Monetary policy,exchange rates and stock prices in the Middle East region

A structural vector autoregressive model is employed to investigate the impact of monetary policy and real exchange rate shocks on the stock market performance of Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. In order to identify the structural shocks both short run and long run restrictions are applied. Unlike previous literature the contemporaneous interdependence between the financial variables is left unrestricted to give a more accurate depiction of the relationships. The heterogeneity of the results reflects the different monetary policy frameworks and stock market characteristics of these countries. Mainly, monetary policy and the real exchange rate shocks have a significant short run impact on the stock prices of the countries that apply a relatively more independent monetary policy and flexible exchange rates.     

新凯因斯DSGE模型与货币政策法则之汇率动态分析

对于小型开放经济而言,当经济存在价格僵硬的情况下,中央银行在面对不同冲击发生时,各政策法则执行对汇率波动的影响及动态调整过程差异较大。从中国台湾地区的情况为案例来看,在稳定汇率波动方面:当国内技术冲击时,货币法则优于利率法则;当国外通货膨胀时,利率法则优于货币法则;当国外利率冲击时,执行利率法则或货币法则,其结果无显著差异。在汇率动态调整方面:当国外利率调升时,中央银行执行利率法则与货币法则下,汇率的瞬时反应为过度贬值;当国外物价膨胀时,执行利率法则与货币法则下,汇率的瞬时反应表现为立即升值;当国内技术进步冲击时,因为国外冲击对小型开放经济体系影响力道较强,使得国内技术进度对体系的影响相对较小,其中在利率法则下,汇率微幅贬值,而在货币法则下,汇率微幅升值。     

The dynamic effects of monetary policy: A structural factor model approach

A structural factor model for 112 US monthly macroeconomic series is used to study the effects of monetary policy. Monetary policy shocks are identified using a standard recursive scheme, in which the impact effects on both industrial production and prices are zero. The main findings are the following. First, the maximal effect on bilateral real exchange rates is observed on impact, so that the “delayed overshooting” puzzle disappears. Second, after a contractionary shock prices fall at all horizons, so that the price puzzle is not there. Finally, monetary policy has a sizable effect on both real and nominal variables.     

Reconsidering the role of money for output, prices and interest rates

New Keynesian models of monetary policy downplay the role of monetary aggregates, in the sense that the level of output, prices, and interest rates can be determined without knowledge of the quantity of money. This paper evaluates the empirical validity of this prediction by studying the effects of shocks to monetary aggregates using a vector autoregression (VAR). Shocks to monetary aggregates are identified by the restrictions suggested by New Keynesian monetary models. Contrary to the theoretical predictions, shocks to broad monetary aggregates have substantial and persistent effects on output, prices and interest rates.     

What are the effects of monetary policy on output? Results from an agnostic identification procedure

This paper proposes to estimate the effects of monetary policy shocks by a new agnostic method, imposing sign restrictions on the impulse responses of prices, nonborrowed reserves and the federal funds rate in response to a monetary policy shock. No restrictions are imposed on the response of real GDP to answer the key question in the title. I find that “contractionary” monetary policy shocks have no clear effect on real GDP, even though prices move only gradually in response to a monetary policy shock. Neutrality of monetary policy shocks is not inconsistent with the data.     

House Price Booms,Current Account Deficits,and Low Interest Rates

Domestic factors, such as credit and preference shocks, can explain the negative correlation between house prices and the current account in the U.S. and several other countries before the recent crisis. These shocks, however, cannot account for the fall of world real interest rates observed in the data. Expansionary monetary policy shocks in the U.S., coupled with exchange rate pegs to the dollar in emerging economies, are crucial to understanding the evolution of the real interest rate. Yet, monetary policy factors play virtually no role for house prices and the current account.     

Real exchange rate persistence and monetary policy rules

The objective of this paper is to analyze the effects of alternative monetary rules on real exchange rate persistence. Using a two-country stochastic dynamic general equilibrium with nominal price stickiness and local currency pricing, we will show how the persistence of purchasing power parity deviations can be related to a monetary theory of these deviations. When monetary policy lean against the wind, there is no relationship of proportionality between the time during which prices remain sticky and the persistence of the response of the real exchange rate: in this case high nominal price rigidity is not sufficient, per se, in generating any persistence following a monetary shock. Moreover, we emphasize the role of interest rates smoothing policies and relative price stickiness within countries in understanding the relationship between the real exchange rate and monetary shocks. With reasonable parameters values, a wide range of monetary policy rules can generate real exchange rate autocorrelations around the ones observed in the data.     

Exchange Rate Changes and Inflation in Post‐Crisis Asian Economies: Vector Autoregression Analysis of the Exchange Rate Pass‐Through

Macro‐economic consequences of large currency depreciations among the crisis‐hit Asian economies varied from one country to another. Inflation did not soar after the Asian currency crisis of 1997–98 in most crisis‐hit countries except Indonesia where high inflation followed a very large nominal depreciation of the rupiah. The high inflation meant a loss of price competitive advantage, a key for economic recovery from a crisis. This paper examines the pass‐through effects of exchange rate changes on the domestic prices in the East Asian economies using a vector autoregression analysis. The main results are as follows: (i) the degree of exchange rate pass‐through to import prices was quite high in the crisis‐hit economies; (ii) the pass‐through to Consumer Price Index (CPI) was generally low, with a notable exception of Indonesia; and (iii) in Indonesia, both the impulse response of monetary policy variables to exchange rate shocks and that of CPI to monetary policy shocks were positive, large, and statistically significant. Thus, Indonesia's accommodative monetary policy, coupled with the high degree of CPI responsiveness to exchange rate changes was an important factor in the inflation‐depreciation spiral in the wake of the currency crisis.     

Federal reserve's policy,global equity markets,and the local monetary policy stance

This paper examines the extent to which local monetary policy stance determines the strength of US monetary policy international transmission to global equities. Using a sample of 35 countries, we document that US monetary policy surprises exert significant inverse effects on global equity returns. Our results suggest that countries whose policy rates are brought into line with that of the US are less sensitive to US monetary policy shocks only when they have a high and intermediate level of cross-border financial linkages, and only when they have a low and intermediate level of exchange rate volatility.     

The effects of monetary policy shocks on exchange rates: Evidence from New Zealand and Australia

This study investigates the effect of monetary policy shocks in New Zealand and Australia on their respective exchange rates from 1985 to 1998 using vector autoregression methodology. The results show that monetary policy shocks do contribute to the variability of both exchange rates, but these movements are not always consistent with theory. In particular, there is little support for the overshooting hypothesis. Also the results show that the exchange rates do not always move in the direction normally anticipated, particularly for New Zealand. A contraction in monetary policy may lead to a depreciation of the domestic currency rather than an appreciation.     

Cross-border spillover effects of unconventional monetary policies on Swiss asset prices

Unconventional monetary policies (UMPs) announced by the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan exert important spillover effects on asset prices in Switzerland. Using a broad UMP event set and a long-term bond-futures based measure of market anticipation, we show that surprisingly expansionary UMPs lower Swiss government and corporate bond yields, induce the Swiss franc to appreciate, and dampen Swiss equity prices. Four extensions provide further insights. First, the estimated effects are strongest for announcements by the ECB. Second, the impact on government bonds is largest for bonds with residual maturities of 7–10 years. Third, the impact of foreign UMP shocks on exchange rates and Swiss bond yields is less pronounced after the introduction of the minimum rate of 1.20 Swiss franc per Euro by the Swiss National Bank on September 6, 2011, indicating that domestic monetary policy action partially affects the impact of external monetary shocks on domestic financial markets. Fourth, the sign of spillover effects differs for positive and negative UMP surprises, but their strength does not.     

Asset price dynamics,inflation and sectoral composition of output: a dependent economy model

This article develops a dependent economy model that focuses on the interactions between inflation and asset price dynamics under a flexible exchange rate and rational expectation. We assume that money wage adjusts instantaneously to clear the labour market. The asset prices are represented by the Tobin’s q and exchange rate. Using this framework, we will examine implications of monetary policy, fiscal policy, tariff liberalization and exogenous capital flows for inflation and asset prices, which in turn determine the allocation of labour and the sectoral composition of output. The effects of different exogenous and policy-induced shocks critically depend on the difference in the speeds of adjustment in commodity price and asset prices and multiple cross effects generated by changes in these prices.     

The impact of monetary policy on asset prices

Estimating the response of asset prices to changes in monetary policy is complicated by the endogeneity of policy decisions and the fact that both interest rates and asset prices react to numerous other variables. This paper develops a new estimator that is based on the heteroskedasticity that exists in high-frequency data. We show that the response of asset prices to changes in monetary policy can be identified based on the increase in the variance of policy shocks that occurs on days of FOMC meetings and of the Chairman's semi-annual monetary policy testimony to Congress. The identification approach employed requires a much weaker set of assumptions than needed under the “event-study” approach that is typically used in this context. The results indicate that an increase in short-term interest rates results in a decline in stock prices and in an upward shift in the yield curve that becomes smaller at longer maturities. The findings also suggest that the event-study estimates contain biases that make the estimated effects on stock prices appear too small and those on Treasury yields too large.     

The extensive margin and monetary policy

The creation of new firms, referred to as the extensive margin, is a significant but overlooked dimension of monetary policy. A monetary VAR documents that monetary policy has significant effects on firm creation. An analytically tractable model combining sticky prices and firm entry shows that entry alters the transmission of monetary policy innovations, acting much like a type of investment in more standard models. Monetary policy rules that offset the uncertainty of productivity shocks can raise the mean level of entry and thereby welfare, suggesting a new motivation for stabilization policy.     

Identifying VARS based on high frequency futures data

Using the prices of federal funds futures contracts, we measure the impact of the surprise component of Federal Reserve policy decisions on the expected future trajectory of interest rates. We show how this information can be used to identify the effects of a monetary policy shock in a standard VAR. This alternative approach to identification is quite different, and, we argue, more plausible, than the conventional identifying restrictions. We find that a usual recursive identification of the model is rejected, as is any identification that insists on a monetary policy shock having an exactly zero effect on prices contemporaneously. We nevertheless agree with the conclusion of much of the VAR literature that only a small fraction of the variance of output can be attributed to monetary policy shocks.     

Oil shocks and the zero bound on nominal interest rates

Beginning in 2008, in many advanced economies, policy rates reached their zero lower bound (ZLB) and almost at the same time, oil prices started rising again. We analyze how the ZLB affects the propagation of oil shocks. As these shocks move inflation and output in opposite directions, their effects on economic activity are cushioned when monetary policy is constrained. The burst of inflation from an oil price increase lowers real interest rates at the ZLB and stimulates the interest-sensitive component of GDP, offsetting the usual contractionary effects. We show that the mitigation of the output decline from the zero lower bound depends on the source of the shock and on the persistence that alternative shocks induce in the price of oil.     

货币政策冲击对实体企业投资选择影响的“宿醉效应”

本文研究货币政策冲击对实体企业投资选择的动态影响效应。与传统分析方法不同,本文运用利率衍生品价格数据来识别中国货币政策冲击,利用工具变量局部投影法获得货币政策冲击对微观实体企业投资选择的动态影响效应。研究表明,动态效应呈现出更丰富的信息:货币政策冲击对企业金融资产占比有显著驱动效应,效应大小表现出先升后降趋势,在冲击发生一年半后达到峰值。值得注意的是,货币政策冲击会导致企业货币资金占比在短期内显著减少,而在中长期显著增加。进一步分析表明,货币政策冲击使实业投资和金融投资在短期内都更有利可图,所以在短期内企业倾向于减少货币资金占比,增加非货币金融资产投资和实业投资;政策冲击在中长期对企业资产收益率的提升作用消退,盈余效应使企业在中长期的金融资产占比提高,表现出一定的“宿醉效应”。     

Stock market reactions to monetary policy surprises under uncertainty

This article investigates how uncertainty impacts the effect of monetary policy surprises on stock returns. Using high-frequency US data, we demonstrate that stock markets respond more aggressively to monetary policy surprises during periods of high uncertainty. We also show that uncertainty asymmetrically influences the transmission of positive and negative monetary policy surprises to stock market prices. The amplifying effect of uncertainty is found to be stronger for expansionary shocks than for contractionary shocks. Our robustness analysis confirms that financial uncertainty has a significant role in shaping the influence of monetary policy on the stock market.     

The expectations theory works for monetary policy shocks

In practice, the expectations theory of the term structure is employed extensively in monetary policy analysis despite its empirical failure. This paper performs a conditional test of the theory that is directly relevant to monetary theory and policy. It finds that the theory holds quite well conditional on identified monetary policy shocks, but fails conditional on aggregate supply shocks that prompt an immediate jump in prices. It also finds that policy responses to movements in the term structure play an important role in uncovering evidence for the theory as predicted by McCallum [1994. Monetary policy and the term structure of interest rates. NBER Working Paper Series, no. 4938].     

住房价格、金融稳定与宏观审慎政策

本文通过建立包含异质性家庭、异质性厂商和金融机构的DSGE模型,分析对预期房价作出反应的货币政策和宏观审慎政策的传导机制和政策效果,研究不同政策的选择和协调问题。研究发现,首先,由于政策的作用范围不同,不同政策会对金融稳定和经济稳定产生不同影响。对预期房价作出反应的货币政策能够抑制住房需求和信贷供给,但也会抑制消费需求和产出;而对预期房价作出反应的逆周期LTV政策和逆周期资本充足率政策在应对房价波动导致的金融稳定问题时更加有的放矢。其次,外生冲击的来源会影响政策的选择和协调——当经济波动来源于需求冲击时,固定LTV政策搭配逆周期资本充足率的宏观审慎政策、不对预期房价作出反应的货币政策表现最优;当经济波动来源于供给冲击时,固定LTV政策搭配逆周期资本充足率的宏观审慎政策、对预期房价作出反应的货币政策表现最优。