Measuring Inflation Expectations Uncertainty Using High‐Frequency Data

Inflation expectations play a key role in determining future economic outcomes. The associated uncertainty provides a direct gauge of how well‐anchored the inflation expectations are. We construct a model‐based measure of inflation expectations uncertainty by augmenting a standard unobserved components model of inflation with information from noisy and possibly biased measures of inflation expectations obtained from financial markets. This new model‐based measure of inflation expectations uncertainty is more accurately estimated and can provide valuable information for policymakers. Using U.S. data, we find significant changes in inflation expectations uncertainty during the Great Recession.     

The nominal duration of TIPS bonds

This paper studies the price responsiveness (effective duration) of U.S. government issued inflation-indexed bonds, known by the acronym TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities), to changes in nominal interest rates, real interest rates, and expected inflation. Using the TIPS pricing formula derived by Laatsch and Klein [Q. Rev. Econ. Finance 43 (2002) 405], we first confirm that TIPS bonds have zero sensitivity to changes solely in expected inflation. By changes solely in expected inflation, we mean that the real rate remains unchanged and the nominal rate changes in accordance with the established Fisher [Publ. Am. Econ. Assoc. 11 (1896)] effect. We show that the first derivative of the TIPS price is zero whenever the real rate is held constant. Thus, the first partial derivative of the TIPS bond pricing formula with respect to expected inflation is zero and the first partial derivative of the TIPS bond price with respect to nominal rates is also zero, given, in each case, that we hold the real rate constant. We then temporarily shift the analysis to zero-coupon TIPS bonds and zero-coupon ordinary Treasury bonds. We prove that the nominal duration of zero-coupon TIPS bonds equals that of zero-coupon ordinary Treasury bonds when the real rate changes but expected inflation is held constant.However, if expected inflation changes and the change in the nominal rate does not yield a constant real rate, zero-coupon TIPS prices will change and they will change by a smaller percentage than will zero-coupon ordinary Treasury bonds. We analyze TIPS responsiveness to changes in nominal rates under such conditions. We derive an approximation to effective duration that demonstrates that the effective durations of various maturity zero-coupon TIPS bonds are approximately linear functions in time to maturity of the effective duration of the one-year zero-coupon TIPS bond, ceteris paribus.Nominal effective duration of TIPS bonds is certainly of interest to fixed income portfolio managers that might have a desire to include such bonds in their portfolio. After all, the greater portion of a typical fixed income portfolio is in traditional, noninflation protected bonds whose major risk exposure is to changes in nominal rates. To properly assess the role of TIPS bonds in the portfolio, portfolio managers need information as to how TIPS bonds respond to the changes in nominal rates that are driving the price behavior of the bulk of the portfolio's assets. Prior to concluding the paper, we demonstrate how portfolio managers can calculate the nominal durations of coupon TIPS bonds using the zero-coupon duration formula we derive.     

Inflation Expectations and Risk Premiums in an Arbitrage‐Free Model of Nominal and Real Bond Yields

Differences between yields on comparable‐maturity U.S. Treasury nominal and real debt, the so‐called breakeven inflation (BEI) rates, are widely used indicators of inflation expectations. However, better measures of inflation expectations could be obtained by subtracting inflation risk premiums (IRP) from the BEI rates. We provide such decompositions using an affine arbitrage‐free model of the term structure that captures the pricing of both nominal and real Treasury securities. Our empirical results suggest that long‐term inflation expectations have been well anchored over the past few years, and IRP, although volatile, have been close to zero on average.     

A Closer Look at the Behavior of Uncertainty and Disagreement: Micro Evidence from the Euro Area

This paper examines point and density forecasts of real GDP growth, inflation, and unemployment from the European Central Bank's Survey of Professional Forecasters. We analyze individual uncertainty measures as well as introduce individual point‐ and density‐based disagreement measures. The analysis indicates forecasters’ uncertainty and disagreement display substantial heterogeneity and persistence, with the latter feature challenging a key prediction of expectations models emphasizing information frictions. We also find that uncertainty is characterized by prominent respondent effects and disagreement by prominent time effects, suggesting these divergent properties underlie the well‐documented weak uncertainty–disagreement linkage. Taken together, our results provide a basis for further development of expectations models.     

Preparing for higher inflation: Portfolio solutions using U.S. equities

Investors have always been interested in reducing inflation risk in their portfolios. However, investors face different types of inflation than those measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Moreover, different asset classes can be used to hedge portfolio inflation. In this paper, we show how individual equities can be used to construct equity portfolios sensitive to customized inflation targets. We illustrate portfolios for three types of inflation: US headline CPI, Forbes Cost of Living Extremely Well Index, and the US Medical Care Price Index. We also show how alternative weighting schemes, such as minimum volatility and maximum inflation beta, can be used to construct inflation‐hedged portfolios.     

Measuring uncertainty based on rounding: New method and application to inflation expectations

The literature on cognition and communication documents that people use round numbers to convey uncertainty. This paper introduces a method of quantifying the uncertainty associated with round responses in pre-existing survey data. I construct micro-level and time series measures of inflation uncertainty since 1978. Inflation uncertainty is countercyclical and correlated with inflation disagreement, volatility, and the Economic Policy Uncertainty index. Inflation uncertainty is lowest among high-income consumers, college graduates, males, and stock market investors. More uncertain consumers are more reluctant to spend on durables, cars, and homes. Round responses are common on many surveys, suggesting numerous applications of this method.     

The Role of Media for Inflation Forecast Disagreement of Households and Professional Forecasters

This paper investigates the effects of media coverage about consumer price inflation on inflation forecast disagreement of German households and professional forecasters. We adopt a Bayesian learning model in which media coverage of inflation affects forecast disagreement by influencing information sets as well as predictor choice. Our empirical results show that disagreement of households depends on the heterogeneity of story content and on the reporting intensity, especially of news on rising inflation. Disagreement of professional forecasters does not depend on media coverage. With respect to the influence of macroeconomic variables, we provide evidence that disagreement of professional forecasters primarily depends on the inflation rate and on inflation volatility. The response of households to inflation is much less pronounced.     

The long-run equity risk premium

Based on a survey of US Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), we present expectations of the equity risk premium measured over a 10-year horizon relative to a 10-year US Treasury bond. This multi-year survey has been conducted each quarter from June 2000 to June 2005. Each quarter the survey also provides measures of cross-sectional disagreement about the risk premium, skewness, and a measure of individual uncertainty. The individual uncertainty is deduced from the 80% confidence interval that each respondent provides for his or her risk premium assessment. We also present evidence on the determinants of the long-run risk premium. Our analysis suggests there is a positive correlation between the ex ante risk premium and real interest rates as reflected in Treasury Inflation Indexed Notes.     

Globalization and Changing Inflation Dynamics in China

This article investigates the changing impact of economic globalization on inflation in China over the post-reform era. We construct an inflation dynamics model with globalization factors from microeconomic foundations. Empirical results with quarterly data spanning from 1984 to 2012 show that in 1994 there was a significant structural change in the inflation dynamics model, after which China’s inflation responded more significantly to foreign economic slack while the slope of the inflation-domestic slack relation reduced substantively.     

The term structure of inflation expectations

We use information in the term structure of survey-based forecasts of inflation to estimate a factor hidden in the nominal yield curve. We construct a model that accommodates forecasts over multiple horizons from multiple surveys and Treasury real and nominal yields by allowing for differences between risk-neutral, subjective, and objective probability measures. We establish that model-based inflation expectations are driven by inflation, output, and one latent factor. We find that this factor affects inflation expectations at all horizons but has almost no effect on the nominal yields; that is, the latent factor is hidden. We show that this hidden factor is not related to either current and past inflation or the standard set of macro variables studied in the literature. Consistent with the theoretical property of a hidden factor, our model outperforms a standard macro-finance model in its forecasting of inflation and yields.     

Disagreement in Consumer Inflation Expectations

By carefully matching the data sets from the Michigan Survey of Consumers with the Survey of Professional Forecasters, we show that there exists substantial heterogeneity in the propensity of U.S. households to learn from experts in forming inflation expectations. Additional results for a group of European economies broadly confirm this observation. We advance an extended version of the sticky-information model to analyze disagreement in consumer inflation expectations. Besides differences in consumers' propensities to learn, disagreement in our model arises from heterogeneity in consumers' fundamental inflation and past expectations and experts' different views about future inflation.     

Inflation–growth nexus: some bivariate EGARCH evidence for Bangladesh

This study examines the inflation–growth nexus for Bangladesh over the period 1976–2009 in a bivariate exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity in mean (EGARCH-M) model. This work finds that both growth and inflation adversely affect each other in a lagged fashion in Bangladesh. Inflation uncertainty appears to be conducive to growth for the country, contradicting the Friedman hypothesis. Growth uncertainty, which is also thought to be inimical to growth, affects the average growth rate positively. Thus, the Central Bank should shift its target from controlling inflation uncertainty to reducing a rise in inflation to ensure faster growth in Bangladesh.     

The impact of uncertainty on professional exchange rate forecasts

This paper analyzes the role of uncertainty on both exchange rate expectations and forecast errors of professionals for four major currencies based on survey data provided by FX4casts. We consider economic policy, macroeconomic, and financial uncertainty as well as disagreement among CPI inflation forecasters to account for different dimensions of uncertainty. Based on a Bayesian VAR approach, we observe that uncertainty effects on forecast errors of professionals turn out to be more significant compared to the adjustment of exchange rate expectations. Our findings are robust to different forecasting horizons and point to an unpredictable link between exchange rates and fundamentals. Furthermore, we illustrate the importance of considering common unpredictable components for a large number of variables. We also focus on the post-crisis period and the relationship between uncertainty and disagreement among exchange rate forecasters and identify a strong relationship between them.     

The Impact of Inflation Measures on the Real Returns and Risk of U.S. Stocks

Using different inflation measures produces economically significant differences in both the inflation record and inflation‐adjusted stock returns. We introduce a more consistent measure of the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate to better measure real returns over 1913–2004, for which the official CPI exists. We also extend the series backward to 1871 on a monthly basis, an important addition to the data series. We analyze the impact of inflation on the real standard deviation of stock returns and find that, in contrast to the results for geometric mean returns, inflation adjustments have little impact on estimates of return variability.     

Measuring Inflation Anchoring and Uncertainty: A U.S. and Euro Area Comparison

We use several U.S. and euro‐area surveys of professional forecasters to estimate a dynamic factor model of inflation featuring time‐varying uncertainty. We obtain survey‐consistent distributions of future inflation at any horizon, both in the U.S. and the euro area. Equipped with this model, we propose a novel measure of the anchoring of inflation expectations that accounts for inflation uncertainty. Our results suggest that following the Great Recession, inflation anchoring improved in the United States, while mild de‐anchoring occurred in the euro area. As of our sample end, both areas appear to be almost equally anchored.     

中国通货膨胀预期及其影响因素分析——基于混频无套利Nelson-Siegel利率期限结构扩展模型

综合国债市场的利率期限结构信息以及不同频率的宏观信息,本文构建混频无套利Nelson-Siegel利率期限结构扩展模型,在对不同期限债券进行一致性定价理论约束下,提取了中国通货膨胀预期的期限结构并对其进行影响因素分析。研究结果表明,本文模型提取的通胀预期期限丰富、结果稳健,具有较好的参考价值。通胀预期水平和变动响应主要受货币增长率、通胀率及全球食品价格变动等国内外相关宏观变量的影响,与国债收益率因子之间的关系不显著;国债收益率因子对中长期通胀预期的方差波动具有较强解释力,表明国债定价反映了未来通胀的不确定性。本文研究有助于充分利用我国宏观与金融市场信息条件,有效发现和锚定通胀预期,一方面,研究结果可为政策制定者和市场投资者提供科学的决策参考,另一方面,研究方法对丰富宏观金融领域的分析框架具有参考价值。     

中国通货膨胀预期及其影响因素分析——基于混频无套利Nelson-Siegel利率期限结构扩展模型

综合国债市场的利率期限结构信息以及不同频率的宏观信息,本文构建混频无套利Nelson-Siegel利率期限结构扩展模型,在对不同期限债券进行一致性定价理论约束下,提取了中国通货膨胀预期的期限结构并对其进行影响因素分析。研究结果表明,本文模型提取的通胀预期期限丰富、结果稳健,具有较好的参考价值。通胀预期水平和变动响应主要受货币增长率、通胀率及全球食品价格变动等国内外相关宏观变量的影响,与国债收益率因子之间的关系不显著;国债收益率因子对中长期通胀预期的方差波动具有较强解释力,表明国债定价反映了未来通胀的不确定性。本文研究有助于充分利用我国宏观与金融市场信息条件,有效发现和锚定通胀预期,一方面,研究结果可为政策制定者和市场投资者提供科学的决策参考,另一方面,研究方法对丰富宏观金融领域的分析框架具有参考价值。     

Economic determinants of the nominal treasury yield curve

Macroeconomic shocks account for most of the variability of nominal Treasury yields, inducing parallel shifts in the level of the yield curve. We develop a new approach to identifying macroeconomic shocks that exploits model-based empirical shock measures. Technology shocks shift yields through their effect on expected inflation and the term premium. Shocks to preferences for current consumption affect yields through their impact on real rates and expected inflation. For both shocks, the systematic reaction of monetary policy is an important transmission pathway. We find little evidence that fiscal policy shocks are an important source of interest rate variability.     

Evaluating underlying inflation measures for Russia

We apply several tests to the underlying inflation measures used in practice by central banks and/or proposed in the academic literature in an attempt to find the best-performing indicators. We find that although there is no single best measure of underlying inflation, indicators calculated on the basis of dynamic factor models are generally among the best performers. These best performers not only outdid the simpler traditional underlying indicators (trimmed and exclusion-based measures) but also proved to be economically meaningful and interpretable.     

Strategic Behavior and Underpricing in Uniform Price Auctions: Evidence from Finnish Treasury Auctions

We contribute to the debate on the optimal design of multiunit auctions by developing and testing robust implications of the leading theory of uniform price auctions on the bid distributions submitted by individual bidders. The theory, which emphasizes market power, has little support in a data set of Finnish Treasury auctions. A reason may be that the Treasury acts strategically by determining supply after observing bids, apparently treating the auctions as a repeated game between itself and primary dealers. Bidder behavior and underpricing react to the volatility of bond returns in a way that suggests bidders adjust for the winner's curse.