BUSINESS-CYCLE FILTERING OF MACROECONOMIC DATA VIA A LATENT BUSINESS-CYCLE INDEX

2006 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 573-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL DUEKER ◽  
CHARLES R. NELSON

We use Markov chain Monte Carlo methods to augment, via a novel multimove sampling scheme, a vector autoregressive (VAR) system with a latent business-cycle index that is negative during recessions and positive during expansions. We then sample counterfactual values of the macroeconomic variables in the case where the latent business-cycle index is held constant. These counterfactual values represent posterior beliefs about how the economy would have evolved absent business-cycle fluctuations. One advantage is that a VAR framework provides model-consistent counterfactual values in the same way that VARs provide model-consistent forecasts, so data series are not filtered in isolation from each other. We apply these methods to estimate the business-cycle components of industrial production, consumer price inflation, the federal funds rate, and the spread between long-term and short-term interest rates. These decompositions provide an explicitly counterfactual approach to isolating the effects of the business cycle and to deriving empirical business-cycle facts.

Econometrica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 89 (6) ◽  
pp. 2855-2885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophocles Mavroeidis

I show that the zero lower bound (ZLB) on interest rates can be used to identify the causal effects of monetary policy. Identification depends on the extent to which the ZLB limits the efficacy of monetary policy. I propose a simple way to test the efficacy of unconventional policies, modeled via a “shadow rate.” I apply this method to U.S. monetary policy using a three‐equation structural vector autoregressive model of inflation, unemployment, and the Federal Funds rate. I reject the null hypothesis that unconventional monetary policy has no effect at the ZLB, but find some evidence that it is not as effective as conventional monetary policy.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Szabolcs Blazsek ◽  
Alvaro Escribano ◽  
Adrian Licht

Abstract Nonlinear co-integration is studied for score-driven models, using a new multivariate dynamic conditional score/generalized autoregressive score model. The model is named t-QVARMA (quasi-vector autoregressive moving average model), which is a location model for the multivariate t-distribution. In t-QVARMA, I(0) and co-integrated I(1) components of the dependent variables are included. For t-QVARMA, the conditions of the maximum likelihood estimator and impulse response functions (IRFs) are presented. A limiting special case of t-QVARMA, named Gaussian-QVARMA, is a Gaussian-VARMA specification with I(0) and I(1) components. As an empirical application, the US real gross domestic product growth, US inflation rate, and effective federal funds rate are studied for the period of 1954 Q3 to 2020 Q2. Statistical performance and predictive accuracy of t-QVARMA are superior to those of Gaussian-VAR. Estimates of the short-run IRF, long-run IRF, and total IRF impacts for the US data are reported.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy BRILLANT

This paper deals with a debate between Hawtrey, Hicks and Keynes concerning the capacity of the central bank to influence the short-term and the long-term rates of interest. Both Hawtrey and Keynes considered the central bank’s ability to influence short-term rates of interest. However, they do not put the same emphasis on the study of the long-term rates of interest. According to Keynes, long-term rates are influenced by future expected short-term rates (1930, 1936), whereas for Hawtrey (1932, 1937, 1938), long-term rates are more dependent on the business cycle. Short-term rates do not have much effect on long-term rates according to Hawtrey. In 1939, Hicks enters the controversy, giving credit to both Hawtrey’s and Keynes’s theories, and also introducing limits to the operations of arbitrage. He thus presented a nuanced view.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abderrahim Chibi ◽  
Sidi Mohamed Chekouri ◽  
Mohamed Benbouziane

Abstract In this paper, we aim to analyze whether the effect of fiscal policy on economic growth in Algeria differs throughout the business cycle. To tackle this question, we use a Markov Switching Vector Autoregressive (MSVAR) framework. We find evidence of asymmetric effects of fiscal policy through regimes, defined by the state of the business cycle (recession and boom). The results show small positive government spending and revenue multipliers in the short term in both regimes. Most importantly, fiscal policy shocks have a stronger impact in times of economic recession than in times of expansion, which confirm the hypothesis of asymmetric effects. However, the impact of government spending is stronger than the impact of public revenue during recession periods. In addition, fiscal policy decision-makers interact with Anti-Keynesian view (pro-cyclical). Our results imply that there is something to gain by using the "right instrument" at the "right time".


2002 ◽  
Vol 182 ◽  
pp. 72-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jagjit S. Chadha ◽  
Charles Nolan

We outline a number of ‘stylised’ facts on the UK business cycle obtained from analysis of the long-run UK annual dataset. The findings are to some extent standard. Consumption and investment are pro-cyclical, with productivity playing a dominant role in explaining business cycle fluctuations at all horizons. Money neutrality obtains over the long run but there is clear evidence of non-neutrality over the short run, particularly at the business cycle frequencies. Business cycle relationships with the external sector via the real exchange rate and current account are notable. Postwar, the price level is counter-cyclical and real wages are pro-cyclical, as are nominal interest rates. Modern general equilibrium macroeconomic models capture many of these patterns.


Subject US monetary policy outlook for 2016 and its global impact. Significance There is a large discrepancy between the US Federal Reserve (Fed)'s estimates for interest rates at end-2016 and the expectations of bond investors. The latter are anticipating less tightening than the 100-basis-point (bp) rise in the Federal Funds rate the Fed has pencilled in for this year. Despite a successful rates 'lift-off' on December 16, the Fed faces many challenges in raising rates in the face of mounting stress in credit markets, disinflationary pressures from the plunge in commodity prices and a contraction manufacturing. Impacts While the Fed will tighten policy, other central banks, including the ECB, will provide further stimulus, accentuating policy divergence. Investors will price in a more hawkish Fed if US inflation accelerates faster than expected, potentially leading to a sell-off. Concerns about China's economy and the commodity prices slump will also shape investor sentiment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Brillant

This paper deals with a debate among Ralph George Hawtrey, John Richard Hicks, and John Maynard Keynes concerning the capacity of the central bank to influence the short-term and the long-term rates of interest. Both Hawtrey and Keynes considered the central bank’s ability to influence short-term rates of interest. However, they do not put the same emphasis on the study of the long-term rates of interest. According to Keynes, long-term rates are influenced by future expected short-term rates (1930, 1936), whereas for Hawtrey ([1932] 1962, 1937, 1938), long-term rates are more dependent on the business cycle. Short-term rates do not have much effect on long-term rates, according to Hawtrey. In 1939, Hicks enters the controversy, giving credit to both Hawtrey’s and Keynes’s theories, and also introducing limits to the operations of arbitrage. He thus presented a nuanced view.


1996 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert G. King ◽  
Mark W. Watson

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