A volatile pattern of government spending and its financing triggers uncertainty about the timing and the costs of assets sale in financial markets, thereby leading to higher interest rates. This, in turn, hampers the extension of credit to businesses and individuals. The empirical results...

In a production economy with trade in financial markets motivated by the desire to share labor-income risk and to speculate, we show that speculation increases volatility of asset returns and investment growth, increases the equity risk premium, and reduces welfare. Regulatory measures, such as...