Essays on fiscal policy: the brazilian case

Abstract

In this thesis, I work on three independent essays concerning fiscal policy. Even though the motivation relates to the Brazilian challenges, the results serve as references to other developing economies. In the first chapter, I discuss policy responses in a deep recession context, assessing distinct fiscal rules. In the second chapter, I study optimal fiscal policy when a country experiences an abrupt increase in fiscal revenues due to a nonrenewable natural resource windfall. Chapter 3 explores the impact of public expenditures on citizens' well-being in distinct government action areas. Together, these chapters bring a contribution to an ample spectrum of fiscal policy discussions. In assessing distinct fiscal rules and their implications for policy decisions, I explore the relevance to open fiscal space to a government implement a countercyclical policy, even finding evidence that this policy is not desirable as a general rule. In addition, by studying optimal policies when dealing with a natural resource windfall, I show the importance of responsible government savings behavior to challenge uncertainty in intergenerational wealth management. Finally, studying the impact of public expenditures on people's well-being highlights that maybe governments are failing to use in an efficient way citizens' tax payments.

Date of Award	27 Jul 2021
Original language	English
Supervisor	Albert Marcet Torrens (Director) & Francesc Obiols (Director)