Optimal fiscal transfers in a monetary union

Abstract

We derive the optimal fiscal transfer scheme for countries in a monetary union to off-set the welfare losses resulting from asymmetric shocks and nominal rigidities. Optimal transfers involve a trade-off between reducing national output gaps and the provision of consumption insurance across countries, where the weight of the former increases relative to the latter as consumption home bias rises. The welfare gains from optimal transfers increase in both home bias and export substitutability. When these parameters are calibrated to the data for specific euro area countries, the welfare gains from optimal transfers are as high as 3.6% of permanent consumption.