Nonlinear adjustment in US bond yields: An empirical model with conditional heteroskedasticity

Starting from the work by Campbell and Shiller (Campbell, J.Y. and Shiller, R.J. (1987). Cointegration and tests of present value models. Journal of Political Economy, 95(5):1062–1088.), empirical analysis of interest rates has been conducted in the framework of cointegration. However, parts of this approach have been questioned recently, as the adjustment mechanism may not follow a simple linear rule; another line of criticism points out that stationarity of the spreads is difficult to maintain empirically.     

An analysis of the informational content of New Zealand data releases: The importance of business opinion surveys

We examine the informational content of New Zealand data releases using a parametric dynamic factor model estimated with unbalanced real-time panels of quarterly data. The data are categorised into 21 different release blocks, allowing us to make 21 different factor model forecasts each quarter. We compare three of these factor model forecasts for real GDP growth, CPI inflation, non-tradable CPI inflation, and tradable CPI inflation with three different real-time forecasts made by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand each quarter. We find that, at some horizons, the factor model produces forecasts of similar accuracy to the Reserve Bank's forecasts. Analysing the marginal value of each of the data releases reveals the importance of the business opinion survey data—the Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion and the National Bank's Business Outlook survey—in determining how factor model predictions, and the uncertainty around those predictions, evolve through each quarter.     

The role of labor markets for euro area monetary policy

In this paper, we explore the role of labor markets for monetary policy in the euro area in a New Keynesian model in which labor markets are characterized by search and matching frictions. We first investigate to which extent a more flexible labor market would alter the business cycle behavior and the transmission of monetary policy. We find that while a lower degree of wage rigidity makes monetary policy more effective, i.e. a monetary policy shock transmits faster onto inflation, the importance of other labor market rigidities for the transmission of shocks is rather limited. Second, having estimated the model by Bayesian techniques we analyze to which extent labor market shocks, such as disturbances in the vacancy posting process, shocks to the separation rate and variations in bargaining power are important determinants of business cycle fluctuations. Our results point primarily towards disturbances in the bargaining process as a significant contributor to inflation and output fluctuations. In sum, the paper supports current central bank practice which appears to put considerable effort into monitoring euro area wage dynamics and which appears to treat some of the other labor market information as less important for monetary policy.     

On the role of money in a business cycle model of a small open economy: The case of Spain

This paper examines the consequences of introducing a cash-in-advance constraint into a small open economy business cycle model for the Spanish case. A business cycle model is built extending Correia, Neves and Rebelo's (1995) small open economy framework and Cooley and Hansen's (1995) monetary economy. Money is introduced through a cash-in-advance constraint. The stochastic simulation of the model and its comparison to Spanish data show that the model is able to mimic i) the Dolado et al. puzzle, that is, the high volatility of private consumption for this economy; ii) the Dunlop-Tarshis observation, i.e., the negative correlation between real wages and hours worked; and iii) some cyclical features of the nominal dimension.     

Measuring Monetary Policy in Germany: A Structural Vector Error Correction Approach

Abstract. A structural vector error correction (SVEC) model is used to investigate several monetary policy issues. While being data-oriented the SVEC framework allows structural modeling of the short-run and long-run properties of the data. The statistical model is estimated with monthly German data for 1975–98 where a structural break is detected in 1984. After splitting the sample, three stable long-run relations are found in each subsample which can be interpreted in terms of a money-demand equation, a policy rule and a relation for real output, respectively. Since the cointegration restrictions imply a particular shape of the long-run covariance matrix this information can be used to distinguish between permanent and transitory innovations in the estimated system. Additional restrictions are introduced to identify a monetary policy shock.     

Measuring stress in money markets: A dynamic factor approach

We extract an index of interest rate spreads from various money market segments to assess the level of funding stress in real time. We find that during the 2007–2009 financial crisis, money markets switched between low and high stress regimes except for brief periods of extreme stress. Transitions to lower stress regimes are typically associated with the non-standard policy measures by the Federal Reserve.     

Testing for efficiency in selected developing foreign exchange markets: An equilibrium-based approach

This paper proposes an alternative way of testing FOREX efficiency for developing countries. The FOREX market will be efficient if fully reflects all available information. If this holds, the actual exchange rate will not deviate significantly from its equilibrium rate. Moreover, the spot rate should deviate from its equilibrium rate by only transitory components (i.e. it should follow a white noise process). This test is applied to three Central and Eastern European Countries — members of the EU. Considering an LSTAR model we find no evidence of nonlinear adjustment in the misalignment series. So, linear unit root tests imply that the Poland/Euro FOREX market is efficient, the Czech/Euro FOREX market is not, while the Slovak/Euro FOREX market is quasi-efficient.     

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.     

The Effects of Monetary Policy Shocks in the USA: A Forecast‐Augmented VAR Approach

This paper formulates a forward‐looking monetary policy function for the USA in a structural vector autoregression (VAR) model, by using forecasts of key macroeconomic variables, in addition to the ex post realised variables used in a standard VAR. Since this forecast‐augmented VAR (FOAVAR) uses both forecasted and realised variables, and the standard VAR uses only realised variables, the standard VAR is nested in the FOAVAR. I find that the Fed responds to forecasted macroeconomic variables more significantly than realised variables. I also find that the monetary policy shock in the FOAVAR generates impulse responses of variables that are consistent with the predictions of economic theories, while the policy shock in the standard VAR causes a price puzzle: an increase in the price level due to a contractionary policy shock. These results suggest that a monetary policy function identified in a standard VAR, by using only realised macroeconomic variables, may incorrectly represent the Fed's policy function.     

Nonlinearity and structural stability in the Phillips curve: Evidence from Turkey

In this paper, we investigate possible nonlinearities in the inflation–output relationship in Turkey for the 1980–2008 period. We first estimate a linear bivariate model for the inflation rate and output gap, and test for linearity of the estimated model against nonlinear alternatives. Linearity test results suggest that the relationship between the inflation rate and output gap is highly nonlinear. We estimate a bivariate time-varying smooth transition regression model, and compute dynamic effects of one variable on the other by generalized impulse response functions. Computed impulse response functions indicate that inflation–output relationship in Turkey during the analyzed period was regime dependent and varied considerably across time.     

A direct test of the endogeneity of money: Implications for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries

This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion about the endogeneity of money supply by empirically investigating the GCC countries. We propose and implement a direct test of money supply endogeneity that depends on econometric specification of exogeneity which has not been used in the literature before. To be able to make comparisons with previous studies, we also conducted Granger Causality tests to analyze the causality relationship between bank credit and money supply. Both of the empirical studies provide empirical evidence for the endogeneity of money supply in GCC countries. The results of the paper have many significant monetary policy implications for the upcoming monetary unification of the GCC countries.     

Inflation targeting in Latin America: Empirical analysis using GARCH models

This paper studies inflation dynamics in eight Latin American countries, some of which have adopted formal inflation targets (IT) as their monetary policy frameworks. We analyze the possible benefits associated with IT, not only in terms of inflation level and volatility, but also regarding other nonlinear characteristics of these series, such as volatility persistence or the fulfillment of the Friedman hypothesis. To describe inflation dynamics we use an unobserved components model, where each component can follow a GARCH type process. Once we estimate the model, the main findings of the empirical exercise confirm the favorable performance of IT.     

AN ANALYSIS OF MONETARY POLICY SHOCKS IN JAPAN: A FACTOR AUGMENTED VECTOR AUTOREGRESSIVE APPROACH*

This paper analyses monetary policy shocks in Japan using a factor augmented vector autoregressive approach. There are three main findings. First, the time lags with which the monetary policy shocks are transmitted vary between the various macroeconomic time series. These include several series that have not been included thus far in standard vector autoregressive analysis, including housing starts and employment indices. Second, a coherent picture of monetary policy effects on the economy is obtained. Third, it is found that monetary policy shocks have a stronger impact on real variables, such as employment and housing starts, than industrial production.     

Business cycles through international shocks: A structural investigation

This paper investigates the sources of output volatility by decomposing the international shocks into finance and trade shocks. Through structural Bayesian estimations of an open-economy DSGE model on 16 countries, on average, international shocks explain around 70% of output fluctuations.     

UK INFLATION: PERSISTENCE, SEASONALITY AND MONETARY POLICY

In the light of the changes to UK monetary policy since the early 1980s, we study the existence and nature of changes in the properties of retail price inflation over this period. A feature of our analysis is the attention paid to the marked seasonal pattern of monthly UK inflation. After taking account of seasonality, both univariate and Phillips curve models provide strong evidence of changes in the level and persistence of inflation around the end of 1992, at the time of the introduction of inflation targeting. Indeed, all models point to the effective disappearance of inflation persistence after this date, implying that constant-parameter models estimated using both pre- and post-inflation targeting data periods should be treated with considerable caution.     

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.     

The monetary transmission mechanism: Evidence from the industries of five OECD countries

This paper studies the monetary transmission mechanism using disaggregated industry data from five industrialized countries. Our goal is to document the cross-industry heterogeneity of monetary policy effects and relate it to industry characteristics suggested by monetary transmission theories. Sizable and significant cross-industry differences in the effects of monetary policy are found. Such differences swamp the hardly detectable cross-country variability. Sectoral output responses to monetary policy shocks are systematically related to the industry output durability, financing requirements, borrowing capacity and firm size. These findings are consistent with a quantitatively non-negligible role of financial frictions in the monetary transmission.     

The effect of monetary policy on real house price growth in South Africa: A factor-augmented vector autoregression (FAVAR) approach

This paper assesses the impact of monetary policy on real house price growth in South Africa using a factor-augmented vector autoregression (FAVAR), estimated using a large data set comprising of 246 quarterly series over the period 1980:01 to 2006:04. The results based on the impulse response functions indicate that, in general, house price inflation responds negatively to monetary policy shock, but the responses are heterogeneous across the middle-, luxury- and affordable-segments of the housing market. The luxury-, large-middle- and medium-middle-segments are found to respond much more than the small-middle- and the affordable-segments of the housing market. More importantly, we find no evidence of the home price puzzle, observed previously by other studies that analyzed house prices using small-scale models. We put this down to the benefit gained from using a large information set.     

Assessing the impact of the 2004 Olympic Games on the Greek economy: A small macroeconometric model

This paper examines the impact of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games on the Greek economy. Using a small aggregate macroeconometric model we find evidence to support the view that the Olympics is an event that could successfully boost the economy of the host city by generating benefits that outweigh the preparation cost. Consistent with recent literature in this area, whilst the impact effects are quite strong during the preparation phase and the year the Games took place, the long-term economic legacy effects appear to be quite modest.