This paper evaluates the sustainability of public debt in Brazil using monthly data from January 2003 to June 2016, based on the estimation of fiscal reaction functions with time-varying coefficients. Three estimation methods are considered: Kalman filter, penalized spline smoothing and time-varying cointegration. Besides indicating that the reaction of the primary deficit to variations in the debt/GDP ratio declined over most of the analyzed period, all these methods lead to the conclusion that the Brazilian public debt, given the parameters then in force, reached an unsustainable trajectory in the last years of the sample.

We use an age-dependent SIR system of equations to model the evolution of the COVID-19. Parameters that measure the amount of interaction in different locations (home, work, school, other) are approximated from in-sample data using a random optimization scheme, and indicate changes in social distancing along the course of the pandemic. That allows the estimation of the time evolution of classical and age-dependent reproduction numbers. With those parameters we predict the disease dynamics, and compare our results with out-of-sample data from the City of Rio de Janeiro. Finally, we provide a numerical investigation regarding age-based vaccination policies, shedding some light on whether is preferable to vaccinate those at most risk (the elderly) or those who spread the disease the most (the youngest). There is no clear upshot, as the results depend on the age of those immunized, contagious parameters, vaccination schedules and efficiency.

According to Bohn (1995), conventional econometric analysis of sustainability, based on unit root tests on the government debt-to-GDP series or cointegration analysis between revenues and expenses, are inconclusive to verify the sustainability of the fiscal policy. This paper uses the multicointegration method to investigatethe validity of a long-term relationship between the Brazilian government`s accumulated revenues and expenses and its debt, all expressed as a proportion of GDP. Leachman et al. (2005) argue that this technique allows concluding about the sustainability or not of fi scal policy. The present work considers specificationsthat allow evaluating the reaction of both accumulated revenues and expenses to changes in the debt-to-GDP, using monthly data from December 1997 to June 2018. We conclude that the Brazilian fiscal policy was unsustainable over the study period, due to the excessive government spending and its growing trajectory, mainly at the end of the sample.

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PurposeThe objective of this work is to investigate the existence of structural breaks in multicointegration models estimated for Brazilian fiscal variables and to identify their effects on the sustainability or not of this country`s fiscal policy between December 1997 and June 2018.Design/methodology/approachThe authors apply the econometric multicointegration method, in order to analyze long-term relationships between accumulated revenue and expenses of Brazilian central government and the stock of its debt, incorporating structural breaks, over the study period.FindingsThe unsustainability of the debt/GDP ratio is found here, as in a previous work, but now considering a structural break. As one of the contributions, the present work makes it possible to identify the date as of which Brazilian fiscal policy may have become unsustainable: May 2014.Originality/valueThe work points out the worsening of Brazilian fiscal situation as of 2014. The authors adapted original methodologies both in model specification and in the stationarity test used. The estimated parameters before and after structural break allow for identifying changes in fiscal variables that may have led to unsustainability, thus providing possible guidance for fiscal policy.

Um alerta sobre a recente queda na reação fiscal no Brasil EDUARDO LIMA CAMPOS* RUBENS PENHA CYSNE** RESUMO: Avaliações recentes de como o superávit primário do governo brasileiro reage à evolução da relação dívida/PIB transmitem duas mensagens importantes (e preocupantes): em primeiro lugar, a função de reação fiscal vem diminuindo quase constantemente desde 2012. Em segundo, passou de positiva para negativa a partir de outubro de 2017. Com taxas de juros reais efetivas (sobre a dívida pública líquida) maiores do que as perspectivas de crescimento do PIB, os números negativos para a função de reação fiscal significam uma trajetória não sustentável da dívida. Portanto, ajustes fiscais significativos terão que ser feitos no curto prazo. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Brasil; dívida pública; reação fiscal; sustentabilidade fiscal; filtro de Kalman.ABSTRACT: Recent evaluations of how the Brazilian government's primary surplus reacts to the evolution of the debt to GDP ratio convey two important (and worrisome) messages: first, the reaction function has been almost steadily decreasing since 2012. Second, it has turned from positive to negative figures as of October 2017. With effective real interest rates (over the net government debt) higher than prospects of GDP growth, negative figures for the fiscal reaction function mean a non-sustainable debt trajectory. Therefore, significant fiscal adjustments are required in the short run.

The fiscal reaction function measures how the government’s primary surplus reacts to the evolution of public debt. Campos and Cysne (2019b) observed that the reaction function has been almost steadily decreasing since 2012 and it has turned from positive to negative values in 2017 and 2018. In the subsequent period, the improvement of some economic indicators led the fiscal reaction to a recovery. Nevertheless, in 2020, with the advent of COVID-19, health spending and emergency aids caused a sharp fiscal deterioration, leading the fiscal reaction coefficient to assume, again, negative values.

This paper compares the time-varying cointegration and the Kalman filter techniques to estimate the Brazilian money demand between 1996 and 2015. The estimation using Kalman filtering performs better and is subsequently used to calculate the welfare cost of inflation. Taking into consideration the time variability of the interest-rate elasticity during the period, the average welfare cost amounts to 0.24% of the GDP, for an average annual inflation of 6.63%.