Macroeconomic Policy : Does It Matter for Growth? The Role of Volatility
Recent academic research has questioned the role of economic policy as a determinant of long term growth rates. While there seems to be a correlation between several policy variables and growth rates, this correlation disappears when controlling fo...
Main Authors: | , |
---|---|
Language: | English en_US |
Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/109371468328586374/Macroeconomic-policy-does-it-matter-for-growth-The-role-of-volatility http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28025 |
Summary: | Recent academic research has questioned
the role of economic policy as a determinant of long term
growth rates. While there seems to be a correlation between
several policy variables and growth rates, this correlation
disappears when controlling for other factors. As an
example, the significance of key economic policy variables
such as inflation or government size disappears if we
account for the quality of institutions. This paper looks at
recent empirical research that questions the conclusion that
macroeconomic policy does not matter for growth. By looking
at the volatility of economic policy (whether it is fiscal
policy or exchange rates), the authors find that policy is
still a relevant and robust explanatory variable of cross
country differences in economic growth. These results have
strong policy implications. Improvements in the conduct of
macroeconomic policy can have beneficial growth effects even
if institutional reforms are not taking place. These results
do not deny the importance of institutional reforms. By
setting the right institutions one can ensure the proper
conduct of macroeconomic policy without having to rely on
the 'quality' of the decision maker. |
---|