• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.417-440
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• 2020

The coronavirus pandemic of 2019-20 confronted fiscally dominant regimes around the world with the question of whether the large deficits caused by the health crisis should be monetized or financed by issuing debt. The unpleasant monetarist arithmetic of Sargent and Wallace (1981) states that in a fiscally dominant regime tighter money now can cause higher inflation in the future. In spite of the qualifier 'unpleasant,' this result is positive in nature, and, therefore, void of normative content. I analyze conditions under which it is optimal in a welfare sense for the central bank to delay inflation by issuing debt to finance part of the fiscal deficit. The analysis is conducted in the context of a model in which the aforementioned monetarist arithmetic holds, in the sense that if the government finds it optimal to delay inflation, it does so knowing that it would result in higher inflation in the future. The central result of the paper is that delaying inflation is optimal when the fiscal deficit is expected to decline over time.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.1-47
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• 2022

This paper introduces a politico-economic model with a welfare state and immigration. In this model, policies on taxes and immigration are determined through a plurality voting system. While many studies of fiscal implications of immigration argue that relaxing immigration policies can substitute for tax reforms in an aging economy, I show that the democratic voting procedure can dampen the effect of relaxing immigration policies as desired policy reforms are not always implemented by the winner of an election. This political economy results in three types of social welfare losses. First, the skill composition is not balanced at a socially efficient level because workers are motivated to maximize their wages. Second, older retirees implement excessive taxes to maximize the size of the welfare state. Third, the volume of immigration is lower than the optimal level given the incentive by young workers to regain political power in the future.

• STI Policy Review
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.1-15
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• 2016

This study provides empirical evidences for the relationship between income inequality and economic growth, and relationship of income inequality with some of explanatory variables such as technological innovation, trade globalization, financial globalization and fiscal policy. We find out that income inequality has an adverse effect on economic growth, showing its dynamic features, for which we employed the polynomial distributed lags (PDL) model. The effect of income inequality on economic growth lasts over 9 years, and its dynamic effect peaks after 4 years. In addition, we also attempted to find out empirical evidences of sources of income inequality. The results show that income inequality is positively related to technological innovation, financial globalization, and fiscal policy; negatively related to the trade globalization. Many studies employ cross-country data, but it could have serious problems in collecting statistical data. Korean data is used over the time period of 1990-2015 in this study.

• Informatization Policy
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.95-111
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• 2021

To achieve a data-driven policy decision-making system, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance has formed a marketing team and is actively building upon it. This system, currently under construction, will enable data-driven financial tasks beyond simple financial administration. The U.S. has already enacted The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act in the process of similar pursuits. Since last year, the data-driven system administrative law has been enacted in Korea, and a legal framework has been established for data-driven administrative work. The next-generation budget accounting system to fulfill its role as a data-driven system needs public policy support to operate. Innovation and transformation are needed in various areas such as data management, legal system, and installation of related systems. Accordingly, it is very timely to analyze the financial systems and policies of advanced countries such as the U.S. and U.K., which already have established and operates such a financial system. By benchmarking and applying existing financial information systems to the next-generation budget accounting system, a better system will result. In this study, major developed countries, including the U.S., U.K., France, and Canada were benchmarked and analyzed in terms of the main elements of data governance: public policy, systems, legal framework, promotion system, and service level. It was discovered that the role and direction of the national fiscal policy system that the people favor should be able to respond quickly to the recent difficult economic crisis environment such as the digital transformation trend and COVID-19.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.113-122
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• 2021

This study aims to investigate the effects of fiscal policy instruments on economic growth in Jordan using annual data from 1970 to 2019, by applying the VAR model (Vector Auto regression) and the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). The study also examines the dynamic relationship among economic variables over time using the Granger casualty test, Impulse Response Function, and Variance Decomposition. The results show that not only the public expenditures have a positive effect on economic growth in Jordan, but also the tax revenues positively affect the economic growth in the short-run, and this is because of using the tax revenues to finance the government activities in Jordan. This effect becomes negative in the long run, and this is explained because the tax seems a source of distortions in the economy, The extreme taxes may cause huge distortions in the economy, and these distortions destroys the purchasing power, the aggregate demand, and supply. More governmental dependence on tax revenues is the main source of tax evasion and less efficiency. The effect of taxation will curb any prosperity in the economy. Therefore, the government should estimate the fair tax rates to generate sufficient revenues to finance the public expenditure required to enhance economic prosperity.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.41-82
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• 2017

This paper studies the risks associated with local finance in Korea by identifying the financial status of each local government, including the financial burdens of PPP projects, and examined governmental future burdens related to PPP projects. We reviewed all fiscal burdens associated with projects, such as, for BTL (Build-Transfer-Lease) types of projects, facility lease and operating expenses, and, for the BTO (Build-Transfer-Operate) types of projects, construction subsidies that are paid at the construction stage, MRG (Minimum Revenue Guarantee) payments and the government's share of payment. Furthermore, we compared the annual expenditures of local governments on PPP projects against their annual budgets and checked if the 2% ceiling rule could be applied.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.469-495
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• 2020

This paper overviews different exit strategies for the U.S. from the debt-overhang, and analyses their implications for emerging markets and global stability. These strategies are discussed in the context of the debates about secular-stagnation versus debt-overhang, the fiscal theory of the price level, the size of fiscal multipliers, prospects for a multipolar currency system, and historical case studies. We conclude that the reallocation of U.S. fiscal efforts towards infrastructure investment aiming at boosting growth, followed by a gradual tax increase, aiming at reaching a modest primary fiscal surplus over time are akin to an upfront investment in greater long-term global stability. Such a trajectory may solidify the viability and credibility of the U.S. dollar as a global anchor, thereby stabilizing Emerging Markets economies and global growth.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.580-598
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• 2008

Focusing on 'growing together' strategies through horizontal fiscal equalization systems, this and subsequent papers aim to suggest regional co-development strategies in which conflicts between the Seoul Metropolitan Area(SMA) and the non-SMA can be efficiently alleviated. Regarding the socio-economic relationships between the SMA and the non-SMA, there are two contradictory perspectives. One perspective is that the SMA grows at the expense of the non-SMA. The other perspective is that non-SMA's economy is somehow entirely dependent on the economic activities occurring within the SMA, which is the opposite of the former perspective. There are various forms of collaboration among local or regional governments, but the most radical solutions involve the establishment of new regional development financing method at the practical level. This paper suggests that horizontal fiscal equalization not yet introduced between same level subgovernments need to be institutionalized to promote the growing together between the SMA and the rest region of Korea.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.239-251
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• 2005

This paper investigates the effectiveness of economic policy on the stock market in Korea around foreign currency crisis and stock market opening. For this purpose, the paper applied SUR technique to a set of monthly data over the period 1982.01 to 2004.12. The study finds the following results. First, for the entire sample period, Korean stock market appears to have effectively incorporated all of the past information about fiscal policy moves. However, the paper finds an evidence that some of the past monetary actions have significant impacts upon current stock returns implying that the information about past monetary moves has been overlooked. Second, there is an evidence to suggest that, after foreign currency crisis, the macro economic policy actions may influence stock market in a different way. In particular, after foreign currency crisis, monetary policy influences stock market in a more delayed pattern while past fiscal policy moves are well incorporated into current stock returns. Third, before stock market opening to foreign investors, some of the past economic policy actions have significant effects on current stock returns. On the contrary, after stock market opening, none of the past macro economic information has significant impact upon current stock returns. The results imply that stock market opening may contribute to the active utilization of economic information for market participants in Korea.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.245-246
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• 2022

Concerns about a global economic recession are rising following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Accordingly, government entities, which are committed to overcome two barriers to severe inflation and economic recession, are showing high interest in spending management so as not to undermine fiscal soundness. Since the health care sector especially accounts for a large proportion of fiscal expenditure, it should be managed in a manner that the expense is appropriately spent. The National Health Insurance System and Healthcare System have secured international competitiveness and reliability by effectively responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, considerable efforts should be made to reorganize the welfare and healthcare systems so that they can be sustainable during the post-COVID-19 era and the recession.