Default Costs And Self-Fulfilling Fiscal Limits In A Small Open Economy

Optimal Fiscal Policy and Amplification in a Small Open Economy∗

We study optimal fiscal policy in a small open economy characterized by two main frictions – incomplete financial markets and an inability of the government to commit to policy. Our main contribution is to show that in this environment, the best sustainable policy can amplify and prolong shocks to output. In particular, the government’s credibility not to expropriate foreign capital endogenousl...

Endogenous credit limits with small default costs

We analyze an exchange economy of unsecured credit where borrowers have the option to declare bankruptcy in which case they are temporarily excluded from financial markets. Endogenous credit limits are imposed that are just tight enough to prevent default. Economies with temporary exclusion differ from their permanent exclusion counterparts in two important properties. If households are extreme...

Capital Accumulation and Convergence in a Small Open Economy

 Outward-oriented economies seem to grow faster than inward-looking ones. Does the literature on convergence have anything to say on this? In the dynamic Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson model, with factor-price equalization, there is no convergence of incomes. This is because with identical preferences and return to capital, irrespective of initial levels the growth rates of consumption are the same....

Efficient Expropriation: Sustainable Fiscal Policy in a Small Open Economy

We study a small open economy characterized by two empirically important frictions – incomplete financial markets and an inability of the government to commit to policy. We characterize the best sustainable fiscal policy and show that it can amplify and prolong shocks to output. In particular, even when the government is completely benevolent, the government’s credibility not to expropriate cap...

Efficient expropriation: Sustainable fiscal policy in a small open economy