This paper empirically studies the effects of fiscal policy shocks on private consumption. Further, it tries to determine if the initial conditions of the economy, such as the financing needs of the government or previous fiscal deficits, affect that relationship. We use yearly data between 1970...

In this paper, we investigate the effects of cross-sectional disturbance correlation in a homogenous panel-data unit root test. As reported by other authors, the unit root test has incorrect size in the presence of cross-sectional correlation. We suggest that a previously known estimator can be...

Recently, it has been suggested that the effect of government expenditure on private consumption is dependent on the level of public debt. More specifically, a higher public debt implies a less Keynesian response in private consumption. In this paper we investigate if this theory is supported by...

In this paper, we study the size distortions of the KPSS test for stationarity when serial correlation is present and samples are small and medium-sized. It is argued that two distinct sources of the size distortions can be identified. The first source is the finite-sample distribution of the...

Case studies have claimed that private consumption growth is higher during fiscal contractions due to the very fact that government spending is cut. Indeed, neoclassical theory has this implication. This paper uses regression analysis of a panel of 19 OECD countries and shows that this is not...

In the current paper, the finite-sample stability of various implementations of the KPSS test is studied. The implementations considered differ in how the so-called long-run variance is estimated under the null hypothesis. More specifically, the effects that the choice of kernel, the value of...

This paper analyses the relation between private and government consumption in 23 OECD countries between 1970 and 2001. In particular it addresses the issue of whether government consumption is a substitute for or a complement to private consumption. The empirical analysis is made with panel...

In this paper, we elaborate on the notion of effective consumption and its role in determining the outcome of fiscal changes. More specifically, we investigate whether government consumption, by acting either as a complement or a substitute to private consumption, can help explain the...