Comments and Discussion

摘要

Robert Hall has produced a very useful paper that provides an overview of the literature and much additional analysis regarding the impact of government purchases on GDP. As the paper's title makes clear, the focus here is exclusively on the effects of government purchases, which now constitute just over half of all government spending exclusive of interest payments. The remainder of the government budget consists of transfer payments, which are typically lumped together with taxes when their effects on output are considered, because, like taxes, they have no direct impact on GDP; transfer payments affect GDP only through their impact on private consumption, private investment, and net exports.