The social value of risk-free government debt

03/21/08

Permalink 10:08:16 am, by damageva Email , 171 words, 114 views   English (US)
Categories: Air, Non-Environmental, U.S., Academic Study/Journal Article, Costs and Benefits

The social value of risk-free government debt

Abstract: Can eliminating the stock of government bonds reduce welfare? When the government must raise revenue to pay interest on its bonds, the social value of government debt hinges on whether the benefits from greater portfolio diversification outweigh the costs of the revenue-raising efforts. A positive stock of debt is optimal only if interest payments are financed by an inflation tax, agents are not too risk averse, there is a government budget deficit, and the economy is on the bad side of the Laffer curve. Welfare is higher on the good side of the Laffer curve without bonds.

Keywords: Government debt, Fiscal policy, Monetary policy, Portfolio allocation

by Stacey L. Schreft 1 and Bruce D. Smith 2
1. Economic Research Department, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Kansas City, MO 64198, USA; Email: Stacey.L.Schreft@kc.frb.org
2. Department of Economics, University of Texas-Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA

Annals of Finance via Springer Publishing www.SpringerLink.com
Volume 4, Number 2; March, 2008; Pages 131-155
DOI: 10.1007/s10436-007-0073-3
http://www.springerlink.com/content/0r7689j92g525640/

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Environmental Valuation & Cost Benefit News covers legal, academic, and regulatory developments pertaining to the valuation of environmental amenities and disamenities, such as clean air, trees, parks, congestion, and noise. We apprise the reader about ways in which costs and benefits are measured, and the results of empirical studies. We hope that this information will allow public and private organizations to comprehend the risks and benefits of various actions, help disputants to resolve conflicts equitably and efficiently, and improve the quality of public policies. We will only discuss issues related to the empirical quantification of private and social costs and benefits and damages, and summarize information from daily newspapers, academic journals, legal publications, court decisions, professional newsletters commissioned studies, and on-line services. This newsletter is dedicated to the principal that all policies place values upon life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We believe that more information, explicit specification of assumptions, and rigorous analysis can help our society to better meet these ends. This site will increasingly serve, in conjunction with others, as a valuation database. We will include a wide range of studies, including non-environmental reports, because omission of a factor effectively values it at zero, and biases decisions. Heavy traffic has caused several site crashes. We are attempting to correct these problems. Apologies for any inconvenience.

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