通货膨胀实时预测及菲利普斯曲线的适用性

本文从实时分析的视角,基于多种退势方法的产出缺口最终估计、准最终估计和实时估计序列,分别构建了四类预测模型对我国通货膨胀率进行预测,分析了产出缺口修正效应和滞后阶数变化效应对通胀预测的影响,并进一步考察了产出缺口在通胀预测中的作用及菲利普斯曲线在通胀预测中的适用性。研究结论表明,通胀率的实时预测效果要明显比基于最终数据的差,其中滞后阶数变化效应对实时预测精度的影响大于产出缺口修正效应;尤为重要的是,尽管在最终数据的预测分析中,产出缺口的引入能够提高通胀率的预测精度,但是在实时预测中,产出缺口没有提供有价值的信息,因此"产出—通胀"型菲利普斯曲线在我国通胀实时预测中并不适用。     

Output gap in Brazil: a real-time data analysis

Recent literature for developed economies has shown that output gap estimates go through important revisions over time, impairing their reliability in real time. We organize a real-time data set for Brazil’s GDP and assess the revisions of the output gap estimated by four different methods. Similar to the findings of studies for developed economies, the output gap revisions in Brazil are substantial in all methods, with frequent changes in the output gap sign. In general, both the GDP data revision and the effect of adding new observations to the sample are relevant sources of output gap revisions. However, differently from those studies, we cannot assert that the latter source is preponderant.     

The effects of monetary policy in the Czech Republic: an empirical study

In this paper, we examine the effects of Czech monetary policy on the economy within the vector auto regression (VAR), structural VAR, Bayesian VAR with sign restrictions, and factor-augmented VAR, frameworks. We document a well-functioning transmission mechanism similar to the euro area countries, especially in terms of persistence of monetary policy shocks. Subject to various sensitivity tests, we find that a contractionary monetary policy shock has a negative effect on the degree of economic activity and the price level, both with a peak response after one year or so. Regarding prices at the sectoral level, tradables adjust faster than non-tradables, which is in line with microeconomic evidence on price stickiness. There is no price puzzle, as our data come from a single monetary policy regime. There is a rationale in using the real-time output gap instead of current GDP growth, as using the former results in much more precise estimates. The results indicate a rather persistent appreciation of the domestic currency after a monetary tightening, with a gradual depreciation afterwards.     

The (un)reliability of real-time output gap estimates with revised data

This paper investigates the differences between real-time and ex-post output gap estimates using a newly-constructed international real-time dataset over the period from 1973:Q1 to 2012:Q3. We extend the findings in Orphanides and van Norden (2002) for the United States that the use of ex-post information in calculating potential output, not the data revisions themselves, is the major cause of the difference between real-time and ex-post output gap estimates to nine additional OECD countries. The results are robust to the use of linear, quadratic, Hodrick–Prescott, Baxter–King, and Christiano–Fitzgerald detrending methods. By using quasi real-time methods, reliable real-time output gap estimates can be constructed with revised data.     

Measuring the Euro area output gap using a multivariate unobserved components model containing phase shifts

Several recent studies have used multivariate unobserved components models to identify the output gap and the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment. A key assumption of these models is that one common cycle component, such as the output gap, drives the cyclical fluctuations in all variables included in the model. This article also uses the multivariate approach to estimate the euro area output gap and the trends and cycles in other macroeconomic variables. However, it adopts a flexible way of linking the output gap to the cycle components in the other variables, in that we do not impose any leading or lagging restrictions between cycle components, as has been done in most previous studies. Our approach also allows us to assess the strength of cycle association and cross-correlation among cycle components using the model??s parameter estimates. Finally, we demonstrate that our multivariate model can provide a satisfactory historical output gap estimate and also a ??real-time?? estimate for the aggregate euro area.     

Inflation, Price Level and Hybrid Rules under Inflation Uncertainty

The performance and robustness of optimised interest rate rules are analysed in a New Keynesian model estimated for the euro area economy. In particular, we examine the properties of rules responding to inflation, the price level, or a combination of the two (a hybrid rule). All the rules also respond to the output gap. The optimal hybrid rule is only marginally superior when there is no model uncertainty. When there is uncertainty about the degree of inflation persistence, the inflation rule is the most robust rule and the performance of the other two rules deteriorates. However, all the rules perform well if the true degree of inflation persistence turns out to be less than policymakers’ estimate.     

Non‐linearities,Business Cycles and Exchange Rates

This paper conjoins the disparate empirical literatures on exchange rate models and monetary policy models, with special reference to the importance of output, inflation gaps and exchange rate targets. It focuses in on the dollar/euro exchange rate, and the differential results arising from using alternative measures of the output gap for the US and for the Euro area. A comparison of ‘in‐sample’ prediction against alternative models of exchange rates is also conducted. In addition to predictive power, I also assess the various models' plausibility as economic explanations for exchange rate movements, based on the conformity of coefficient estimates with priors. Taylor rule fundamentals appear to do as well, or better, than other models at the 1‐year horizon.     

Taylor rules and the Great Inflation

Can US monetary policy in the 1970s be described by a stabilizing Taylor rule when policy is evaluated with real-time inflation and output gap data? Using economic research on the full employment level of unemployment and the natural rate of unemployment published between 1970 and 1977 to construct real-time output gap measures for periods of peak unemployment, we find that the Federal Reserve did not follow a Taylor rule if appropriate measures are used. We estimate Taylor rules and find no evidence that monetary policy stabilized inflation, even allowing for changes in the inflation target. While monetary policy was stabilizing with respect to inflation forecasts, the forecasts systematically under-predicted inflation following the 1970s recessions and this does not constitute evidence of stabilizing policy. We also find that the Federal Reserve responded too strongly to negative output gaps.     

Why are initial estimates of productivity growth so unreliable?

This paper argues that initial estimates of productivity growth will tend to be much less reliable than those of most other macroeconomic aggregates, such as output or employment growth. Two distinct factors complicate productivity measurement. (1) When production increases, factor inputs typically increase as well. Productivity growth is therefore typically less variable than output growth, meaning that measurement errors will tend to be relatively more important. (2) Revisions to published estimates of production and factor inputs tend to be less highly correlated than the published estimates themselves. This further increases the impact of data revisions on published productivity estimates.To assess the extent of these problems in practice, we detail the importance of historical revisions to the most commonly-used measures of US aggregate productivity growth, expanding on previous empirical work by Aruoba (2008) and Anderson and Kliesen (2006). We find that such revisions have contributed substantially to policymakers’ forecast errors for US productivity growth.     

Inflation and inflation uncertainty in the euro area

This article estimates a time-varying AR-GARCH model of inflation producing measures of inflation uncertainty for the euro area, and investigates their linkages in a VAR framework, also allowing for the possible impact of the policy regime change associated with the start of EMU in 1999. The main findings are as follows. Steady-state inflation and inflation uncertainty have declined steadily since the inception of EMU, whilst short-run uncertainty has stabilised. A sequential dummy procedure provides further evidence of a structural break coinciding with the introduction of the euro and resulting in lower long-run uncertainty. It also appears that the direction of causality has been reversed, and that in the euro period the Friedman-Ball link is empirically supported, consistently with the idea that the ECB can achieve lower inflation uncertainty by lowering the inflation rate.     

Evaluating the effect of monetary policy on unemployment with alternative inflation forecasts

This paper explores the role that inflation forecasts play in the uncertainty surrounding the estimated effects of alternative monetary rules on unemployment dynamics in the euro area and the US. We use the inflation forecasts of 8 competing models in a standard Bayesian VAR to analyse the size and the timing of these effects, as well as to quantify the uncertainty relative to the different inflation models under two rules. The results suggest that model uncertainty can be a serious issue and strengthen the case for a policy strategy that takes into account several sources of information. We find that combining inflation forecasts from many models not only yields more accurate forecasts than those of any specific model, but also reduces the uncertainty associated with the real effects of policy decisions. These results are in line with the model-combination approach that central banks already follow when conceiving their strategy.     

Uncertainty and employment dynamics in the euro area and the US

In this paper we investigate the local and foreign effects of uncertainty shocks on unemployment in two large economic regions, the United States (US) and the euro area (EA). We deploy a Bayesian Markov-switching structural vector autoregressive model identified via heteroscedasticity. Two alternative specifications are considered with the shocks of interest being labelled as “US (or EA) demand uncertainty” and “US (or EA) financial market uncertainty”. We reach similar conclusions using both specifications: (i) US shocks have an effect on both the local and foreign labour markets while euro area shocks are much less influential; (ii) the US labour market tends to react and absorb shocks more quickly than the labour market in the euro area does. As economic theory predicts, the reaction to uncertainty shocks points to possible market imperfections that are region specific.     

Which News Moves the Euro Area Bond Market?

Abstract. This paper explores a long dataset (1999–2005) of intraday prices on German long-term bond futures and examines market responses to major macroeconomic announcements and ECB monetary policy releases. German bond markets tend to react more strongly to the surprise component in US macro releases compared with aggregated and national euro area and UK releases, and the strength of those reactions to US releases has increased over the period considered. We also document that the numbers of German unemployed workers consistently have been known to investors before official releases.     

A time-varying “natural” rate of interest for the euro area

We estimate a time-varying “natural” rate of interest (TVNRI) for a synthetic euro area over the period 1979Q1-2004Q4 using a small macroeconomic model, broadly following a methodology developed by Laubach and Williams [2003. Measuring the natural rate of interest. The Review of Economics and Statistics 85(4), 1063-1070] for the United States. The Kalman filter simultaneously estimates the output gap and the natural rate of interest. Our identifying assumptions include a close relationship between the TVNRI and the low-frequency fluctuations of potential output growth. The difference between the real rate of interest and its estimated natural level offers valuable insights into the monetary policy stance over the last two decades and a half.     

BANK OUTPUT MEASUREMENT IN THE EURO AREA: A MODIFIED APPROACH

Banks do not charge explicit fees for many of the services they provide, bundling the service payment with the offered interest rates. This output therefore has to be imputed using estimates of the opportunity cost of funds. We argue that rather than using the single short‐term, low‐risk interest rate as in current official statistics, reference rates should match the risk characteristics of loans and deposits. This would lower euro area imputed bank output by, on average, 28–54 percent compared with the current methodology, implying that euro area GDP (at current prices) is overstated by 0.11–0.18 percent. This adjustment also leads to more plausible shares in value added of income from fixed capital in the banking industry.     

Interpreting euro area inflation at high and low frequencies

Several authors have recently interpreted the European Central Bank's (ECB's) two-pillar framework as separate approaches to forecast and analyse inflation at different time horizons or frequency bands. The ECB has publicly supported this understanding of the framework. This paper presents further evidence on the behaviour of euro area inflation using band spectrum regressions, which allow for a natural definition of the short and long run in terms of specific frequency bands, and causality tests in the frequency domain. The main finding is that variations in inflation are well explained by low-frequency movements of money and real output growth and high-frequency fluctuations of the output gap.     

Financial conditions indexes for the United States and euro area

Financial conditions indexes are developed for the United States and euro area using a wide range of financial indicators and a dynamic factor model. The financial conditions indexes are shown to be useful for forecasting economic activity and have good revision properties. Variants of the indexes that allow for cross-economy effects reveal very strong financial linkages across the United States and euro area.     

Data uncertainty and the role of money as an information variable for monetary policy

In this study, we perform a quantitative assessment of the role of money as an indicator variable for monetary policy in the euro area. We document the magnitude of revisions to euro area-wide data on output, prices, and money, and find that monetary aggregates have a potentially significant role in providing information about current real output. We then proceed to analyze the information content of money in a forward-looking model in which monetary policy is optimally determined subject to incomplete information about the true state of the economy. We show that monetary aggregates may have substantial information content in an environment with high variability of output measurement errors, low variability of money demand shocks, and a strong contemporaneous linkage between money demand and real output. As a practical matter, however, we conclude that money has fairly limited information content as an indicator of contemporaneous aggregate demand in the euro area.     

Risk,uncertainty, and leverage

Using mostly theoretical models and traditional risk/uncertainty measures (VIX index, panic, precaution, scary bad news, etc.), the current literature tries to clarify the risk/uncertainty-deleveraging pattern. The findings are not sufficient to explain the dynamic empirical relationship between modern risk/uncertainty indicators and leverage. We fill this gap in the literature by using US quarterly data, from 1985:1 to 2018:4, Granger causality tests, and a structural vector autoregression model. We find that commercial bank leverage rises when geopolitical risk and macroeconomic, policy, and equity uncertainty increase. Client-based business relationships of banks and high government borrowing from banks during crises periods are responsible for this relationship. We find that the leverage of broker-dealers and shadow banks declines when Chicago risk and macroeconomic, policy, financial, and equity uncertainty increase. We argue that the vulnerability of broker-dealers and shadow banks to the risk/uncertainty of the entire market system is responsible for this relationship.     

Measuring uncertainty of the euro area NAIRU: Monte Carlo and empirical evidence for alternative confidence intervals in a state space framework

This paper investigates uncertainty around point estimates of the euro area NAIRU in a state space framework. The relative accuracy of alternative measures of uncertainty for state space models are compared using Monte Carlo simulations. A direct bootstrap method yields confidence intervals with lower coverage probability than confidence intervals based on mean squared errors (MSE) approximations. The degree of uncertainty of the euro area NAIRU is estimated with a trivariate state space model. The direct bootstrap method shows the narrowest confidence interval compared with the MSE approximations. However, the wider intervals based on MSE approximations are narrow enough for the identification of some periods in time where observed unemployment and the NAIRU differ significantly.