Why Fiscal Stimulus Programs Fail, Volume 2: Statistical Tests Comparing Monetary Policy to Growth Effects

by John J. Heim

Overview

This book scientifically tests the assertion that accommodative monetary policy can eliminate the “crowd out” problem, allowing fiscal stimulus programs (such as tax cuts or increased government spending) to stimulate the economy as intended. It also tests to see if natural growth in th economy can cure the crowd out problem as well or better. The book is intended to be the largest scale scientific test ever performed on this topic. It includes about 800 separate statistical tests on the U.S. economy testing different parts or all of the period 1960 – 2010. These tests focus on whether accommodative monetary policy, which increases the pool of loanable resources, can offset the crowd out problem as well as natural growth in the economy. The book, employing the best scientific methods available to economists for this type of problem, concludes accommodate monetary policy could have, but until the quantitative easing program, Federal Reserve efforts to accommodate fiscal stimulusprograms were not large enough to offset more than 23% to 44% of any one year’s crowd out problem. That provides the science part of the answer as to why accommodative monetary policy didn’t accommodate: too little of it was tried. The book also tests whether other increases in loanable funds, occurring because of natural growth in the economy or changes in the savings rate can also offset crowd out.  It concludes they can, and that these changes tend to be several times as effective as accommodative monetary policy.  This book’s companion volume Why Fiscal Stimulus Programs Fail explores the policy implications of these results.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030647278
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	03/13/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

John J. Heim is Visiting Professor at University of Albany-SUNY, and retired Clinical Professor of Economics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, both in New York, USA.  He has served in cabinet and subcabinet positions in NY State and Local Government.  He is also an inventor of renewable energy devices and holds patents in this area.

Table of Contents

Chapter. 1 Introduction.- Chapter 2. Literature Review.- Chapter 3. Methodology.- Chapter 4. Theory of Crowd Out and Accommodative Monetary Policy.- Chapter 5. The Role of Primary Dealers, Investment Banks and Foreign Banks in Federal Reserve Efforts.- Chapter 6. Does Crowd Out Really Occur? Initial Empirical Evidence – One Time Period.- Chapter 7. Does Crowd Out Really Occur? Empirical Evidence – Replication in Many Time Periods.- Chapter 8. Initial Tests of Whether Crowd out Effects Can be Offset by Increases in Loanable Funds.- Chapter 9. Which Models Best Explain How Changes in Loanable Funds Offset Crowd Out?.- Chapter 10. Do Loanable Funds Modify the Crowd Out Effects of the One-Variable Deficit (T-G).- Chapter 11. Do Loanable Funds Modify the Crowd Out Effects of the Two-Variable Deficit (T), (G)?.- Chapter 12. Does M1 or Total Loanable Funds Better Define the Extent to Which Crowd Out Can be Modified?.- Chapter 13. Alternate Ways of Modeling How Deficit Variables Modified by Accommodative Monetary Policy Reduce Crowd Out (Bernanke, Mankiw definitions Of Accommodative Monetary Policy).- Chapter 14. Does Modification of the Single Variable Deficit (T-G) by FR Purchases Better Measure Crowd Out, Controlling for Endogenous Loanable Funds Growth?.- Chapter 15. Does Modification of the Two Variable Deficit (T), (G) by FR Purchases Better Measure Crowd Out, Controlling for Endogenous Loanable Funds Growth?.- Chapter 16. Do FR Purchases, Used as Deficit Modifiers, Reduce Crowd Out, Controlling for the Level of Private Saving and Foreign Borrowing.- Chapter 17. Level of Private Saving and Foreign Borrowing for Private Savings?.- Chapter 18. Do FR Purchases Reduce Crowd Out Effects, Controlling for Other Types of Loanable Funds?.- Chapter 19. Effects of Accommodative Monetary Policy on Crowd Out Before and After Quantitative Easing ( Dues “Pushing on a String” Occur?), etc.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

The book is well laid-out and designed. The topic is very important and timely given the economic conditions that are currently present. Additionally, the analysis provides an important examination of what not to do during economic downturns and how to ensure that monetary policy will have the impact that is hoped for. The topic of the book is extremely important and the Federal Reserve should read the book themselves. I am confident that this book should be a key part of any macroeconomists’ library and should be read by policy makers. This book proposal does offer an important and original contribution to the field. The book offers an exhaustive analysis of the accommodative monetary policy issue, which, if covered at all, is largely just a theoretical issue in macroeconomic books. This proposal shows that Keynesian monetary policies did not fail; what failed was the Federal Reserve’s use of accommodative monetary policy which were not large enough to overpower the crowding outimpacts. The analysis provided in this book illustrates that if loanable funds are increased sufficiently and appropriately, Keynesian macroeconomic policies will work. The importance of this finding cannot be overstated. (John Polimeni, Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany, NY, USA)