Tax Smoothing in a Financially Repressed Economy: Evidence from India

Paul Cashin (), Nilss Olekalns and Ratna Sahay

No 1998/122, IMF Working Papers from International Monetary Fund

Abstract: India has a long history of running fiscal deficits. Two broad considerations motivate a government to run a deficit: tax smoothing and tax tilting. This paper tests a version of Barro’s tax-smoothing model, using Indian data for the period 1951-52 to 1996-97. The empirical results indicate that the central government of India has tax-smoothed, while the regional governments of India have not. The paper also finds evidence of tax tilting, reflected in financial repression, which has led to the accumulation of excessive public liabilities.

Keywords: WP; government spending; budget surplus; Tax smoothing; financial repression; fiscal policy; India; tax-smoothing hypothesis; tax-smoothing model; central government; tax-smoothing surplus; surplus granger; fiscal surplus; tax-Smoothing surplus; Government debt management; Budget planning and preparation; Stocks; North America (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 43
Date: 1998-08-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

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Working Paper: Tax Smoothing in a Financially Repessed Economy: Evidence from India (1998)
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