Showing papers by "Martin Feldstein published in 1986"

The Budget Deficit and the Dollar

Abstract: This study examines the reasons for changes in the real exchange rate between the dollar and the German mark from the beginning of the floating rate regime in 1973 through 1984. The econometric analysis focuses on the effects of anticipated structural budget deficits and monetary policy in the United States and Germany and the changes in U.S. profitability induced by changes in tax rules. The possible impact of a number of other variables is also examined. The evidence indicates that the rise in expected future deficits in the budget of the U.S. government has had a powerful effect on the exchange rate between the dollar and the German mark. Each one percentage point increase in the ratio of future budget deficits to GNP increased the exchange rate by about 30 percentage points. Changes in the growth of the money supply also affect the exchange rate. Changes in tax rules and in the inflation-tax interaction that altered the corporate demand for funds did not have any discernible effect on the exchange rat...

The Effects of Fiscal Policies When Incomes are Uncertain: a Contradiction to Ricardian Equivalence

Abstract: This paper shows that when earnings are uncertain the substitution of deficit finance for tax finance or the introduction of an unfunded social security program will raise consumption even if all bequests reflect intergenerational altruism. Thus, contrary to the theory developed by Barro and a number of subsequent writers, an operative bequest motive need not imply Ricardian equivalence. Since there is no uncertainty in the present analysis about the date of each individual's death, this conclusion does not depend on imperfections in annuity markets. Nor does it depend on the existence of non-lump-sum taxes and other distortions. Rather it follows from the result derived in the paper that, when an individuals future earnings are uncertain, his future bequest is also uncertain and his consumption therefore rises more in response to an increase in his current disposable income than to an equal present value increase in the disposable income of his potential heirs.

Budget Deficits, Tax Rules, and real Interest Rates

Abstract: This paper examines three sources of the fluctuations in real interest rates during the past three decades: changes in budget deficits, changes in tax rules, and changes in monetary policy. The evidence indicates that budget deficits and monetary policy have had a strong influence on the level of long-term interest rates but fails to identifyany effect of changes in corporate tax rates and investment incentives.The analysis shows that it is projected future budget deficits rather than the current level of the actual or structural deficit that influence long-term interest rates. Each percentage point increase in the five-year projected ratio of budget deficits to GNP raisesthe long-term government bond rate by approximately 1.2 percentage points while the ratio of the current deficit to GNP (either actual or structural) has no significa effect. Thespecific parameter estimates imply that the increase in projected budget deficits was responsible for about two-thirds of the rise in the interest rates between 1977-78 and 1983-84.

The Effect of Federal Tax Deductibility on State and Local Taxes and Spending

Abstract: This paper examines the effect of federal deductibility of state and local taxes on the fiscal behavior of state and local governments The primary finding is that deductibil ity affects the way that state and local governments finance their sp ending as well as the overall level of spending More specifically, i n states in which federal deductibility implies a relatively low cost of using deductible personal taxes (including income, sales, and pro perty taxes), there is greater reliance on those taxes and less reliance on business taxes and other revenue sources The effect of deductibility on the state and local financial mix implies that deductibility has a much lower cost to the federal government than has previously been assumed

The Effects of Fiscal Policies When Incomes are Uncertain: A Contradiction to Ricardian Equivalence

Abstract: This paper shows that, when future earnings are uncertain, the substitution of deficit fin ance for tax finance (or the introduction of an unfunded social secur ity program) can raise consumption even if all bequests reflect inter generational altruism. An operative bequest motive therefore need not imply Ricardian equivalence. This conclusion follows from the result , derived in the paper, that the uncertainty of future income makes t he existence of a future bequest uncertain to the prospective donor. Copyright 1988 by American Economic Association.

The Budget Deficit and the Dollar

Abstract: This study examines the reasons for changes in the real exchange rate between the dollar and the German mark from the beginning of the floating rate regime in 1973 through 1984. The econometric analysis focuses on the effects of anticipated structural budget deficits and monetary policy in the United States and Germany and the changes in U.S. profitability induced by changes in tax rules. The possible impact of a number of other variables is also examined. The evidence indicates that the rise in the expected future deficits in the budget of the U.S. government has had a powerful effect on the exchangerate between the dollar and the German mark. Each one percentage point increase in the ratio of future budget deficits to GNP increased the exchange rate by about 30 percentage points. Changes in the growth of the money supply also affect the exchange rate. Changes in the tax rules and in the inflation-tax interaction that altered the corporate demand for funds did not have any discernible effect on the exchange rate. A separate analysis confirms that there is an equilibrium structural relation between the dollar-DM rates in the United States and Germany. An increase of one percentage point in the real interestrate differential has been associated with a rise in the DM-dollar ratio of about five percent.

Supply Side Economics: Old Truths and New Claims

Abstract: This paper, prepared for the annual meetings of the American Economic Association, examines the claims that were made at the beginning of the decade by the "new" supply-siders and contrasts their views with the traditional supply-side economics that has been a prominent part of economics since Adam Smith The analysis gives particular attention to the pace of recovery and growth and to the revenue effects of the 1981 tax cut

Budget Deficits, Tax Rules, and real Interest Rates

Abstract: This paper examines three sources of the fluctuations in real interest rates during the past three decades: changes in budget deficits, changes in tax rules, and changes in monetary policy. The evidence indicates that budget deficits and monetary policy have had a strong influence on the level of long-term interest rates but fails to identify any effect of changes in corporate tax rates and investment incentives. The analysis shows that it is projected future budget deficits rather than the current level of the actual or structural deficit that influence long-term interest rates. Each percentage point increase in the five-year projected ratio of budget deficits to GNP raises the long-term government bond rate by approximately 1.2 percentage points while the ratio of the current deficit to GNP (either actual or structural) has no significa effect. The specific parameter estimates imply that the increase in projected budget deficits was responsible for about two-thirds of the rise in the interest rates between 1977-78 and 1983-84.

Supply Side Economics: Old Truths and New Claims

Abstract: This paper, prepared for the annual meetings of the American Economic Association, examines the claims that were made at the beginning of the decade by the "new" supply-siders and contrasts their views with the traditional supply-side economics that has been a prominent part of economics since Adam Smith. The analysis gives particular attention to the pace of recovery and growth and to the revenue effects of the 1981 tax cut.

U.S. Budget Deficits and the European Economies: Resolving the Political Economy Puzzle

Abstract: This paper, prepared for the annual meetings of the American Economic Association, discusses how the increases in the U.S. budget deficits since 1980 have affected the economies of Western Europe. The analysis emphasizes that U.S. deficits have not only affected these economies directly but have also induced them to adopt more restrictive monetary and fiscal policies than they would otherwise have chosen. This induced shift in domestic policies is the primary reason why European governments have pressed for a reduction in the U.S. budget deficits despite the favorable impact of those deficits on European trade surpluses.

International Debt Service and Economic Growth: Some Simple Analytics

Abstract: Any arrangement that is to serve as a long-term framework for international debt management must permit a politically acceptable rate of economic growth in the debtor countries while gradually improving the financial positions of the creditor banks In addition, a realistic debt management strategy must maintain enough new lending to the debtor countries to provide an incentive for continued compliance with debt service responsibilities This paper establishes the conditions under which these three goals are compatible The analysis indicates that Argentina, Brazil and Mexico are now all capable of achieving significant rates of economic growth without debt write-downs or interest rate reductions They do require additional amounts of credit but the resulting increases in the absolute size of their debts is compatible with declining ratios of debt to their own exports and to the total earnings of the creditor banks Stated differently, limiting the ratio of debt service payments to GNP to country-specific standards, whether by long-term agreements or by annual negotiations, can achieve economic growth while improving the financial conditions of the creditor banks

New Evidence on the Effects of Exchange Rate Intervention

Abstract: The September 1985 decision of the G-5 countries to pursue coordinated intervention has been widely credited with the subsequent sharp decline of the dollar relative to other major currencies, On the surface, the dollar's decline appears as evidence that coordinated intervention can be an effective instrument of economic policy, contrary to most of the previous economic analysis of this issue. The evidence in the present paper shows that such a conclusion is unwarranted. The dollar's decline in the nine months after the G-5 agreement was generally no faster than it had been since the beginning of its decline in the spring of 1985. The only indication of discontinuity in the overall behavior of the dollar was a drop of about 4 percent that occurred immediately after the G-5 meeting and that has largely persisted. Although this evidence cannot be taken as a conclusive indication that coordinated intervention had no effect on the dollarâ€TMs rate of decline, it does show the inappropriateness of interpreting the dollar's decline after September 1985 as evidence that coordinated intervention was effective. The special case of the Japanese yen is more ambiguous. Unlike all of the other G-5 currencies, the yen did appreciate more rapidly after the €5-5 meeting than it did before. But the Japanese government was also unique in making a major shift in monetary policy immediately after the G-5 meeting to strengthen the yen and the yen was also the major currency that could be expected to appreciate most as a result of the massive and unexpected decline of the price of oil in the first half of 1986.

U.S. Budget Deficits and the European Economies: Resolving the Political Economy Puzzle

Abstract: This paper, prepared for the annual meetings of the American Economic Association, discusses how the increases in the U.S. budget deficits since 1980 have affected the economies of Western Europe. The analysis emphasizes that U.S. deficits have not only affected these economies directly but have also induced them to adopt more restrictive monetary and fiscal policies than they would otherwise have chosen. This induced shift in domestic policies is the primary reason why European governments have pressed for a reduction in the U.S. budget deficits despite the favorable impact of those deficits on European trade surpluses.(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

The Effect of Federal Tax Deductibility on State and Local Taxes and Spending

Abstract: This paper examines the effect of federal deductibility of state and local taxes on the fiscal behavior of state and local governments. The primary finding is that deductibility affects the way that state-local governments finance their spending as well as the overall level of spending. More specifically, in states where federal deductibility implies a relatively low cost of using deductible personal taxes (including income,sales and property taxes), there is greater reliance on those taxes and less reliance on business taxes and other revenue sources.The effect of deductibility on the state-local financial mix implies that deductibility has a much lower cost to the federal government than has previously been assumed. Indeed, if deductibility causes a large enough shift of financing from business taxes to personal taxes, deductibility may actually raise federal tax receipts. The analysis also implies that deductibility is likely to be a more cost-effective way than direct grants for raising the general level of state-local government spending. The present study uses the individual tax return data in the NBER TAXSIM model to calculate federal tax prices for itemizers and other taxpayers in each state. The econometric analysis recognizes that the federal tax price is endogenous (because it reflects the state-local spending decisions) and therefore uses a consistent instrumental variable procedure. This use of instrumental variable estimation exacerbates the difficulty of making precise estimates from the data. The relatively large standard errors indicate the need for caution in interpreting the point estimates.

The Effects of Tax Rules on Nonresidential Fixed Investment: Some Preliminary Evidence from the 1980s

Abstract: The evidence presented in this study confirms that tax-induced changes in the profitability of investment have had a powerful effect on the share of GNP devoted to nonresidential fixed investment. More specifically, we have reestimated two models of aggregate investment initially presented in Feldstein, "Inflation, Tax Rules and Investment: Some Econometric Evidence,"(Econometrica, 1982). The present study extends the previous analysis byusing revised national income accounts, by improving the estimation of the effective tax rate and the profitability of new investments, and by extending the sample to include the years 1978 through 1984. Despite these changes, the new statistical estimates are remarkably close to the previous results. The statistical estimates are also very robust with respect to sample period, estimation method, and the presence of other variables.The first model relates the investment-GNP ratio to the real net-of-tax rate of return received by the providers of debt and equity capital to the nonfinancial corporate sector and to the rate of capacity utilization. Our estimates imply that each percentage point increase in the real net return raises the investment-GNP ratio by 0.4 percentage points. A one percent age point increase in the net return is equivalent to a ten percentage point reduction in the overall effective tax rate. Since the net nonresidential fixed investment averaged 3 percent of GNP during the past three decades, a ten percentage point tax reduction induces a 13 percent rise in the investment-GNP ratio.Our second model relates the investment-GNP ratio to the difference between the maximum potential net return that firms can support by investing in a "standard investment project" and the net cost of debt and equity capital. The statistical estimates imply that each percentage point change in this measure of the rate of return over cost raises the investment-GNP ratio by 0.3 percentage points or 10 percent of its three-decade average.The estimates imply that the 1985 tax bill passed by the House of Representatives would reduce the investment-GNP ratio by between 10 percentand 15 percent of its average value, depending on the model used to make the calculation. Such reductions would represent between one-half and three-fourths of the rise in the investment-GNP ratio since the 1981 investment incentives were adopted.

New Evidence on the Effects of Exchange Rate Intervention

Abstract: The September 1985 decision of the G-5 countries to pursue coordinated intervention has been widely credited with the subsequent sharp decline of the dollar relative to other major currencies, On the surface, the dollar's decline appears as evidence that coordinated intervention can be an effective instrument of economic policy, contrary to most of the previous economic analysis of this issue. The evidence in the present paper shows that such a conclusion is unwarranted. The dollar's decline in the nine months after the G-5 agreement was generally no faster than it had been since the beginning of its decline in the spring of 1985. The only indication of discontinuity in the overall behavior of the dollar was a drop of about 4 percent that occurred immediately after the G-5 meeting and that has largely persisted. Although this evidence cannot be taken as a conclusive indication that coordinated intervention had no effect on the dollar’s rate of decline, it does show the inappropriateness of interpreting the dollar's decline after September 1985 as evidence that coordinated intervention was effective. The special case of the Japanese yen is more ambiguous. Unlike all of the other G-5 currencies, the yen did appreciate more rapidly after the €5-5 meeting than it did before. But the Japanese government was also unique in making a major shift in monetary policy immediately after the G-5 meeting to strengthen the yen and the yen was also the major currency that could be expected to appreciate most as a result of the massive and unexpected decline of the price of oil in the first half of 1986.

The Budget Deficit and the Dollar

Abstract: This study examines the reasons for changes in the real exchange rate between the dollar and the German mark from the beginning of the floating rate regime in 1973 through 1984. The econometric analysis focuses on the effects of anticipated structural budget deficits and monetary policy in the United States and Germany and the changes in U.S. profitability induced by changes in tax rules. The possible impact of a number of other variables is also examined. The evidence indicates that the rise in the expected future deficits in the budget of the U.S. government has had a powerful effect on the exchangerate between the dollar and the German mark. Each one percentage point increase in the ratio of future budget deficits to GNP increased the exchange rate by about 30 percentage points. Changes in the growth of the money supply also affect the exchange rate. Changes in the tax rules and in the inflation-tax interaction that altered the corporate demand for funds did not have any discernible effect on the exchange rate. A separate analysis confirms that there is an equilibrium structural relation between the dollar-DM rates in the United States and Germany. An increase of one percentage point in the real interestrate differential has been associated with a rise in the DM-dollar ratio of about five percent.

International Debt Service and Economic Growth: Some Simple Analytics

Abstract: Any arrangement that is to serve as a long-term framework for international debt management must permit a politically acceptable rate of economic growth in the debtor countries while gradually improving the financial positions of the creditor banks. In addition, a realistic debt management strategy must maintain enough new lending to the debtor countries to provide an incentive for continued compliance with debt service responsibilities. This paper establishes the conditions under which these three goals are compatible. The analysis indicates that Argentina, Brazil and Mexico are now all capable of achieving significant rates of economic growth without debt write-downs or interest rate reductions. They do require additional amounts of credit but the resulting increases in the absolute size of their debts is compatible with declining ratios of debt to their own exports and to the total earnings of the creditor banks. Stated differently, limiting the ratio of debt service payments to GNP to country-specific standards, whether by long-term agreements or by annual negotiations, can achieve economic growth while improving the financial conditions of the creditor banks.

The Effects of Fiscal Policies When Incomes are Uncertain: A Contradiction to Ricardian Equivalence

Abstract: This paper shows that when earnings are uncertain the substitution of deficit finance for tax finance or the introduction of an unfunded social security program will raise consumption even if all bequests reflect intergenerational altruism. Thus, contrary to the theory developed by Barro and a number of subsequent writers, an operative bequest motive need not imply Ricardian equivalence. Since there is no uncertainty in the present analysis about the date of each individual's death, this conclusion does not depend on imperfections in annuity markets. Nor does it depend on the existence of non-lump-sum taxes and other distortions. Rather it follows from the result derived in the paper that, when an individuals future earnings are uncertain, his future bequest is also uncertain and his consumption therefore rises more in response to an increase in his current disposable income than to an equal present value increase in the disposable income of his potential heirs.

The Effects of Tax Rules on Nonresidential Fixed Investment: Some Preliminary Evidence from the 1980s

Abstract: The evidence presented in this study confirms that tax-induced changes in the profitability of investment have had a powerful effect on the share of GNP devoted to nonresidential fixed investment. More specifically, we have reestimated two models of aggregate investment initially presented in Feldstein, "Inflation, Tax Rules and Investment: Some Econometric Evidence,"(Econometrica, 1982). The present study extends the previous analysis byusing revised national income accounts, by improving the estimation of the effective tax rate and the profitability of new investments, and by extending the sample to include the years 1978 through 1984. Despite these changes, the new statistical estimates are remarkably close to the previous results. The statistical estimates are also very robust with respect to sample period, estimation method, and the presence of other variables.The first model relates the investment-GNP ratio to the real net-of-tax rate of return received by the providers of debt and equity capital to the nonfinancial corporate sector and to the rate of capacity utilization. Our estimates imply that each percentage point increase in the real net return raises the investment-GNP ratio by 0.4 percentage points. A one percent age point increase in the net return is equivalent to a ten percentage point reduction in the overall effective tax rate. Since the net nonresidential fixed investment averaged 3 percent of GNP during the past three decades, a ten percentage point tax reduction induces a 13 percent rise in the investment-GNP ratio.Our second model relates the investment-GNP ratio to the difference between the maximum potential net return that firms can support by investing in a "standard investment project" and the net cost of debt and equity capital. The statistical estimates imply that each percentage point change in this measure of the rate of return over cost raises the investment-GNP ratio by 0.3 percentage points or 10 percent of its three-decade average.The estimates imply that the 1985 tax bill passed by the House of Representatives would reduce the investment-GNP ratio by between 10 percentand 15 percent of its average value, depending on the model used to make the calculation. Such reductions would represent between one-half and three-fourths of the rise in the investment-GNP ratio since the 1981 investment incentives were adopted.