Tony Caporale

Exchange rate variability and the flow of international trade

Abstract This study uses a GARCH (Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity) model to test if real exchange rate volatility has an adverse effect on the value of U.S. imports from Canada. We find that exchange rate uncertainty has a negative and statistically significant affect on trade flows.

Political Regime Change and the Real Interest Rate

The effect of changes in policy regimes on real interest rates has important implications for financial and economic theory. There is little current evidence that policy regime changes have any impact on the level of real interest rates. We use large political changes as our measure of policy regime changes. Changes in presidential administration are more significantly correlated with real rate changes than are changes in the Federal Reserve Chair or the mean shift points identified by Garcia and Perron (1996) using time series methods. We also show that change of party control of congress is a significant factor explaining real rates. We argue that theoretical models built on the assumptions of constant or policy invariant real interest rates are at variance with the empirical evidence.

High and variable inflation: Further evidence on the Friedman hypothesis

Abstract This study, employing a GARCH model, finds a positive and significant relationship between the level and variability of inflation. This provides evidence in support of Friedmans (Friedman, 1977) view that high inflation leads to more variable inflation.

The Fischer Black Hypothesis: Some Time-Series Evidence

We estimate an ARCH-M model to analyze the relationship between the conditional standard deviation of real gross national product (GNP) and its growth rate for the period 1871-1993. We find that variability significantly increases output growth rates. In addition, impulse response functions show that the effect of variability on growth rates is dynamic. These results provide evidence in favor of Blacks (1987) business cycle hypothesis.

Inflation and real stock prices

A time series measure of expectations is used to demonstrate the existence of an inverse relationship between inflation and real stock prices, even after controlling for output shocks. This provides some evidence against Famas famous conjecture (Fama, E., 1981, Stock returns, real activity, inflation, and money, American Economic Review, Sept, 545 - 565).

Inflation, Presidents, Fed Chairs, and Regime Shifts in the U.S. Real Interest Rate

Several recent papers agree on the existence of significant regime shifts in the U.S. real interest rate, but disagree on the proximate causes of the shifts. Caporale and Grier (2000) point to large political changes as correlates, while Rapach and Wohar (2004) show that real rate breaks are correlated with inflation regime shifts and argue that the inflation regime changes cause the real rate shifts. In this paper we show that, controlling for the timing of changes in the inflation regime, dummy variables representing either party change in the Presidency or change in the identity of the Fed Chair are still strongly significant for explaining real interest rate fluctuations. When we control for a fixed coefficient linear relationship between inflation and the real rate, we find two real rate regime shifts that line up almost exactly with the accessions of Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan. Even if we first let inflation regime switches explain the real rate and then look for regime shifts in the residuals, we find almost exactly the same two breaks. These results imply that Fed Chairs sometimes differ with respect to their preferred equilibrium real interest rate.

A Political Model of Monetary Policy with Application to the Real Fed Funds Rate

We construct an empirical model of U.S. monetary policy assuming that the Federal Reserve is an ordinary federal bureaucracy. We use the real Federal Funds rate as our policy measure and show the existence of significant executive, legislative, and bureaucratic influence on the real rate of interest from 1961 to 1996. We find that presidential party is an adequate statistical measure of executive influence and that the voting scores of the Senate Banking Committee leadership best represent legislative influence. We argue that political changes cause systematic and predictable changes in monetary policy.

Central bank intervention and foreign exchange volatility

This paper provides additional empirical evidence on the topic of the effectiveness and the impact of Federal Reserve intervention on U.S. exchange rates. Using a daily measure of exchange rate intervention in the yen/dollar and mark/dollar exchange markets for the period January 3, 1985 to March 19, 1997, this paper finds a statistically significant impact of intervention on spot rates. A generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity exchange rate equation is used to measure the impact of intervention on exchange rate uncertainty. This study finds that intervention is associated with a significant increase in the interday conditional variance (uncertainty) of both bilateral spot exchange rates. This supports the view of Friedman and Schwartz that exchange rate intervention serves to destabilize the foreign exchange market by introducing additional levels of exchange rate uncertainty.

Asymmetric effects of inflation shocks on inflation uncertainty

The empirically documented regularity that dis-inflationary shocks are associated with larger output changes than are positive shocks presents an interesting puzzle to macroeconomists. This paper presents, and empirically supports, a new explanation for this asymmetry. The authors show, using a TARCH model, that negative inflationary shocks result in greater inflation uncertainty than positive shocks. As Friedman [1977] argues, and a body of empirical evidence demonstrates, inflation uncertainty leads to lower output growth. Drawing on this explanation, this essay points to an avenue by which the output asymmetry of inflationary shocks can be explained.

Interest Rate Uncertainty and the Founding of the Federal Reserve

This article examines the impact of what is undoubtedly the most important monetary regime change in U.S. history: the founding of the Federal Reserve System. We find, using a (G)ARCH model, a significant reduction in interest rate uncertainty following the founding of the Fed. Additionally, we show that the passage of the Aldrich-Vreeland Act in 1908, another significant change in policy, also led to a reduction in interest rate uncertainty. These results are robust to alternative interest rate models, as well as to incorporating the impact of other events important to financial markets in our sample.