Francesco Zanetti

Economic Uncertainty and Fiscal Stimulus

In a series of projects, Francesco Zanetti is examining the aggregate consequences of economic uncertainty for the changes in economic activity and for the effectiveness of fiscal stimula. His research shows that uncertainty that occurs during periods of high disagreement among households has limited effect on economic activity, while uncertainty exerts the standard contractionary effect on economic activity in periods of low households’ disagreement. In addition, economic uncertainty reduces the effectiveness of fiscal stimulus.

Mr. Zanetti’s research interests are in the fields of Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics and Applied Econometrics. Among other topics, he has worked on labor market dynamics and the effect of structural reforms, the propagation of news shocks, the state dependence of fiscal multipliers, and the impact of unconventional policies. He serves as an associate editor for the Economic Journal, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Oxford Economic Papers, as a co-editor for Macroeconomic Dynamics, and as a member of the editorial board for Central Bank Review. His research has appeared in leading academic journals and policy forums.

Francesco Zanetti is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Oxford and the David Richards Fellow of Wadham College. He holds a PhD in Economics from Boston College, and a PhD in Economic Theory and Institutions from the University of Bologna. He is a research associate at the London School of Economics Centre for Macroeconomics and research visitor to several international policy institutions and central banks, such as the Bank of England and the Riksbank, and previously at the Bank of International Settlements and European Central Bank. He has held visiting teaching positions at the London School of Economics, London Business School, and the joint IMF Vienna Institute. Before joining Oxford in 2012, he was a Senior Economist and Advisor in the Monetary Analysis Section of the Bank of England.