Is a tax rebate safe and effective? Simulations with an empirically-tested macro-econometric model are used to estimate the impact of the actual 2001 tax rebate in the U.S. and of a rebate twice as large repeated in three additional quarters, and the results of the simulations are interpreted in...

Two recent empirical studies of the 2001 recession published in the American Economic Review imply that an old-fashioned Keynesian fiscal stimulus—a cash transfer (“tax rebate”) or tax cut to households-- can overcome the zero interest-rate bound problem. We provide a quantitative estimate...

This paper simulates the use of transfers to households plus central-bank open-market purchases to generate a recovery of a low-interest-rate economy from a negative demand shock. Transfers to households are automatically triggered in recession; the prescribed anti-recession transfer ratio is...

The purpose of this paper is to reply to Shapiro and Slemrod's recent article in the American Economic Review (March 2003) and address the broader issue: Is a tax rebate an effective tool for combating a recession? We make three points. First, there are serious problems with their consumer...