Macroeconomic and Welfare Costs of U.S. Fiscal Imbalances

In this paper we use a general equilibrium model with heterogeneous agents to assess the macroeconomic and welfare consequences in the United States of alternative fiscal policies over the medium-term. We find that failing to address the fiscal imbalances associated with current federal fiscal polic...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gruss, Bertrand
Other Authors: Torres, Jose L.
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C. International Monetary Fund 2012
Series:IMF Working Papers
Subjects:
Online Access:
Collection: International Monetary Fund - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
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245 0 0 |a Macroeconomic and Welfare Costs of U.S. Fiscal Imbalances  |c Bertrand Gruss, Jose L. Torres 
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300 |a 35 pages 
651 4 |a United States 
653 |a Wealth 
653 |a Economics 
653 |a Public debt 
653 |a Labour 
653 |a Public finance & taxation 
653 |a Saving 
653 |a Self-employed 
653 |a Debt Management 
653 |a Fiscal Policy 
653 |a Debts, Public 
653 |a Fiscal consolidation 
653 |a Debt 
653 |a Fiscal policy 
653 |a National accounts 
653 |a Labor 
653 |a Sovereign Debt 
653 |a Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment: General (includes Measurement and Data) 
653 |a Labor Economics: General 
653 |a Self-employment 
653 |a Labor Demand 
653 |a Consumption 
653 |a Forecasts of Budgets, Deficits, and Debt 
653 |a Macroeconomics 
653 |a Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity: General 
653 |a Macroeconomics: Consumption 
653 |a Public Finance 
653 |a Income economics 
653 |a Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: General 
653 |a Labor economics 
700 1 |a Torres, Jose L. 
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520 |a In this paper we use a general equilibrium model with heterogeneous agents to assess the macroeconomic and welfare consequences in the United States of alternative fiscal policies over the medium-term. We find that failing to address the fiscal imbalances associated with current federal fiscal policies for a prolonged period would result in a significant crowding-out of private investment and a severe drag on growth. Compared to adopting a reform that gradually reduces federal debt to its pre-crisis level, postponing debt stabilization for two decades would entail a permanent output loss of about 17 percent and a welfare loss of almost 7 percent of lifetime consumption. Moreover, the long-run welfare gains from the adjustment would more than compensate the initial losses associated with the consolidation period