On the Economic Distortions of Smoothing Aggregate Volatility With Monetary Policy

On the Economic Distortions of Smoothing Aggregate Volatility With Monetary Policy PDF Author: Adam B. Ashcraft
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Monetary policy is a blunt instrument with which to smooth aggregate volatility. I demonstrate that there is actually very little correlation between how much real state income responds to monetary policy and to shocks that prompt aggregate smoothing by the Federal Reserve. This mismatch turns out to be strong enough to imply that while monetary policy might have reduced the variance of aggregate output in the US over the last three decades, it has actually increased the variance of output in a majority of states. Moreover, policy rules that minimize aggregate variance are not equal in the severity of distortions they create in the volatility of state income. Optimal rules that place more weight on price variance typically create the largest distortions while those that place weight on aggregate income volatility create the smallest. In the end, monetary policy has the potential to create large distortions, but need not do so.

On the Economic Distortions of Smoothing Aggregate Volatility With Monetary Policy

On the Economic Distortions of Smoothing Aggregate Volatility With Monetary Policy PDF Author: Adam B. Ashcraft
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Monetary policy is a blunt instrument with which to smooth aggregate volatility. I demonstrate that there is actually very little correlation between how much real state income responds to monetary policy and to shocks that prompt aggregate smoothing by the Federal Reserve. This mismatch turns out to be strong enough to imply that while monetary policy might have reduced the variance of aggregate output in the US over the last three decades, it has actually increased the variance of output in a majority of states. Moreover, policy rules that minimize aggregate variance are not equal in the severity of distortions they create in the volatility of state income. Optimal rules that place more weight on price variance typically create the largest distortions while those that place weight on aggregate income volatility create the smallest. In the end, monetary policy has the potential to create large distortions, but need not do so.

Evolving Monetary Policy Frameworks in Low-Income and Other Developing Countries

Evolving Monetary Policy Frameworks in Low-Income and Other Developing Countries PDF Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1498344062
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 74

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Book Description
Over the past two decades, many low- and lower-middle income countries (LLMICs) have improved control over fiscal policy, liberalized and deepened financial markets, and stabilized inflation at moderate levels. Monetary policy frameworks that have helped achieve these ends are being challenged by continued financial development and increased exposure to global capital markets. Many policymakers aspire to move beyond the basics of stability to implement monetary policy frameworks that better anchor inflation and promote macroeconomic stability and growth. Many of these LLMICs are thus considering and implementing improvements to their monetary policy frameworks. The recent successes of some LLMICs and the experiences of emerging and advanced economies, both early in their policy modernization process and following the global financial crisis, are valuable in identifying desirable features of such frameworks. This paper draws on those lessons to provide guidance on key elements of effective monetary policy frameworks for LLMICs.

International Capital Flows

International Capital Flows PDF Author: Martin Feldstein
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226241807
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 500

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Book Description
Recent changes in technology, along with the opening up of many regions previously closed to investment, have led to explosive growth in the international movement of capital. Flows from foreign direct investment and debt and equity financing can bring countries substantial gains by augmenting local savings and by improving technology and incentives. Investing companies acquire market access, lower cost inputs, and opportunities for profitable introductions of production methods in the countries where they invest. But, as was underscored recently by the economic and financial crises in several Asian countries, capital flows can also bring risks. Although there is no simple explanation of the currency crisis in Asia, it is clear that fixed exchange rates and chronic deficits increased the likelihood of a breakdown. Similarly, during the 1970s, the United States and other industrial countries loaned OPEC surpluses to borrowers in Latin America. But when the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates to control soaring inflation, the result was a widespread debt moratorium in Latin America as many countries throughout the region struggled to pay the high interest on their foreign loans. International Capital Flows contains recent work by eminent scholars and practitioners on the experience of capital flows to Latin America, Asia, and eastern Europe. These papers discuss the role of banks, equity markets, and foreign direct investment in international capital flows, and the risks that investors and others face with these transactions. By focusing on capital flows' productivity and determinants, and the policy issues they raise, this collection is a valuable resource for economists, policymakers, and financial market participants.

Asset Prices and Monetary Policy

Asset Prices and Monetary Policy PDF Author: John Y. Campbell
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226092127
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 444

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Book Description
Economic growth, low inflation, and financial stability are among the most important goals of policy makers, and central banks such as the Federal Reserve are key institutions for achieving these goals. In Asset Prices and Monetary Policy, leading scholars and practitioners probe the interaction of central banks, asset markets, and the general economy to forge a new understanding of the challenges facing policy makers as they manage an increasingly complex economic system. The contributors examine how central bankers determine their policy prescriptions with reference to the fluctuating housing market, the balance of debt and credit, changing beliefs of investors, the level of commodity prices, and other factors. At a time when the public has never been more involved in stocks, retirement funds, and real estate investment, this insightful book will be useful to all those concerned with the current state of the economy.

The Economics of Food Price Volatility

The Economics of Food Price Volatility PDF Author: Jean-Paul Chavas
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022612892X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 394

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Book Description
"The conference was organized by the three editors of this book and took place on August 15-16, 2012 in Seattle."--Preface.

Why Inflation Targeting?

Why Inflation Targeting? PDF Author: Charles Freedman
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 145187233X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 27

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Book Description
This is the second chapter of a forthcoming monograph entitled "On Implementing Full-Fledged Inflation-Targeting Regimes: Saying What You Do and Doing What You Say." We begin by discussing the costs of inflation, including their role in generating boom-bust cycles. Following a general discussion of the need for a nominal anchor, we describe a specific type of monetary anchor, the inflation-targeting regime, and its two key intellectual roots-the absence of long-run trade-offs and the time-inconsistency problem. We conclude by providing a brief introduction to the way in which inflation targeting works.

Designing a Simple Loss Function for Central Banks

Designing a Simple Loss Function for Central Banks PDF Author: Davide Debortoli
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1484311752
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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Book Description
Yes, it makes a lot of sense. This paper studies how to design simple loss functions for central banks, as parsimonious approximations to social welfare. We show, both analytically and quantitatively, that simple loss functions should feature a high weight on measures of economic activity, sometimes even larger than the weight on inflation. Two main factors drive our result. First, stabilizing economic activity also stabilizes other welfare relevant variables. Second, the estimated model features mitigated inflation distortions due to a low elasticity of substitution between monopolistic goods and a low interest rate sensitivity of demand. The result holds up in the presence of measurement errors, with large shocks that generate a trade-off between stabilizing inflation and resource utilization, and also when ensuring a low probability of hitting the zero lower bound on interest rates.

Background Studies for the ECB's Evaluation of Its Monetary Policy Strategy

Background Studies for the ECB's Evaluation of Its Monetary Policy Strategy PDF Author: Otmar Issing
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description


Monetary Theory and Policy

Monetary Theory and Policy PDF Author: Carl E. Walsh
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262232319
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 636

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Book Description
An overview of recent theoretical and policy-related developments in monetary economics.

NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2005

NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2005 PDF Author: Kenneth S. Rogoff
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262072726
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 479

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Book Description
The 20th NBER Macroeconomics Annual, covering questions at the cutting edge of macroeconomics that are central to current policy debates.