Asymmetric Effect of Fiscal Deficit on Current Account Deficit: Evidence from India

Abstract

This study has attempted to re-investigate the impact of fiscal deficit (FD) on current account deficit (CAD) (also known as twin deficit hypothesis) in India from 1970–1971 to 2018–2019 in the presence of private saving–investment gap (SI) and exchange rate (EXR). For the empirical investigation, the study has employed the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) approach to cointegration. The NARDL results found the evidence of an asymmetric effect of FD, SI and EXR on CAD in the long run only. The obtained results support the traditional views of the Keynesian approach that FD has a positive impact on CAD, validates the existence of the ‘Twin Deficit Hypothesis’ in India. Further, results also depict that SI has a positive effect on CAD, whereas EXR has an adverse impact on CAD. From a policy standpoint, the asymmetric impact of FD on CAD provides strong reasons for conceiving policies that are adaptable to changing dynamics in internal as well as external sectors.