Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Abstract:

Textbook approaches to forming asymptotically justified confidence intervals for the spectrum under very general assumptions were developed by the mid-1970s. This paper shows that under the textbook assumptions, the true confidence level for these intervals does not converge to the asymptotic level, and instead is fixed at zero in all sample sizes. The paper explores necessary conditions for solving this problem, most notably showing that under weak conditions, forming valid confidence intervals requires that one limit consideration to a finite-dimensional time series model.

Abstract:

By exploiting the information in a panel data set, this paper is able to construct more powerful tests of various hypotheses on the determinants of real exchange rates than would be possible with single-country time-series data. Focusing on annual data for 20 industrial countries from 1973 through 1995, there are three major results. First, the evidence for a stationary real exchange rate is stronger when the exchange rate is defined in terms of wholesale prices than consumer prices, presumably because of the greater tradability of wholesale commodities. Second, the half-life of shocks to the real exchange rate is between two and three years. Third, there is a significant and robust relationship between real exchange rates and net foreign assets.

Abstract:

This paper incorporates the timing of childbearing into a growth model with endogenous fertility. It analyzes a model in which individuals' human capital stock depends positively on their education and parental human capital and in which producing and raising children and acquiring human capital are intensive. The model highlights how changes in the human capital stock interact with individuals' timing of childbearing in affecting the evolution of the economy. It shows that, if the complementarity between parental human capital and education in determining individuals' human capital is relatively large, then increases in the human capital stock raise the opportunity cost of having children while young and induce individuals to delay childbearing. That, in turn, accelerates human capital accumulation in the future. The model also demonstrates that early childbearing may lead to a development trap with low human capital.

Abstract:

While macroeconometricians continue to dispute the size, timing, and even the existence of effects of monetary policy, political economists often find large effects of political variables and often attribute the effects to manipulation of the Fed. Since the political econometricians often use smaller information sets and less elaborate approaches to identification than do macroeconometricians, their striking results could be the result of simultaneity and omitted variable biases. Alternatively, political whims may provide the instrument for exogenous policy changes that has been the Grail of the policy identification literature. In this paper, we lay out and apply a framework for distinguishing these possibilities. We find almost no support for the hypothesis that political effects on the macroeconomy operate through monetary policy and only weak evidence that political effects are significant at all.

Keywords: Simultaneity bias, omitted variable bias, political business cycle

Abstract:

This paper shows how economic interdependence affects wage indexation decisions when monetary authorities do not observe stochastic disturbances. Under a managed exchange rate, atomistic wage setters in interdependent nations will choose the same degree of indexation as they would in a small open economy. Under a flexible exchange rate, the likelihood rises that they will choose a lower degree of indexation than their counterparts in a small open economy as the degree of interdependence rises, as the variance of money demand shocks rise relative to supply shocks, and as supply curves steepen. Finally, wage indexation choices are more likely to be strategic complements as the degree of interdependence rises and as the variance of money demand shocks rises relative to supply shocks.

Abstract:

This paper examines the response of exchange rates and interest rates--U.S. and foreign--to economic news. The news is associated with the surprise component of the monthly release of six U.S. macroeconomic variables. The results suggest that dollar exchange rates systematically react to news about real economic activity--a surprise of 100,000 on nonfarm payroll employment leads to a 0.2 percent appreciation of the exchange rate. In general, exchange rates do not react systematically to news on inflation. By contrast, U.S. interest rates respond to both types of news, although the response continues to be extremely small, on the order of 1 to 2 basis points. Finally, Japanese interest rates systematically react, but to a very minor extent, to news about U.S. real economic activity, while German rates in general do not.

Abstract:

This paper presents an empirical investigation of the role of credit in the post-stabilization consumption booms of Mexico, Chile, and Israel. Credit from the banking sector to the private sector expanded very rapidly following the stabilizations. I show that this increase in credit reduced the proportion of consumers that were liquidity constrained in the economy. This reduction in liquidity constraints could have helped to fuel the observed consumption booms. In addition, I show that the most important channels for the expansion in credit to consumers in Mexico are the rapid remonetization of the economy, the fall in the ratio of debt held by banks to GDP held by banks, and the increase in the foreign liabilities of banks. For Chile, the most important channel is the remonetization of the economy, whereas in Israel, it is the crowding in effect from the fall in the ratio of public debt held by banks to GDP. The fact that only the crowding in effect was important for Israel, is explained by the differences between its banking system and those of the other countries.

Abstract:

Some recent studies have suggested constructing a Monetary Conditions Index (or MCI) to serve as an indicator of monetary policy stance. The central banks of Canada, Sweden, and Norway all construct an MCI and (to varying degrees) use it in conducting monetary policy. Empirically, an MCI is calculated as the weighted sum of changes in a short-term interest rate and the exchange rate relative to values in a baseline year. The weights aim to reflect these variables' effects on longer-term focuses of policy -- economic activity and inflation. This paper derives analytical and empirical properties of MCIs in an attempt to ascertain their usefulness in monetary policy.

An MCI assumes an underlying model relating economic activity and inflation to the variables in the MCI. Several issues arise for that model, including its empirical constancy, cointegration, exogeneity, dynamics, and potential omitted variables. Because of its structure, the model is unlikely to be constant or to have strongly exogenous variables; and we show that constancy and exogeneity are critical for the usefulness of an MCI. Empirical analyses of Canadian, Swedish, and Norwegian MCIs confirm such difficulties. Thus, the value of an MCI for conduct of economic policy is in doubt.

Abstract:

Traditional studies of money demand for both developed and less developed countries have shown that there are periods of "missing money," that is, there is consistent overprediction of real balances. This paper uses cointegration techniques to study the effects of financial innovation on the demand for real balances in Bolivia, Israel, and Venezuela. The results show that financial innovation can account for the instability of money demand observed in these countries. In particular, I find that the long run demand for real balances shifted down. In addition, I show that the speed at which people adjust their demand for money when out of equilibrium increases following financial innovation.

Abstract:

Using a new approach, we reexamine the empirical evidence on the long-term interactions between inflation and real variables. We find, using over 100 years of U.S. data, that in the long run the effect of inflation on investment and output is positive (a "Tobin type effect") and the investment rate, and hence the real interest rate, are not independent of inflation. However, over the full sample at least, the variability of the innovations to the stochastic inflation trend is small relative to the variability of the innovations to the productivity and fiscal trends. We conclude that models generating a reverse-Tobin effect, including standard real-business-cycle and endogenous growth models that incorporate money, may not be the best models for understanding the long-term real effects of inflation.

Abstract:

Inflation targeting (IT)--a policy framework that directly targets an explicit inflation goal--has gained widespread attention recently as it has been adopted by several OECD countries. There is a growing body of literature on the ultimate long-term benefits of price stability and on theoretical issues related to inflation targeting. But the short duration of this practice has limited the number of works that empirically analyze the performance of IT regimes. This paper examines the British inflation targeting experience since 1993 by focusing on the out-of-sample forecast performance of models fitted to the 1980s. The model over-predicts actual short-term and long-term interest rates, while its inflation forecast is on tract for the recent period. This implies that it took less monetary tightening to obtain a favorable inflation outcome. Identical exercises were repeated for France and the US, countries that have not adopted IT but have experienced low inflation in the recent period. The results for these countries show that recent low inflation has not been unusual when compared to forecasts from the models designed to fit the second half of the 1980s. That is, given the level of inflation, the degree of actual monetary policy tightness (measured in terms of short-term interest rate) is about what the model expects. Findings of this paper could be explained by enhanced credibility of the UK monetary policy since the adoption of IT.

Abstract:

This paper addresses the merits of using the parallel exchange rate as a guide to setting the official exchange rate. Ideally, policymakers would set the exchange rate at the level that would balance trade and sustainable capital flows--that level is referred to as the equilibrium exchange rate. In practice, it is difficult to identify the equilibrium exchange rate, particularly in countries that have experienced macroeconomic volatility and/or structural change. In this context, where parallel markets for foreign exchange exist, it is natural to consider the parallel rate as a proxy for the equilibrium exchange rate, since it is set directly by the market. The paper develops an analytic model to explore the relationship between the parallel exchange rate and the equilibrium rate. It is determined that only under a fairly narrow set of circumstances will the parallel rate be set at a level close to the equilibrium exchange rate. The paper then compares the evolution of official and parallel exchange rates over time, in a large sample of different countries, to provide a feel for the applicability of the previously-derived theoretical results.

Abstract:

It has been suggested that Mexican investors were the "front-runners" in the peso crisis of December 1994, turning pessimistic before international investors. Different expectations about their own economy, perhaps due to asymmetric information, prompted Mexican investors to be the first ones to leave the country. This paper investigates whether data from three Mexican country funds provide evidence that supports the "divergent expectations" hypothesis. We find that, right before the devaluation, Mexican country fund Net Asset Values (driven mainly by Mexican investors) dropped faster than their prices (driven mainly by foreign investors). Moreover, we find that Mexican NAVs tend to Granger-cause the country fund prices. This suggests that causality, in some sense, flows from the Mexico City investor community to the Wall Street investor community.

Abstract:

During the past decade, Eastern European exports have undergone a deep transformation, as communist bloc trading relationships have collapsed and trade with the West has increased. The extent of this geographical re-orientation has generally exceeded the predictions of equilibrium models developed by Hamilton and Winters (1992) and Collins and Rodrik (1991), suggesting the prospect for increased export activity among the transition economies as aggregate demand in these countries strengthens and payment systems mature. Significant changes in the product composition of Eastern European exports have accompanied the geographical reorientation. Exports of manufacturing goods to former communist countries have declined sharply, but exports to the EC across an array of goods -- including heavy machinery -- have grown robustly. Evidence suggests that the observed changes in export composition reflect the redirection of physical goods through price competition and the emergence of market-determined comparative advantage.

Abstract:

This paper estimates potential output for seven countries using a multivariate version of the Hodrick-Prescott filter in which observations on inflation are used to help separate trend from cyclical movements in output. The potential series are estimated first on an aggregate basis, and then by disaggregating output into three major components: labor productivity, the employment-population ratio, and population. Potential levels of productivity and the employment-population ratios are calculated using the multivariate filter and combined with actual population to derive an alternative, "disaggregated" estimate of potential. The method is then applied to forecasting potential growth.

Abstract:

In late 1993 and early 1994, the wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of a German conglomerate experienced substantial losses in connection with the implementation of a petroleum marketing strategy, triggering an emergency recapitalization of the German parent company. The rescue was overseen by the firm's supervisory board, which was chaired by a member of the senior management of the largest German bank. This paper draws on a special auditor's report that examined the near-bankruptcy of the firm, as well as other sources. We develop a case study which finds that the German bank was not well informed as to the formulation and execution of the client firm's risk management strategy that was to be implemented through the large-scale use of financial derivatives. The analysis in the paper raises questions as to whether private information is transmitted efficiently within the bank-based German system of corporate governance.

Abstract:

This paper develops a constant, data-coherent, error correction model for broad money demand (M3) in Greece. This model contributes to a better understanding of the effects of monetary policy in Greece and of the portfolio consequences of financial innovation in general. The broad monetary aggregate M3 was targeted until recently, and current monetary policy still uses such aggregates as guidelines, yet analysis of this aggregate has been dormant for over a decade.

In spite of large fluctuations in the inflation rate, introduction of new financial instruments, and liberalization of the financial system, the estimated model is remarkably stable. The dynamics of money demand are important, with price and income elasticities being much smaller in the short run than in the long run.

Abstract:

Most households persistently invest in riskless assets but not stocks, and may do so because they perceive the information required for market participation to be costly relative to expected benefits. In a CCAPM, increased risk aversion, income risk, and lower resources reduce the information expense sufficient to deter stockholding. Bivariate probit analysis using the 1983-89 Survey of Consumer Finances shows that households with lower risk aversion, higher education, and greater wealth who were nonstockholders in 1983 had an increased conditional probability of entering by 1989, while 1983 stockholders with lower resources, more limited education, and greater risk aversion were more likely to be nonstockholders by 1989.

Abstract:

We study the response of investment to changes in uncertainty about future profits. We find that in industries dominated by small firms, an increase in uncertainty about future profits depresses investment; in all other industries, increased uncertainty has virtually no effect (or has a positive effect) on investment. The data set from which these findings emerge is a balanced panel, consisting of annual data from 1958 to 1991 for 252 manufacturing industries in the United States. The theoretical work on this topic points to uncertainty about future profit flows as one of the important actors that determines the ease with which firms can access external credit. The prediction made by the theory is that an increase in uncertainty exacerbates informational asymmetries, and hence makes lenders reduce the flow of credit; this in turn lowers investment in credit-constrained firms. If one is willing to accept firm size as a proxy for access to external credit, then our finding that greater uncertainty lowers investment in small-firm-dominated industries is consistent with the theoretical prediction.

Abstract:

Over the last several years, a combination of loan losses and regulatory barriers to equity issuance have left Japanese banks starved for capital. In September 1995, the Mitsubishi Bank was permitted to issue a complicated convertible security in a foreign market. The results of simulations of the price path of the underlying equity imply that Mitsubishi Bank's annualized risk-adjusted cost of capital through this instrument was between 80 and 310 basis points higher than if the bank had instead been able to issue common stock at its current price.

Keywords: Convertible bond, Japanese banks, financial regulation, underpricing

Abstract:

We use exchange traded options on Canadian dollar futures to estimate the market's risk-neutral distribution for the Canadian dollar in the days before and after the Quebec sovereignty referendum. We employ a relatively new technique that places little a priori structure on the estimated distribution. This lack of structure allows the estimated distribution to reflect the multi-modal nature of expectations associated with the referendum's results. The technique is especially suited to circumstances in which a particular event will reduce a large degree of uncertainty prior to the expiration date of the options. Our estimated distributions are consistent with a significant perceived probability that the Canadian dollar would move up or down by as much as 5 percent as a result of the vote.

Abstract:

Considerable research has focused on explaining why currencies appreciate in real terms after the nominal exchange rate is stabilized, but this research generally has taken a theoretical approach, and rarely has tested its hypotheses empirically. In this paper I estimate a simple error-correction model for Mexico, based on the Salter-Swan framework, in which inflation is determined by (1) the gap between the actual real exchange rate and the exchange rate that clears the market for non-traded goods, and (2) persistence effects of past inflation. Using this model, I decompose the excess of Mexican inflation in 1988-94 over peso-adjusted international inflation rates--that is, the real appreciation of the peso--into that part attributable to the initial undervaluation of the peso, that part explained by the subsequent expansion of domestic demand, and that part attributable to inertial inflation. The results indicate that the effects of inertial inflation in appreciating the real exchange rate were quite temporary, lasting only about a year after the stabilization of the peso in 1988. Of the real appreciation that took place between 1988 and 1994, about half was attributable to the expansion of domestic demand-which appreciated the equilibrium real exchange rate in the non-tradeables sector--and about half reflected the correction of the initial undervaluation of the real exchange rate relative to its equilibrium level in the non-tradeables sector. Finally, the paper uses the model to illustrate the impact of various prospective exchange rate policies on inflation and the real exchange rate in Mexico.

Abstract:

This paper explores the possible advantages of introducing observable state variables into risk management models as a strategy for modeling the evolution of second moments. A simulation exercise demonstrates that if asset returns depend upon a set of underlying state variables that are autoregressively conditionally heteroskedastic (ARCH), then a risk management model that fails to take account of this dependence can badly mismeasure a portfolio's "Value-at-Risk" (VaR), even if the model allows for conditional heteroskedasticity in asset returns. Variables measuring macroeconomic news are constructed as the orthogonalized residuals from a vector autoregression (VAR). These news variables are found to have some explanatory power for asset returns. We also estimate a model of asset returns in which time variation in variances and covariances derives only from conditional heteroskedasticity in the underlying macroeconomic shocks. Although the data give some support for several of the specifications that we tried, neither these models nor GARCH models that used only asset returns appear to have much ability to forecast the second moments of returns. Finally, we allow asset return variances and covariances to depend directly on unemployment rates -- proxying for the general state of the economy -- and find fairly strong evidence for this sort of specification relative to a null hypothesis of homoskedasticity.

Abstract:

The Tequila Effect hypothesis states that the economic crisis that affected several South American countries in 1995 was caused by an exogenous capital flight triggered by the loss of confidence of foreign investors after the collapse of the Mexican peso in December 1994. I analyze the recent Argentine experience before and after the Mexican crisis and argue that the Tequila Effect played an important role in the 1995 crisis. I model the Tequila Effect in an optimizing, small, open economy, as a situation in which agents at time 0 learn that at some random future date foreign investors will pull their assets out of the country. The model captures key features of the Argentine crisis of 1995: the decline in aggregate domestic spending and the outflow of capital that began in December 1994; the credit crunch and interest rate hike of March 1995; the slow return of the real interest rate to its pre-crisis level, and the protracted decline in output and investment that began in March 1995.

Abstract:

We show how the ability to accumulate human capital through formal education and through a learning-by-doing process that occurs on the job affects the dynamic behavior of the human capital stock under a liquidity-constrained and a non-constrained case. When there are alternatives to formal schooling in the accumulation of human capital, investing resources in increasing school enrollment rates in low-income countries may not be the most efficient means of increasing the human capital stock. In addition, removal of liquidity constraints may not be sufficient to escape a development trap.

Abstract:

This paper demonstrates that considering alternative means of human capital accumulation, such as learning-by-doing, overturns the presumption that formal education is unconditionally beneficial for economic growth. It analyzes a model in which the average level of human capital creates externalities in future human capital accumulation and individuals can augment their human capital with work experience or education. The model shows that in the early stages of development, education enhances growth by creating a positive externality, and, in later stages, it may depress growth by leading to a negative externality. It also demonstrates the possibility of multiple equilibria in which low-income equilibria are characterized by under-education and high-income equilibria are characterized by over-education.

Abstract:

Among stock-market-listed Japanese firms in 1994-95, the financial health of the firm's main bank did not significantly affect its investment behavior, after controlling for stock market valuation and cash flow. However, among the subset of bank-dependent firms, investment was lower by over 50 percent at firms that have one of the lowest-rated banks as their main bank. Because low-rated banks are smaller and deal with fewer firms, and because bank-dependent firms themselves tend to be smaller than non-bank-dependent firms, the aggregate effect on business investment in 1994-95 that I identify is tiny. These results contrast with Gibson (1995), a similar study which, using data for 1991-92, found a small effect of poor bank health on investment for all stock-market-listed Japanese firms and no difference between bank-dependent and non-bank-dependent firms.

Abstract:

This paper conducts a quantitative examination of the hypothesis that uncertain duration of currency pegs causes the sharp real appreciations and business cycles that affect chronically countries using fixed exchange rates as an instrument to stop high inflation. Numerical solutions of equilibrium dynamics of a two-sector small open economy with incomplete markets show that uncertain duration rationalizes the syndrome of exchange-rate-based stabilizations without price or wage rigidities. Three elements of the model are critical for these results: (a) a strictly-convex hazard rate function describing time-dependent devaluation probabilities, (b) the wealth effects introduced by incomplete insurance arkets, and (c) the supply-side effects introduced via capital accumulation and elastic labor supply. Uncertain duration also entails large welfare costs, compared to the perfect-foresight credibility framework, although temporary disinflations are welfare-improving. The model's potential empirical relevance is examined further by reviewing Mexico's post-war experience with the collapse of six currency pegs.

Abstract:

This study reports on early simulations of the effects of German unification using three different rational-expectations multi-country models. Despite significant differences in their structures and in the implementations of the unification shock, the models delivered a number of common results that proved to be a reasonably accurate guide to the direction and magnitude of the effects of unification on most key macroeconomic variables. In particular, unification was expected to give rise to an increase in German aggregate demand that would put upward pressure on output, inflation, and the exchange rate, and downward pressure on the current account balance in Germany. The model simulations also highlighted the contractionary effects of high German interest rates on other member countries of the Exchange Rate Mechanism of the European Monetary System.

Abstract:

A typical (roughly) two-digit industry in the United States appears to have constant or slightly decreasing returns to scale. Three puzzles emerge, however. First, estimates tend to rise at higher levels of aggregation. Second, estimates of decreasing returns in many industries contradict evidence of only small economic profits. Third, estimates using value added differ substantially from those using gross output, and appear less robust. These puzzles are inconsistent with a representative firm paradigm, but are consistent with simple stories of aggregation over heterogeneous units. We discuss implications of this heterogeneity for recent models of imperfect competition in macroeconomics.

Abstract:

This paper claims that the roots of Mexico's balance-of-payments crisis are found in the prevailing high degree of capital mobility and financial globalization. Under these circumstances, shifts in foreign capital flows and anticipation of a banking-system bailout may produce large imbalances between stocks of financial assets and foreign reserves, threatening the sustainability of currency pegs. Econometric analysis suggests that 1/2 of Mexico's reserve losses could be accounted for by these phenomena. Large financial imbalances are also fertile ground for self-fulfilling-prophesy crises which lead devaluations to produce deep recessions. These difficulties can be partly remedied by appropriate policies.

Abstract:

In the wake of the ERM and Mexican currency crises, the subject of balance-of-payments crises has come to the forefront of academic and policy discussions. This paper focuses on the potential links between banking and balance-of-payments crises. We examine these episodes for a large number of countries and find that knowing that there are banking problems helps in predicting balance-of-payments crises, but the converse is not true; financial liberalization usually predates banking crises, indeed, it helps predict them. Rather than a causal relationship from banking to balance-of-payments crises, the macroeconomic "stylized facts" that characterize these episodes point to common causes.

Abstract:

High real interest rates have been observed in many countries for several months after the adoption of disinflation programs. While they may reflect primarily a liquidity crunch, high ex post real interest rates can also be explained in terms of an ex post error in inflation expectations that reflects a lack of credibility of the low-inflation policy. The latter hypothesis is tested using data for Argentina, Israel, and Mexico during the implementation of the stabilization programs in the mid-1980s.

Abstract:

The literature on asset accumulation by households draws a sharp distinction between "short-run" precautionary motives to buffer annual consumption from annual labor income shocks, and "long-run" life cycle considerations under labor income certainty. However, empirical estimates of the persistence of shocks to annual incomes imply that households are subject to considerable career uncertainty. We study long-run precautionary motives for life-cycle wealth accumulation and portfolio choice. We compute optimal portfolios under three sources of uncertainty (stock returns, incomes, and lifespan), and explore the separate contributions of several key factors for mean and median asset holdings, including education, risk aversion, household heterogeneity, utility from bequests, time preference, and variance and serial correlation of income shocks. Numerical solutions for households in three education groups are compared with data from the most recent and comprehensive source, the 1992 Survey of Consumer Finances.

Abstract:

We develop a general method to infer martingale equivalent probability density functions (PDFs) for asset prices using American options prices. The early exercise feature of American options precludes expressing the option price in terms of the PDF of the price of the underlying asset. We derive tight bounds for the option price in terms of the PDF and demonstrate how these bounds, together with observed option prices, can be used to estimate the parameters of the PDF. We infer the distribution for the price of crude oil during the Persian Gulf crisis and find the distribution differs significantly from that recovered using standard techniques.

Abstract:

Exchange-rate based stabilizations, while useful in accelerating the disinflation process, typically lead to overvalued exchange rates and large current account deficits. These factors, in turn, make it difficult to sustain exchange rate pegs, placing heaving demands upon monetary policy to sustain exchange-rate based programs in their later phases. This paper evaluates the extent to which Mexican monetary policy in 1994 may have loosened, or not tightened sufficiently, in the lead up to the devaluation of the peso that December. Using econometric models of the demand for money, we find evidence that the high growth of the monetary base in 1994 reflected strong positive shocks to the demand for money, not to its supply. Next, we estimate a monetary policy reaction function for Mexico. Based on this estimate, we argue that interest rates rose only moderately less in 1994, in response to downward pressure on the peso and on international reserves, than was predicted by the authorities' reaction function. This result is qualified somewhat by our finding that if interest rates are modeled as reacting to reserves net of Tesobonos, rather than gross reserves, the measured deviation of actual from predicted interest rates would have been much greater. However, the relative complacency with which both the authorities and the market viewed the build-up in Tesobonos, at least until late in 1994, suggests that the reaction function based on net reserves probably does not capture "normal" monetary policy behavior. Our findings suggest that in order to have maintained the peg, the authorities would have needed to intensify their response to exchange market developments--that is, to alter their reaction function--at a time when concerns over the health of the banking sector, and of the economy more generally, would have pointed to a relaxation of monetary policy. Insofar as such tightenings of monetary reaction functions are difficult to achieve, Mexico's experience suggests that policymakers relying on the exchange rate as a nominal anchor probably should be prepared either to abandon that anchor or tighten monetary policy well before speculative pressures intensify.

Abstract:

This paper compares the welfare costs and initial dynamics of three alternative inflation stabilization policies using the staggered price model with imperfect credibility and currency substitution developed by Calvo and Vegh (1990). In addition to the policies analyzed by Calvo and Vegh (1990)--a temporary exchange-rate based stabilization program (ERB) and a temporary money based program (MB)--this paper considers a third stabilization policy consisting of a temporary money based program with initial reliquefication--i.e., an initial once-and-for-all increase in the money supply--that keeps the nominal and real exchange rate from appreciating on impact (MBR). Simulation results suggest that the welfare costs associated with ERB and MBR programs are lower than those generated by MB programs. This seems to be the case even for highly temporary programs and for economies with low degree of currency substitution. ERB and MBR programs produce similar welfare costs except in two cases; when the policy change is very temporary, MBR programs do better, while for high values of the elasticity of currency substitutmitted efficiently within the bank-based German system of corporate governance.

Abstract:

This study provides evidence that 10-year-ahead inflation expectations adapt very slowly to changes in realized inflation. This evidence derives primarily from yields on 10-year government bonds in a sample of OECD countries, including inflation-indexed bonds where they are available. The study examines both the cross-country and time-series behavior of interest rates and inflation rates. For the United States, additional evidence is provided from a survey of 10-year inflation expectations held by market participants. This study does not present a theoretical model of expectations formation. However, long memory of the type documented in this study would be implied by a model of multiple inflationary regimes in which agents base their probability distributions of future regimes on past inflationary experience.

Abstract:

This paper considers an alternative econometric approach to the VAR methodology for identifying and estimating the effects of monetary policy shocks. The alternative approach incorporates available measures of market participants' expectations of economic variables in order to calculate economic innovations to those variables. In general, expectations measures should provide important additional information relative to a standard VAR analysis, since market participants presumably use a much richer information set than that assumed in a typical VAR model. The resulting innovations are easily incorporated in a VAR-like framework.

The empirical results are quite surprising. First, when expectations are incorporated, the variance of all innovations is reduced substantially. Second, innovations to the federal funds rate derived using the alternative approach are only somewhat correlated with their VAR counterparts, while innovations to other economic variables are essentially uncorrelated. Still, monetary policy shocks derived using both approaches are still somewhat correlated, however, since innovations to prices and economic activity explain only a small fraction of innovations to the federal funds rate. As a consequence, the impulse responses of economic variables to the two sets of monetary policy shocks have remarkably similar properties.

Abstract:

This paper examines the dynamic relationship between changes in the funds rate and nonborrowed reserves within a reduced form framework that allows the relationship to have two distinct patterns over time. A regime switching model a la Hamilton (1989) is estimated. On average, CPI inflation has been significantly higher in the regime characterized by large and volatile changes in funds rate. Innovations in money growth are associated with a strong anticipated inflation effect in this high inflation regime, and a moderate liquidity effect in the low inflation regime. Furthermore, an identical money innovation generates a much bigger increase in the interest rate during a transition period from the low to high inflation regime than during a steady high inflation period. This accords well with economic intuition since the transition period is when the anticipated inflation effect initially gets incorporated into the interest rate. The converse also holds. That is, the liquidity effect becomes stronger when the economy leaves a high inflation regime period and enters a low inflation regime period.

Abstract:

The lessons from the 1994-95 Mexican peso crisis are examined from the perspective of creditors and their markets, countries that are recipients of large capital inflows, and the functioning of the international system as a whole. From each of these perspectives, recent changes in the financial world are sketched, lessons from the Mexican experience are derived, and implications for policies are considered.

Abstract:

We use a panel of annual data for over one hundred developing countries from 1971 through 1992 to characterize currency crashes. We define a currency crash as a large change of the nominal exchange rate that is also a substantial increase in the rate of change of the nominal depreciation. We examine the composition of the debt as well as its level, and a variety of other macroeconomic, external and foreign factors. Our factors are significantly related to crash incidence, especially output growth, the rate of change of domestic credit, and foreign interest rates. A low ratio of FDI to debt is consistently associated with a high likelihood of a crash.

Abstract:

We find evidence that the law of one price (LOOP) holds more nearly for country pairs that are within geographic regions than for country pairs that are not. These findings are established using consumer price data from 23 countries (including data from eight North American cities.) We find that failures of LOOP are closely related to nominal exchange rate variability, suggesting a link to sticky nominal prices. We also find that distance can explain failures of LOOP, suggesting the failures arise from imperfect market integration. However, these two sources do not explain all of the failures of LOOP. We speculate that integrated marketing and distribution systems within regions cause LOOP to hold more nearly intraregionally. We present a formal model of marketing and distribution to illustrate this hypothesis.