American Economic Journal:
Macroeconomics
ISSN 1945-7707 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7715 (Online)
A Theory of Countercyclical Government Multiplier
American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
vol. 6,
no. 1, January 2014
(pp. 190–217)
Abstract
I develop a New Keynesian model in which a type of government multiplier doubles when unemployment rises from 5 percent to 8 percent. This multiplier indicates the additional number of workers employed when one worker is hired in the public sector. Graphically, in equilibrium, an upward-sloping quasi-labor supply intersects a downward-sloping labor demand in a (employment, labor market tightness) plane. Increasing public employment stimulates labor demand, which increases tightness and therefore crowds out private employment. Critically, the quasi-labor supply is convex. Hence, when labor demand is depressed and unemployment is high, the increase in tightness and resulting crowding-out are small.Citation
Michaillat, Pascal. 2014. "A Theory of Countercyclical Government Multiplier." American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 6 (1): 190–217. DOI: 10.1257/mac.6.1.190Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- E12 General Aggregative Models: Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian
- E24 Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital
- E32 Business Fluctuations; Cycles
- E62 Fiscal Policy
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