Doctoral Dissertation Research in Economics: Escaping Secular Stagnation with Unconventional Policy

PI姓氏：Eckel职务：经济学博士论文研究：用非常规政策摆脱长期停滞提案ID：1851920机构：得克萨斯州A& M大学摘要本研究项目使用实验室实验来了解长期低经济增长期，与周期性低增长期不同。 该项目的目标是在实验室中模拟一种经济，在这种经济中，我们可以引发经济活动的永久性下降沿着价格下跌，然后探索有可能修复停滞经济的各种政策干预。特别是，该项目的重点是决策者可以采取哪些行动（货币和财政政策），以恢复实验经济充分就业。 本研究探讨了政策的时机和语境传播是否会影响政策的有效性。 该项目的实验室实验旨在探索封闭经济中的长期停滞。具体来说，该研究实现了最近的长期停滞的形式化，使用了一个迭代世代结构来打破代表性代理假设，并允许在零下限（ZLB）的内源性活动。 外源性去杠杆化冲击可能引发支出过剩，造成通缩，并导致长期停滞均衡，这可能是独一无二的。研究的目的是确定通货紧缩和通货膨胀的均衡是否出现时，他们是唯一的，并探讨均衡选择时，多重均衡存在。此外，该项目还研究了货币政策（以通货膨胀目标为形式）和财政政策（包括在我们的实验经济中对中年人群征收一次性税收的“直升机空投”）的能力，以在债务去杠杆化冲击后将经济拉出通缩均衡。这两种潜在的补救措施都通过预期渠道改善了经济状况，使家庭对未来的经济状况更加乐观。最后，该项目研究了政策的时间和背景传播的变化的影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估。

PI Last Name: EckelTitle: Doctoral Dissertation Research in Economics: Escaping Secular Stagnation with Unconventional PolicyProposal ID: 1851920 Institution: Texas A&M UniversityAbstractThis research project uses laboratory experiments to understand periods of prolonged low economic growth, as distinct from cyclical low-growth periods. The goal of the project is to simulate an economy in the laboratory within which we can trigger a permanent decline in economic activity along with falling prices, and then to explore various policy interventions that have the potential to repair the stagnant economy. In particular, the project focuses on what actions policy makers can take (monetary and fiscal policy) to restore the experimental economy to full employment. The research explores whether the timing and contextual communication of policy can influence the efficacy of policy. The laboratory experiments in this project are designed to explore secular stagnation in a closed economy. Specifically, the research implements a recent formalization of secular stagnation that uses an overlapping-generations structure to break the representative agent assumption and allow for endogenous bouts of activity at the zero lower bound (ZLB). Exogenous deleveraging shocks can trigger spending gluts that create deflation, and lead to a secular stagnation equilibrium, which can be unique. The objective of the research is to identify whether deflationary and inflationary equilibria emerge when they are unique, and to explore equilibrium selection when multiple equilibria exist. Additionally, the project investigates the ability of monetary policy, in the form of inflation targeting, and fiscal policy, consisting of "helicopter drops" financed using lump-sum taxes levied on the middle-aged cohort in our experimental economy, to pull the economy out of a deflationary equilibrium following a debt-deleveraging shock. Both potential remedies improve economic conditions through an expectations channel by making households more optimistic about future economic conditions. Finally, the project studies the effect of variation in both the timing and contextual communication of policy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.