Suchergebnisse

Using a simple general equilibrium model, we argue that it would be appropriate for a central bank with a large balance sheet composed of long-duration nominal assets to have access to, and be willing to ask for, support for its balance sheet by the fiscal authority. Otherwise its ability to control inflation may be at risk. This need for balance sheet support - a within-government transaction - is distinct from the need for fiscal backing of inflation policy that arises even in models where the central bank's balance sheet is merged with that of the rest of the government.

Policy analysis with potentially misspecified dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models faces two challenges: estimation of parameters that are relevant for policy trade-offs, and treatment of the deviations from the cross-equation restrictions. Using post-1982 US data, we study the robustness of the policy prescriptions from a state-of-the-art DSGE model with respect to two approaches to model misspecification pursued in the recent literature: (i) adding shocks to the DSGE model and/or generalizing the processes followed by these shocks; and (ii) explicit modeling of deviations from cross-equation restrictions (DSGE-VAR). (JEL C51, E13, E43, E52, E58)

Policy analysis with potentially misspecified dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models faces two challenges: estimation of parameters that are relevant for policy trade-offs and treatment of estimated deviations from the cross-equation restrictions. This paper develops and explores policy analysis approaches that are based on either the generalized shock structure for the DSGE model or the explicit modeling of deviations from cross-equation restrictions. Using post-1982 U.S. data, we first quantify the degree of misspecification in a state-of-the art DSGE model and then document the performance of different interest rate feedback rules. We find that many of the policy prescriptions derived from the benchmark DSGE model are robust to the various treatments of misspecifications considered in this paper, but that quantitatively the cost of deviating from such prescriptions varies substantially.

This paper proposes a novel method for conducting policy analysis with potentially misspecified dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models and applies it to a New Keynesian DSGE model along the lines of Christiano, Eichenbaum, and Evans (JPE 2005 and Smets and Wouters (JEEA 2003). Specifically, we are studying the effects of coefficient changes in interest-rate feedback rules on the volatility of output growth, inflation, and nominal rates. The paper illustrates the sensitivity of the results to assumptions on the policy invariance of model misspecifications.

The authors use a dynamic factor model estimated via Bayesian methods to disentangle the relative importance of the common component in the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's house price movements from state- or region-specific shocks, estimated on quarterly state-level data from 1986 to 2004. The authors find that movements in house prices historically have mainly been driven by the local (state- or region-specific) component. The recent period (2001–04) has been different, however: "Local bubbles" have been important in some states, but overall the increase in house prices is a national phenomenon. The authors then use a VAR to investigate the extent to which expansionary monetary policy is responsible for the common component in house price movements. The authors find the impact of policy shocks on house prices to be very small.