ABSTRACT

In a post-Keynesian growth model with positive saving propensity out of wages, this paper analyses the implication of different kinds of government expenditures on aggregate demand and economic growth. We distinguish between government expenditure on consumption and investment. The basic idea is that certain kinds of government investment expenditure influences labour productivity. In a formal model, we incorporate this idea by assuming labour productivity as an increasing function of government investment expenditure. When the economy is in a profit-led demand regime, under the balanced budget assumption, we show that a shift in government expenditure from consumption to investment leads to an unambiguous rise in both aggregate demand and economic growth. However, the result is ambiguous in the wage-led demand regime. Once the balanced budget assumption is dropped, while in a wage-led demand regime a rise in government investment expenditure may decrease aggregate demand and growth, it unambiguously raises both aggregate demand and growth in a profit-led demand regime. On the other hand, in the absence of a balanced budget assumption, a rise in government consumption expenditure has a positive effect in both regimes. We also show that allowing the government to run a deficit and incur debt does not necessarily lead to the public debt rising without bounds.

摘要

在工资以外的正储蓄倾向的后凯恩斯增长模型中，本文分析了不同类型的政府支出对总需求和经济增长的影响。我们区分政府消费支出和投资支出。基本思想是某些类型的政府投资支出会影响劳动生产率。在一个正式的模型中，我们通过假设劳动生产率是政府投资支出的递增函数来合并这个想法。当经济处于利润主导的需求体制时，在平衡预算假设下，我们表明政府支出从消费转向投资会导致总需求和经济增长的明确上升。然而，在以工资为主导的需求体制中，结果是模棱两可的。一旦平衡预算假设被取消，虽然在工资主导的需求体制中，政府投资支出的增加可能会降低总需求和增长，但在利润主导的需求体制中，它无疑会同时提高总需求和增长。另一方面，在没有平衡预算假设的情况下，政府消费支出的增加对两种制度都有积极影响。我们还表明，允许政府出现赤字并承担债务并不一定会导致公共债务无限上升。政府消费支出的增加对这两种制度都有积极影响。我们还表明，允许政府出现赤字并承担债务并不一定会导致公共债务无限上升。政府消费支出的增加对这两种制度都有积极影响。我们还表明，允许政府出现赤字并承担债务并不一定会导致公共债务无限上升。