No abstract

Friedman rule, Optimal monetary policy, Exogenous taxes, E31, E52, E63, H21,

Hyperinflation, Rational expectations, Competitive equilibrium, Fiscal crisis, E31, E42, E63,

No abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. We study the desirability of limits on the public debt and of political turnover in an economy where incumbents have an incentive to set public expenditures above the socially optimal level due to rent-seeking motives. Parties alternate in office and cannot commit to future policies, but they can forge a political compromise where each party curbs excessive spending when in office if it expects future governments to do the same. In contrast to the received literature, we find that strict limits on government borrowing can exacerbate political economy distortions by making a political compromise unsustainable. This tends to happen when political turnover is limited. Conversely, a tight limit on the public debt fosters a compromise that yields the efficient outcome if political turnover is vigorous. Our analysis thus suggests that to sustain good economic policies, a society needs to restrict either the extent of political turnover or the ability of governments to issue debt, but not both. Terms of use: Documents inJEL-Codes: E610, E620, H300, H630.

RESUMOA possibilidade de que políticas de combate à inflação possuam efeitos negativos sobre a atividade econômica real e o crescimento é um assunto recorrente no Brasil. Neste trabalho foram utilizados dados anuais para se estudar o comportamento da inflação e do PIB brasileiro de 1850 até 2000. Adotaram-se técnicas econométricas e da literatura de ciclos econômicos para se estudar o comportamento dessas duas variáveis nos domínios do tempo e da freqüência. Os resultados sugerem que as duas séries não são positivamente relacionadas. Assim sendo, a evidência empírica aparentemente indica que a opção de abrandar a política de combate à inflação com intuito de não prejudicar a atividade econômica real e o crescimento não está disponível para os condutores da política econômica brasileira. PALAVRAS-CHAVE inflação, crescimento, ciclos econômicos ABSTRACTThe question of whether a policy that leads to low inflation can hamper real economic activity and growth is a recurrent one in Brazil. In this essay we used yearly data to study the behavior of Brazilian inflation and GDP from 1850 to 2000. We used econometric and business cycles techniques to study the behavior of these variables in time and frequency domains. The results suggest the absence of positive comovement between the series. Thus, the empirical evidence apparently implies that the option of easing up on inflation to avoid a slowdown in real economic activity and growth is not available to Brazilian policy makers.

No abstract

This paper presents a two-country general equilibrium model to study the Brazilian stabilization, emphasizing role of the exchange rate policy before the stabilization. The model is able to reproduce, in qualitative terms, some of the facts that followed the Brazilian monetary reform.
Este artigo adota um modelo de equilíbrio geral com dois países para estudar a estabilização brasileira, enfatizando o papel da política cambial no período anterior ao Plano Real. O modelo reproduz, em termos qualitativos, alguns dos fatos observados após a reforma monetária