scholarly journals The Empirical Implications of the Interest-Rate Lower Bound

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (083r2) ◽  
pp. 1-74
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Gust ◽  
◽  
Edward P. Herbst ◽  
J. David López-Salido ◽  
Matthew E. Smith
Author(s):  
Miroslav Hloušek

This paper uses an estimated DSGE model of the Czech economy to study the macroeconomic implications of various shocks when the interest rate is constrained by the zero lower bound. The goal is to identify which shocks represent threats for the economy and how large the distortions are. The results show that four single shocks can take the economy to the zero lower bound, and that of the four, productivity shock in the tradable sector is the most dangerous. The consequences for the behaviour of macroeconomic variables are nontrivial and, quite naturally, increase with the size of the shock and the frequency of occurrence. If the economy is subject to all model specific shocks, there are distortions in terms of lower average values of output and consumption (by more than one percentage point) and higher inflation volatility (by more than six percentage points). To reduce these costs, the central bank should give higher weight to inflation and lower weight to the output gap in monetary policy rule.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 (83r1) ◽  
pp. 1-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Gust ◽  
◽  
J. David López-Salido ◽  
Matthew E. Smith ◽  
Edward P. Herbst

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 (83) ◽  
pp. 1-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Gust ◽  
◽  
J. David López-Salido ◽  
Matthew E. Smith

Author(s):  
Christopher J. Gust ◽  
David Lopez-Salido ◽  
Matthew E. Smith

2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (7) ◽  
pp. 1971-2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Gust ◽  
Edward Herbst ◽  
David López-Salido ◽  
Matthew E. Smith

Using Bayesian methods, we estimate a nonlinear DSGE model in which the interest-rate lower bound is occasionally binding. We quantify the size and nature of disturbances that pushed the US economy to the lower bound in late 2008 as well as the contribution of the lower bound constraint to the resulting economic slump. We find that the interest-rate lower bound was a significant constraint on monetary policy that exacerbated the recession and inhibited the recovery, as our mean estimates imply that the zero lower bound (ZLB) accounted for about 30 percent of the sharp contraction in US GDP that occurred in 2009 and an even larger fraction of the slow recovery that followed. (JEL C11, C32, E12, E23, E32, E43, E52, G01)


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 1587-1591
Author(s):  
Neil Wallace

In The Curse of Cash, Rogoff (2016) makes two arguments. (i) Large denominations of currency are primarily used for illegal activity. Therefore, eliminating them would have benefits that far outweigh the costs in terms of lost seigniorage. (ii) The zero lower bound (ZLB) on the interest rate implied by the possibility of holding large amounts of currency is a costly constraint on central-bank policy. The best way to eliminate the ZLB is to eliminate all but small denominations of currency, ten dollars and lower, and to have those be in the form of coins. The style of the book, no models and no symbols, works fairly well for (i), but not so well for (ii). For (ii), the author is unclear about a crucial matter: what fiscal policy accompanies alternative interest-rate settings chosen by the central bank? ( JEL E26, E42, E43, E52, E58, E62)


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuuki Maruyama

The point of this model is that total investment in the economy is not determined by the equilibrium of the interest rate alone, but by the equilibrium of both the interest rate and the market price of risk (risk premium). In this model, the lower the discount rate or risk aversion of people, the higher the total investment. This model shows that when the interest rate is not at the zero lower bound, the total investment is only slightly affected by people's risk aversion, but at the zero lower bound, the total investment is inversely proportional to people's risk aversion. In addition, this model is used to analyze monetary policy. It is shown that the interest rate channel and the credit channel can be analyzed with the same formula and the effect of the interest rate channel is small. This explains why a central bank can greatly increase the total investment with small changes in the interest rate. Additionally, this paper analyzes fiscal policy, helicopter money, and government bonds.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 1758-1784
Author(s):  
Sang Seok Lee

Why is a zero lower bound episode long-lasting and disruptive? This paper proposes the interruption of information flow from the central bank’s interest rate decision to the private sector as a channel by which the destabilizing effect of the zero lower bound constraint on the nominal interest rate is amplified. This mechanism is incorporated into the new Keynesian model by modifying its information structure. This paper shows that the information loss at the zero lower bound can increase (a) the duration of the zero lower bound episodes and (b) the size of deflation and output gap loss. The result in this paper demonstrates that enhanced information sharing by the central bank about the state of the economy can be effective at alleviating the cost of the zero lower bound.


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