Does Ricardian Equivalence Hold When Expectations are not Rational?

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Date

2010-08-04

Authors

Evans, George W., 1949-
Honkapohja, Seppo, 1951-
Mitra, Kaushik, 1969-

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

University of Oregon, Dept of Economics

Abstract

This paper considers the Ricardian Equivalence proposition when expectations are not rational and are instead formed using adaptive learning rules. We show that Ricardian Equivalence continues to hold provided suitable additional conditions on learning dynamics are satisfied. However, new cases of failure can also emerge under learning. In particular, for Ricardian Equivalence to obtain, agents’ expectations must not depend on government’s financial variables under deficit financing.

Description

28 p.

Keywords

Taxation, Expectations, Ramsey model, Ricardian equivalence

Citation