Effects of Fiscal Policy on Credit Markets

20 Pages Posted: 13 Jan 2020 Last revised: 1 May 2023

See all articles by Alan J. Auerbach

Alan J. Auerbach

University of California, Berkeley - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research)

Yuriy Gorodnichenko

University of California, Berkeley - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Daniel Murphy

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business

Date Written: January 2020

Abstract

Credit markets typically freeze in recessions: access to credit declines and the cost of credit increases. A conventional policy response is to rely on monetary tools to saturate financial markets with liquidity. Given limited space for monetary policy in the current economic conditions, we study how fiscal stimulus can influence local credit markets. Using rich geographical variation in U.S. federal government contracts, we document that, in a local economy, interest rates on consumer loans decrease in response to an expansionary government spending shock.

Suggested Citation

Auerbach, Alan Jeffrey and Gorodnichenko, Yuriy and Murphy, Daniel, Effects of Fiscal Policy on Credit Markets (January 2020). NBER Working Paper No. w26655, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3518267

Alan Jeffrey Auerbach (Contact Author)

University of California, Berkeley - Department of Economics ( email )

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CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research)

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Yuriy Gorodnichenko

University of California, Berkeley - Department of Economics ( email )

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United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.econ.berkeley.edu/~ygorodni/index.htm

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Daniel Murphy

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business ( email )

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Charlottesville, VA 22906-6550
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