Nicoletta Batini, Giovanni Melina, Stefania Villa, (2016), “Fiscal Buffers, Private Debt, and Stagnation : The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, IMF WP No. 16/104
We revisit the empirical relationship between private/public debt and output, and build a model that reproduces it. In the model, the government provides financial assistance to credit-constrained agents to mitigate deleveraging. As we observe in the data, surges in private debt are potentially more damaging for the economy than surges in public debt. The model suggests two policy implications. First, capping leverage leads to milder recessions, but also implies more muted expansions. Second, with fiscal buffers, financial assistance to credit-constrained agents helps avoid stagnation. The growth returns from intervention decline as the government approaches the fiscal limit.
Relevant posts
- Amiel, D. & Paul-Adrien, H. (2015) “Is there an easy way out? Private marketable debt and its implications for a Eurozone break-up”, VoxEU Organisation, 15 March.
- Chrepa, E. & Chrysoloras, N. (2014) “Private Bad Debt Buildup Casts Shadow on Greek Rebound”, Bloomberg News, 29 September