When is the fiscal multiplier high? A comparison of four business cycle phases

Travis Berge, Maarten De Ridder and Damjan Pfajfar

European Economic Review, 2021, vol. 138, issue C

Abstract: This paper compares the effect of fiscal spending on economic activity across various phases of the business cycle. We show that the fiscal multiplier is higher when unemployment is increasing than when it is decreasing. Conversely, fiscal multipliers do not depend on whether the unemployment rate is above or below its long-term trend. This result emerges both in the analysis of long time-series at the U.S. national level as well as for a post-Vietnam War panel of U.S. states. Our findings synthesize previous, at times conflicting, evidence on the state-dependence of fiscal multipliers and imply that fiscal intervention early on in economic downturns is most effective at stabilizing output.

Keywords: Fiscal multipliers; Countercyclical policy; Cross-sectional analysis; Local projections (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C31 C32 E62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Working Paper: When is the fiscal multiplier high? A comparison of four business cycle phases (2021)
Working Paper: When is the Fiscal Multiplier High? A Comparison of Four Business Cycle Phases (2020)
Working Paper: When is the Fiscal Multiplier High? A Comparison of Four Business Cycle Phases (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:138:y:2021:i:c:s0014292121001823

DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2021.103852

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