this more complex international context, the external constraint on output growth assumes different forms. They focus on two polar cases: the “pure financialization” case, in which legal and illegal capital flights prevent the government from financing the provision of strategic public goods; and the “trade deficit” case, in which private firms in the more technology-intensive sector cannot import the capital goods they need to expand industrial production.

    Download Working Paper No. 1017 PDF (512.24 KB)
  • Working Paper No.1016 23 February 2023

    Monetary Policy and the Gender and Racial Employment Dynamics in Brazil

    Patricia Couto and Clara Brenck
    Abstract

    Monetary policy has been historically concerned with controlling inflation, using the interest rate as its main tool. However, such policies are not gender- or race-neutral. This paper explores econometrically the effect of changes in the interest rate for female and black employment creation in Brazil. We conduct a panel data fixed effects analysis for 13 states between 2012 and 2021 to estimate the effects of changes in interest rates on unemployment, separating the data by gender and race. Our results show that the real interest rate has a positive effect on the relative unemployment of black men to white men, no effect on the relative unemployment of black women to white men, and a negative effect on the relative unemployment of white women to white men. These effects are intensified in regions where the black population ratio is lower. This paper contributes to understanding the challenges to closing gender and racial gaps, particularly in developing economies. We conclude that social stratification, if not considered, can lead to misleading policies that perpetuate unequal socioeconomic outcomes.

    Download Working Paper No. 1016 PDF (785.22 KB)
  • Working Paper No.1015 20 February 2023

    CBDC Next-Level: A New Architecture for Financial “Super-Stability” 

    Biagio Bossone and Michael Haines
    Abstract

    Fractional reserve regimes generate fragile banking, and full reserve regimes (e.g., narrow banking) remove fragility at the cost of suppressing the role of banks as lenders. A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) could provide safe money, but at the cost of potentially disrupting bank lending. Our aim is to avoid this potential disruption. Building on the recent literature on CBDCs, in this study we propose what we call the “CBDC next-level model,” whereby the central bank creates money by lending to banks, and banks on-lend the proceeds to the economy. The proposed model would allow for deposits to be taken off the balance sheet of banks and into the balance sheet of the central bank, thereby removing significant risk from the banking system without adversely impacting banks’ basic business. Once CBDC is injected in the system, irrespective of however it is used, wherever it accumulates, and whoever holds and uses it, it will always represent central bank equity, and no losses or defaults by individual banks or borrowers can ever dent it or weaken the central bank’s capital position or hurt depositors. Yet, individual borrowers and banks would still be required to honor their debt in full, lest they would be bound to exit the market or even be forced into bankruptcy. The CBDC next-level model solution would eliminate the threat of bank runs and system collapse and induce a degree of financial stability (“super-stability”) that would be unparalleled by any existing banking system.

    Download Working Paper No. 1015 PDF (640.94 KB)
  • Working Paper No.1014 16 February 2023

    Chinese Yuan Interest Rate Swap Yields

    Khawaja Mamun and Tanweer Akram
    Abstract

    This paper models the dynamics of Chinese yuan (CNY)–denominated long-term interest rate swap yields. The financial sector plays a vital role in the Chinese economy, which has grown rapidly in the past several decades. Going forward, interest rate swaps are likely to have an important role in the Chinese financial system. This paper shows that the short-term interest rate exerts a decisive influence on the long-term swap yield after controlling for various macro-financial variables, such as inflation or core inflation, the growth of industrial production, percent change in the equity price index, and the percentage change in the CNY exchange rate. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach is applied to model the dynamics of the long-term swap yield. The empirical findings show that the People’s Bank of China’s influence extends even to the over-the-counter derivative products, such as CNY interest rate swap yields, through the short-term interest rate. The findings reinforce and extend John Maynard Keynes’s notion that the central bank’s actions have a decisive role in setting the long-term interest rate in emerging market economies, such as China.

    Download Working Paper No. 1014 PDF (765.73 KB)
  • Working Paper No.1013 18 January 2023

    The Economic and Environmental Effects of a Green Employer of Last Resort

    Giuliano Toshiro Yajima, Nikolaos Rodousakis and George Soklis
    Abstract

    We assess the sectoral impact of the implementation of a “green” employer of last resort (ELR) program in the US, based on an environmental modification of an extended Kurz’s (1985) multiplier framework and data from OECD Input-Output tables. We use these multipliers to estimate the impact of an “optimal” ELR, designed to maximize the impact on both output and employment while minimizing both imports and carbon emissions. We then test several alternative policy scenarios based upon different compositions of US government expenditure. We provide evidence that (1) investing in the optimal sectors in terms of output, employment, Co2, and import multipliers does not always deliver optimal results in the aggregate; (2) ecological sustainability for the US economy also fosters import sustainability; (3) a rebounding effect in Co2 emissions may be tamed if the ELR satisfies the abovementioned optimality condition, though this undermines its success in terms of output and employment. 

    Download Working Paper No. 1013 PDF (732.70 KB)
  • Working Paper No.1012 16 December 2022

    An Analysis of UK Swap Yields

    Khawaja Mamun and Tanweer Akram
    Abstract

    John Maynard Keynes argued that the central bank influences the long-term interest rate through the effect of its policy rate on the short-term interest rate. However, Keynes's claim was confined to the behavior of the long-term government bond yield. This paper investigates whether Keynes's claim holds for the yields of spread products and over-the-counter financial derivatives by econometrically modeling the dynamics of the pound sterling–denominated long-term interest rate swap yield. It uses the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) modeling approach to examine the relationship between the month-over-month changes in the short-term swap yield and the month-over-month change in the long-term swap yield, while controlling for several key macroeconomic and financial variables. The month-over-month change in the short-term interest rate has a positive and statistically significant effect on the month-over-month change in the long-term swap yield. This finding reinforces Keynes's conjecture concerning the central bank's influence over the long-term interest rate. The investigation's empirical findings and their policy implications are discussed from a Keynesian perspective.

    Download Working Paper No. 1012 PDF (933.61 KB)
  • One Pager 07 December 2022

    The Causes of Pandemic Inflation

    L. Randall Wray
    Abstract

    While the trigger for the Covid recession was unusual—a collapse of the supply side that produced a drop in demand—the inflation the US economy is now facing is not atypical, according to L. Randall Wray. In this one-pager, he explores the causes of the current inflationary environment, arguing that continuing inflation pressures come mostly from the supply side.

    Wray warns that, given federal spending had already been declining substantially before the Fed started raising interest rates, rate hikes make a recession—and potentially stagflation—even more likely. A key part of our fiscal policy response should be focused on well-designed public investment addressing the substantial supply constraints still affecting the US economy—constraints that are not just due to the Covid crisis, but also decades of underinvestment in infrastructure. Such an approach, in Wray's view, would reduce inflationary pressures while supporting growth.
     

    Download One-Pager No. 70 PDF (128.13 KB)
  • Strategic Analysis 13 October 2022

    Greece: Recovery, or Another Recession?

    Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, Gennaro Zezza and Nikolaos Rodousakis
    Abstract

    In this strategic analysis, Institute President Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, Senior Scholar Gennaro Zezza, and Research Associate Nikolaos Rodousakis discuss the medium-term prospects for the Greek economy in a time of increasing uncertainty—due to the geopolitical turbulence emanating from the Ukraine–Russian conflict, with its impact on the cost of energy, as well as the increase in international prices of some commodities.

    Growth projections for the current year are lower than those recorded in 2021, indicating the economy needs to perform much better if it is to continue on the growth path that began in the pre-pandemic period.  Similarly, growth projections for 2023 and 2024 appear much weaker, denoting serious consequences may be in store.

    With increasing price levels and the euro depreciating, an economy like Greece’s that is highly dependent on increasingly costly imports will become more fragile as the current account deficit widens. In the authors’ view, the continuous recovery of the Greek economy rests with the government’s ability to utilize the NGEU funds swiftly and efficiently for projects that will increase the country’s productive capacity.
     

    Download Strategic Analysis, October 2022 PDF (1.18 MB)
  • Strategic Analysis 13 October 2022

    Ελλάδα: Ανάκαμψη, ή μια νέα Ύφεση;

    Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, Gennaro Zezza and Nikolaos Rodousakis
    Abstract

    Σε αυτή τη στρατηγική ανάλυση, ο Πρόεδρος του Ινστιτούτου Δημήτρης Παπαδημητρίου, ο ερευνητής Gennaro Zezza και ο επιστημονικός συνεργάτης Νίκος Ροδουσάκης αναλύουν τις μεσοπρόθεσμες προοπτικές για την ελληνική οικονομία, σε μια περίοδο αυξανόμενης αβεβαιότητας, λόγω των γεωπολιτικών αναταραχών που προέρχονται από την Ρώσο-Ουκρανική σύγκρουση με αντίκτυπό το υψηλό κόστος ενέργειας και αυξημένων διεθνών τιμών εισαγόμενων εμπορευμάτων. Οι προβλέψεις ανάπτυξης για το τρέχον έτος είναι χαμηλότερες από αυτές που καταγράφηκαν το 2021, υποδεικνύοντας ότι η οικονομία χρειάζεται πολύ μεγαλύτερη ανάπτυξη για την συνέχιση της αναπτυξιακής πορείας που ξεκίνησε την προ-πανδημική περίοδο. Ομοίως, οι προβλέψεις για ανάπτυξη για το 2023 και το 2024 φαίνονται πολύ πιο αδύναμες, υποδηλώνοντας ότι ενδέχεται να υπάρχουν σοβαρές συνέπειες. Σε αυτούς τους προβληματικούς καιρούς με αυξανόμενα επίπεδα τιμών και υποτίμηση του ευρώ οικονομίες όπως αυτή της Ελλάδας, που εξαρτάται σε μεγάλο βαθμό από εισαγωγές που κοστίζουν περισσότερο, γίνονται πιο εύθραυστες καθώς διευρύνεται το έλλειμμα του ισοζυγίου τρεχουσών συναλλαγών. Κατά την άποψή μας, η συνεχής ανάκαμψη της ελληνικής οικονομίας εξαρτάται από την ικανότητα της κυβέρνησης να χρησιμοποιήσει τα κονδύλια της NGEU γρήγορα, αποτελεσματικά και για έργα που θα αυξήσουν την παραγωγική ικανότητα της χώρας.

    Download ΕΛΛΑΔΑ ΣΤΡΑΤΗΓΙΚΗ ΑΝΑΛΥΣΗ 10 2022 PDF (1.27 MB)
  • Working Paper No.1011 27 September 2022

    The Dynamics of Monthly Changes in US Swap Yields

    Tanweer Akram and Khawaja Mamun
    Abstract

    John Maynard Keynes (1930) asserted that the central bank sways the long-term interest rate through the influence of its policy rate on the short-term interest rate. Recent empirical research shows that Keynes's conjecture holds for long-term Treasury yields in the United States. This paper investigates whether Keynes's conjecture also holds for the monthly changes in US long-term swap yields by econometrically modeling its dynamics using an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach. The econometric modeling reveals that there is statistically significant effect on the monthly changes in the Treasury bill rate on the monthly changes in swap yields of different maturity tenors after controlling for a host of macroeconomic and financial control variables. The findings from the econometric models that are estimated render a perspicacious Keynesian perspective on key policy questions and contemporary debates in macroeconomics and finance.

    Download Working Paper No. 1011 PDF (875.99 KB)
  • Working Paper No.1010 06 September 2022

    Reflections on Angela Merkel’s Career as Chancellor of Germany and the Greek Financial Odyssey

    George Zestos, Harrison Whittleton and Alejandro Fernandez-Ribas
    Abstract

    Angela Merkel is the second-longest-serving chancellor of modern Germany, with more than 16 years in office. During her tenure there were many years of economic stability, but there were also years of domestic, EU, and geopolitical tensions. Merkel inherited an economy that was recovering after the launching of probusiness policies known as the Hartz I IV Reforms, introduced by the government of the previous chancellor, Gerhard Schröder. Chancellor Merkel was criticized for mishandling the eurocrisis, as she failed to declare support for the financially distressed eurozone countries. Instead she convinced EU officials and country leaders to adopt a contractionary fiscal policy in the midst of a recession. As a result of the austerity measures, Merkel became popular among the German taxpayers and voters. This triggered credit rating agencies to downgrade the government bonds of the periphery eurozone countries and investors to sell these bonds, driving their prices to zero. Periphery eurozone countries came close to bankruptcy but were jointly bailed out by the EU and the IMF, though this prolonged the crisis. As a result of the imposed austerity, which was unnecessary and avoidable, millions of people became unemployed and experienced poverty, loss of dignity, and humiliation and Greece was the country hit hardest. For Merkel, placing national interests above EU interests was the most important mistake in her career; it took, however, a bigger crisis (i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic), to convince Merkel to place EU interests above national interests.

    Download Working Paper No. 1010 PDF (500.97 KB)
  • Strategic Analysis 11 August 2022

    Avoiding a Recession

    Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, Gennaro Zezza and Michalis Nikiforos
    Abstract

    In this report, Institute President Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, Research Scholar Michalis Nikiforos, and Senior Scholar Gennaro Zezza analyze how and why the US economy has achieved a swift recovery in comparison with the last few economic cycles.

    This recovery has nevertheless been accompanied by significant increases in the trade deficit and inflation. Papadimitriou, Nikiforos, and Zezza argue that the elevated rate of inflation has been largely unrelated to the level of demand or the pace of the recovery, and has more to do with pandemic-related disruptions, the war in Ukraine, and the beginning of a new commodity super cycle.

    The authors also identify persistent Minskyan processes that mean the US economy remains fundamentally unstable, with a risk of financial crisis and potentially severe consequences in terms of output and employment—a risk heightened by the reversal of the loose monetary policy that has prevailed over the last decade and a half. In their first scenario, they simulate the macroeconomic impact of such a financial crisis and private sector deleveraging. In two additional scenarios, the authors analyze the likely effects of a new round of fiscal stimulus that would be necessary in case of a crisis: a deficit-financed expenditure boost with no offsetting revenue increases, and a deficit-neutral scenario in which taxation of high-income households increases by an amount equivalent to the expansion of public expenditure.

    Download Strategic Analysis, August 2022 PDF (2.20 MB)
  • Working Paper No.1009 08 August 2022

    Efficacy of Public Financial Management in Reducing Crime against Children

    Lekha S. Chakraborty
    Abstract

    Public financial management (PFM) has a significant role in linking resources to results by financing human development outcomes. When economic stimulus packages are short run in nature, thematic PFM, such as child budgeting, has a crucial role in reducing crime against children. Using fixed effects models, we explore the determinants of reduced crime against children. The PFM-related variables are found to have greater impact than economic growth per se in tackling crime against children. Capital expenditure in the social sector is found to be inversely related to crimes against children, though mere allocation in social sector budgets is not found to be effective in reducing crime rates. Specific PFM tools, like child budgeting, need to be analyzed for their role in child protection services. In India, child budgeting has been introduced in states where the rates of crime against children are also high. To understand the efficacy of child budgeting in reducing crime rates, the year of inception (year in which the child budgeting was introduced in the state) of children budgeting in a state is incorporated in the panel models. The coefficients reveal that years of inception and crime against children are inversely related, reinforcing the effectiveness of PFM tools such as child budgeting in reducing crimes. The existence of a positive link between social expenditure and the incidence of crime is at first counterintuitive, but a closer examination reveals a nonlinear relationship between crime incidence and social spending, which is revealed from the statistically significant negative squared term.

    Download Working Paper No. 1009 PDF (559.16 KB)
  • Policy Notes No.4 05 August 2022

    Κοινωνικό κράτος και ανταγωνιστικότητα

    Alexandra Papaisidorou and Emmanouil Karakostas
    Abstract

    Με τη δημοσίευση το 1971 της Θεωρίας της δικαιοσύνης του Rawls μας προσφέρεται μια πλήρως επεξεργασμένη πρόταση για τη δίκαιη κοινωνία και τους βασικούς θεσμούς της. Η κοινωνία αυτή είναι μια δημοκρατική κοινωνία που διέπεται από τη δικαιοσύνη ως ακριβοδικία, δηλαδή μια κοινωνία όπου όλοι οι πολίτες θα απολαμβάνουν συμβατά μεταξύ τους δικαιώματα και ελευθερίες, θα επικρατεί ισότητα ευκαιριών και οι οικονομικές και κοινωνικές ανισότητες θα «αποβαίνουν προς το μέγιστο όφελος των λιγότερο ευνοημένων». Κατά πόσο αυτό ανταποκρίνεται στις πολιτικές που εφαρμόζονται σήμερα; Είναι όλη αυτή η επιδοματική πολιτική που εφαρμόζεται αποτελεσματική ή όχι; Η σχέση δαπανών και οικονομίας μήπως καρποφορεί ένα αντικίνητρο για την ανάπτυξη; Η διερεύνηση αυτή, ωστόσο, δεν έχει στόχευση απολογητική ούτε επιδιώκει να υπερασπιστεί θέσεις που δεν διατυπώνονται ή, πολύ περισσότερο, που ρητά αποκρούονται από το οικονομικό μοντέλο της χώρας μας, αλλά αντίθετα, ευελπιστεί να ανιχνεύσει υπόρρητα δικαιολογητικά επιχειρήματα που συμπληρώνουν την ομολογουμένως σχηματική περιγραφή της λειτουργικότητας και της χρησιμότητας των κοινωνικών δαπανών σε σχέση με την ανταγωνιστικότητα και την ανάπτυξη.

    Download Σημείωση Πολιτικής 2022/4 PDF (145.80 KB)