Carmine Trecroci

Monetary and Fiscal Policy Interactions over the Cycle: Some Empirical Evidence

This paper estimates VAR models to examine the response of monetary and fiscal policy to macroeconomic targets, and the interdependence between the two policy instruments. The models are estimated for a number of G7 countries. Our findings show that, whilst monetary and fiscal policy are increasingly used as strategic complements, the responsiveness of fiscal policy to the business cycle has decreased since the 1980s. We also demonstrate that shifts in the strategic interdependence between fiscal and monetary policy can be captured using Bayesian VAR models.

Monetary Policy Regime Shifts: New Evidence from Time-Varying Interest Rate Rules

We estimate forward-looking interest-rate rules, for major advanced countries, allowing for time variation in their parameters. Traditional constant-parameter reaction functions likely blur the impact of i) model uncertainty, ii) conflicting objectives, iii) shifting preferences and iv) nonlinearities of policymakers choices. We find that monetary policies followed by the US, the UK, Germany, France and Italy, often described in terms of standard Taylor rules, are best summarized by feedback rules that allow for time variation in their parameters. Estimated rules point to sizeable differences in the actual conduct of monetary policies, even in the countries now belonging to the EMU. Also, our TVP specification outperforms the conventional Taylor rule in tracking the actual Fed funds rate.

Does Institutional Change Really Matter? Inflation Targets, Central Bank Reform and Interest Rate Policy in the OECD Countries

We estimate forward-looking interest-rate reaction functions for the G3 economies and for a group of countries which recently adopted inflation targets. Some significant shifts in the conduct of monetary policy are detected in the G3 countries, especially in the USA and Japan. In contrast with popular wisdom, it is only since the 1990s that policies in these countries begin to look consistent with an inflation-targeting regime. In addition, the introduction of inflation targeting and central bank reforms in countries like Sweden, Canada and New Zealand has not led to major changes in the way in which central banks react to the objectives of economic policy. In all cases changes in policy behaviour pre-date the introduction of inflation targets and central bank reforms. The paper challenges the one-size-fits-all attitude towards modern central bank policymaking which permeates a great deal of the current literature.

Maastricht: New and Old Rules

Thanks to the Maastricht Treaty and similar arrangements, central banks nowadays enjoy considerable independence. This is generally believed to be the result of relatively recent debates, which led to the conclusion that sheltering monetary authorities from the pressures of fiscal policymakers is a prerequisite for monetary stability. However, in history this point has in fact been a recurrent tenet. We start with David Ricardos arguments in favour of central bank independence and against monetisation of public deficits. After WWI, the latter issue was at the heart of the 1920 International Financial Conference of the League of Nations, which fostered and guided the establishment of many new central banks, and shaped various policymaking arrangements of todays monetary authorities.

The information content of M3 for future inflation in the Euro area

The Information Content of M3 for Future Inflation in the Euro Area. — The information content of M3 for future inflation in the euro area is investigated from a number of perspectives. Our results confirm that a significant positive association exists between the real money gap and future inflation up to five to six quarters ahead. It is also shown that, although the extended P-star model outperforms the rival model in some respect, the hypothesis that no useful information is contained in rival evidence can be rejected.

The Phillips curve and the Italian lira, 1861–1998

We examine Italian inflation rates and the Phillips curve with a very long-run perspective, one that covers the entire existence of the Italian lira from political unification (1861) to the entry of Italy in the European Monetary Union (end of 1998). We first study the volatility, persistence and stationarity of the Italian inflation rate over the long run and across various exchange-rate regimes that have shaped Italian monetary history. Next, we estimate alternative Phillips equations and investigate the extent to which nonlinearities, asymmetries and structural changes characterize the inflation-output trade-off in the long run. We capture the effects of structural changes and asymmetries on the estimated parameters of the inflation-output trade-off relying partly on sub-sample estimates and partly on time-varying parameters estimated with the Kalman filter. Finally, we investigate causal relationships between inflation rates and output and extend the analysis to include the US and the UK for comparison purposes. The inference is that Italy has experienced a conventional inflation-output trade-off only during times of low inflation and stable aggregate supply.

Fiscal and Monetary Policy Interactions in a New Keynesian Model with Liquidity Constraints

This paper derives a New Keynesian dynamic general equilibrium model with liquidity constrained consumers and sticky prices. The model allows a role for both government spending and taxation in the DGE model. The model is then estimated using US data. We demonstrate that there seems to be a significant role for rule-of-thumb consumer behaviour. Our model is then used to analyse the interaction between fiscal and monetary policies. We examine the extent to which fiscal policy (automatic stabilisers) assist or hinder monetary policy when the latter takes a standard forward-looking inflation targeting form. We also examine the extent to which inertia in fiscal policy and the presence of rule-of-thumb consumers affects output and inflation variability in the presence of such a monetary policy rule.

How Do Alphas and Betas Move? Uncertainty, Learning and Time Variation in Risk Loadings

I employ a parsimonious model with learning but without conditioning information to extract time-varying measures of market-risk sensitivities, pricing errors and pricing uncertainty. Parameters estimated for U.S. equity portfolios show significant fluctuations, along patterns that change across size and book-to-market categories of stocks. Time-varying betas display superior predictive accuracy for portfolio returns against constant and rolling-window OLS estimates. I also study the relationship of betas with business-cycle variables, finding that those of high BE/ME stocks move pro-cyclically, unlike those of low BE/ME stocks. Investment growth, rather than consumption, predicts the betas of high BE/ME and small-firm portfolios.

Multifactor Risk Loadings and Abnormal Returns Under Uncertainty and Learning

We explore the time variation of factor loadings and abnormal returns in the context of a four-factor model. Our methodology, based on an application of the Kalman filter and on endogenous uncertainty, overcomes several limitations of competing approaches used in the literature. Besides taking learning into account, it does not rely on any conditioning information, and it only imposes minimal assumptions on the time variation of the parameters. Our estimates capture both short- and long-term fluctuations of risk loadings and abnormal returns, also showing marked variation across US industry portfolios. The results from mean-variance spanning tests indicate that our baseline model yields accurate predictions and can therefore improve pricing and performance measurement.

Monetary Policy on the Road to EMU: The Dominance of External Constraints on Domestic Objectives

We estimate forward-looking interest-rate reaction functions Exchange Rate Model for four ERM countries. Reputational factors and convergence to the German inflation rate are found to be the main policy goals. We cannot detect evidence that the target zone band was exploited to implement countercyclical policies: Thus, their enthusiastic joining of EMU is not particularly surprising, as the ECBs policies are more likely to take into account their national preferences than the Bundesbank did under the ERM regime.