Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Fischer, S.
Right arrow Articles by Easterly, W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 1990 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank

research-article

THE ECONOMICS OF THE GOVERNMENT BUDGET CONSTRAINT

Stanley Fischer and William Easterly

This article summarizes the simple analytics of the macroeconomic effects of government budget deficits. The presentation is organized around three key relationships: the national income accounts budget deficit identity, the deficit financing identity, and the dynamic equation for the evolution of the ratio of public debt to gross national product. The national income accounts identity highlights the effect of the deficit on domestic saving and investment and the current account. Examining the financing of the deficit brings to light the different kinds of macroeconomic imbalance the deficit can cause—as a first approximation, printing money excessively shows up as inflation, excessive use of foreign reserves leads to crises in the balance of payments, high foreign borrowing leads to a debt crisis, and too much domestic borrowing leads to high real interest rates and crowding out of private investment. The debt dynamics equation is used to show the long-run constraints on fiscal policy.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.