The Aggregate and Distributional Effects of Fiscal Stimuli

Abstract

This paper compares the aggregate and distributional effects of three fiscal policy instruments: government expenditures, unemployment benefits and transfers. To this end, the Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides model of frictional labor market is embedded into an otherwise standard Heterogeneous Agent New Keynesian framework. The model calibrated to match the moments characterizing the US economy successfully replicates the empirical distributions of households across: disposable income, consumption expenditures and net worth. The solution method developed by Reiter (2009) is applied to quantify the aggregate and distributional responses to changes in the analyzed fiscal measures. Moreover, the stabilizing role of government expenditures, unemployment benefits and transfers is assessed.