Does Monetary Policy Matter? Narrative Versus Structural Approaches

This paper compares results from the narrative approach of Romer and Romer (1989) to those from the structural approach regarding the effects of monetary policy on real output. The results from both approaches lead to the conclusions that monetary policy matters and that the effects build slowly following a monetary policy shock. The narrative approach, however, leads to larger and more persistent effects than does the structural approach. Reasons are advanced in the paper as to why this might be so.

Estimated Macroeconomic Effects of Deficit Targeting

Somemacroeconomic effects of deficit targeting are estimated in thispaper using my U.S. econometric model. The response of the economy to realand price shocks is examined in a number of cases. Each case corresponds toa particular assumption about fiscal policy and a particular assumptionabout monetary policy. Estimates are also presented of the size of thegovernment spending cuts that are needed to meet a given deficit goal underdifferent assumptions about monetary policy.

International Evidence on the Demand for Money

One of the current questions in the literature on the demand for money is whether the adjustment of actual to desired money holdings is in nominal or real terms. This paper describes a simple procedure than can be used to test the nominal against the real hypothesis. The test is carried out for 27 countries. The paper also tests the structural stability of the demand for money equations and the correctness of the dynamic specification. The results are strongly in favor of the nominal adjustment hypothesis. The estimated equations are quite good in terms of the number of coefficient estimates that are of the right sign and that are significant. The equations also stand up well when tested against a more general dynamic specification. There is, however, some evidence of structural instability before and after 1973, although the instability is generally moderate. The instability does not affect the conclusion that the nominal adjustment hypothesis dominates the real adjustment hypothesis.

Analyzing Macroeconomic Forecastability

This paper estimates, using stochastic simulation and a multicountry macroeconometric model, the fraction of the forecast-error variance of output changes and the fraction of the forecast-error variance of inflation that are due to unpredictable asset-price changes. The results suggest that between about 25 and 37 percent of the forecast-error variance of output growth over 8 quarters is due to asset-price changes and between about 33 and 60 percent of the forecast-error variance of inflation over 8 quarters is due to asset-price changes. These estimates provide limits to the accuracy that can be expected from macroeconomic forecasting.Macroeconomic forecasting, Recessions, Booms

Predicting Electoral College Victory Probabilities from State Probability Data

A method is proposed in this paper for predicting Electoral College victory probabilities from state probability data. A "ranking" assumption about dependencies across states is made that greatly simplifies the analysis. The method issued to analyze state probability data from the Intrade political betting market. The Intrade prices of various contracts are quite close to what would be expected under the ranking assumption. Under the joint hypothesis that the Intrade price ranking is correct and the ranking assumption is correct, President Bush should not have won any state ranked below a state that he lost. He did not win any such state. The ranking assumption is also consistent with the fact that the two parties spent essentially nothing in most states in 2004.Electoral College victory probabilities, political betting markets

Estimating Term Structure Equations Using Macroeconomic Variables

This paper begins with the expectations theory of the term structure of interest rates with constant term premia and then postulates how expectations of future short term interest rates are formed. Expectations depend in part on predictions from a set of VAR equations and in part on the current and two lagged values of the short term interest rate. The results suggest that there is relevant independent information in both the VAR equations' predictions and the current and two lagged values of the short rate. The model fits the long term interest rate data well, including the 2004-2006 period, which some have found a puzzle. The properties of the model are consistent with the response of the long term U.S. Treasury bond rate to surprise price and employment announcements. The overall results suggest that long term rates can be fairly well explained by modeling expectation formation of future short term rates.Term structure equations, Expectations theory

Interest Rate and Exchange Rate Determination

Since Meese and Rogoff's (1983) results, the view has become fairly widespread that structural models of exchange rates are not very good. There is, however, somewhat of a dichotomy in the literature between those who deal with small models, where the focus is almost exclusively on exchange rates, and those who deal with large macroeconometric models, where exchange rates make up only a small subset of the endogenous variables. Most of the emphasis has been on the first approach, and it may be that exchange rate determination within the context of large models has not been given a sufficient hearing. Exchange rate and interest rate equations are estimated and analyzed for 17 countries in this paper. This study is part of a larger project of constructing a multicountry econometric model. One of the aims of the paper is to see if the exchange rate equations that are part of my multicountry model also suffer from the Meese and Rogoff criticism. The results show that the view that structural exchange rate models are not very good may be too pessimistic.

Evaluating the Information Content and Money Making Ability of Forecasts from Exchange Rate Equations

This paper evaluates a particular set of equations for the dollar/yen and dollar/mark exchange rates. The forecasts from the equations dominate both forecasts from the random walk model and forecasts using the forward rate. The results also suggest that money may be able to be made in the forward markets using the equations.

Estimated Macroeconomic Effects of the U.S. Stimulus Bill

This paper uses a multicountry macroeconometric model to estimate the macroeconomic effects of the U.S. stimulus bill passed in February 2009. The analysis has the advantage of taking into account many endogenous effects. Real U.S. output is estimated to be $554 billion larger when summed over the 12-year period 2009:1-2020:4 (0.29 percent of the total sum of output). The average number of jobs is 509 thousand larger (0.37 percent). There is some redistribution of output and employment away from 2012-2015. At the end of 2020 the federal government debt is larger by$637 billion in real terms (the debt/GDP ratio is larger by 3.19 percentage points), which may increase the risk of negative asset-market reactions.Stimulus effects, Government spending multipliers

On Modeling the Effects of Inflation Shocks

A popular model in the literature postulates an interest rate rule, a NAIRU price equation, and an aggregate demand equation in which aggregate demand depends on the real interest rate. In this model a positive inflation shock with the nominal interest rate held constant is explosive because it increases aggregate demand (because the real interest rate is lower), which increases inflation through the price equation, which further increases aggregate demand, and so on. In order for the model to be stable, the nominal interest rate must rise more than inflation, which means that the coefficient on inflation in the interest rate rule must be greater than one. The results in this paper suggest, however, that an inflation shock with the nominal interest rate held constant has a negative effect on real output. There are three reasons. First, the data support the use of nominal rather than real interest rates in aggregate expenditure equations. Second, the evidence suggests that the percentage increase in nominal household wealth from a positive inflation shock is less than the percentage increase in the price level, which is contractionary because of the fall in real wealth. Third, there is evidence that wages lag prices, and so a positive inflation shock results in an initial fall in real wage rates and thus real labor income, which is contractionary. If these three features are true, they imply that a positive inflation shock has a negative effect on aggregate demand even if the nominal interest rate is held constant. Not only does the Fed not have to increase the nominal interest rate more than the increase in inflation for there to be a contraction, it does not have to increase the nominal rate at all!Macroeconomics, monetary policy