Optimal Policy in Collateral Constrained Economies

Posted: 7 Nov 2014 Last revised: 27 Jan 2016

See all articles by Nina Biljanovska

Nina Biljanovska

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Date Written: September 2015

Abstract

This paper examines optimal policy in a macroeconomic model with collateral constraints. Binding collateral constraints yield inefficient competitive equilibrium allocations because they distort the optimal utilization of real resources. I identify the set of policy instruments that can be used by a Ramsey planner to achieve the first-best and the second-best (i.e. constrained planner's) allocations. A system of distortionary taxes on capital and labor income and lump-sum transfers among borrowers and lenders replicates the first-best outcome. I show analytically and numerically that the capital income tax is strictly positive in the long-run and it can be replaced by a tax on borrowing or by a loan-to-value limit, which underscores the necessity for financial regulation when the economy faces binding collateral requirements. In absence of lump-sum transfers, however, only second-best equilibrium outcomes are attainable. The Ramsey planner still sets positive capital income taxes or tightens loan-to-value ratios, but regulating labor is ambiguous since the policy instruments have the additional role of implementing implicit income transfers. I also derive the optimal policy in response to real and financial shocks, and show how the policy recommendations differ depending on the set of policy instruments available.

Keywords: Collateral constraints, Inefficiencies, Ramsey regulation, Welfare

JEL Classification: E60, H21, H23, H25

Suggested Citation

Biljanovska, Nina, Optimal Policy in Collateral Constrained Economies (September 2015). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2519968 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2519968

Nina Biljanovska (Contact Author)

International Monetary Fund (IMF) ( email )

700 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20431
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Abstract Views
481
PlumX Metrics