Yash P. Mehra

The Output Gap, Expected Future Inflation and Inflation Dynamics: Another Look

The empirical test of the output gap-based New Keynesian Phillips curve often has been implemented by estimating a hybrid specification that includes both lagged and future inflation and then by examining whether the estimated coefficient on future inflation is significantly larger than the one on lagged inflation. This article presents the evidence that indicates supply shocks significantly enter the hybrid specification. The results reported in previous research — the output gap is irrelevant and expected future inflation is the major determinant of inflation — arise if the hybrid specification is estimated omitting supply shocks and/or lagged inflation. In the hybrid specification estimated with supply shocks, the output gap is significant. The estimated coefficient on future inflation is quantitatively small, but the estimated coefficient on lagged inflation is significantly larger than the one on future inflation. The null hypothesis that the estimated coefficient on lagged inflation is unity is not rejected if the hybrid specification nests an alternative version of the traditional Phillips curve in which inflation responds also to a change in the output gap. Together these results suggest that expected future inflation is not the major determinant of current inflation.

The bond rate and estimated monetary policy rules

Abstract Monetary policy rules recently estimated in Taylor (1998) and Clarida, Gali, and Gertler (1998) indicate that the funds rate target has been much more responsive to actual or expected inflation in the post-1979 period than in the pre-1979 period. This paper presents evidence that indicates a possible reason for this is that in the post-1979 period the Fed reacted to long-term inflationary expectations as reflected in the behavior of the long-term bond rate. One may surmise this preemptive nature of Fed policy explains the good macroeconomic performance of the U.S. economy since 1979.

A FEDERAL FUNDS RATE EQUATION

This paper presents evidence that indicates that U.S. interest rate policy during most of the 1980s can be described by a reaction function in which the federal funds rate rises if real GDP rises above trend GDP, if actual inflation accelerates, or if the long-term bond rate rises. Money growth when included in the reaction function is significant, indicating that money also influenced policy. The results presented here however indicate that in recent years the Fed has discounted the leading indicator properties of money. In contrast, the bond rate has been a key determinant of the funds rate during the period 1979 to 1992.

The Bond Rate and Actual Future Inflation

The long-term bond rate is cointegrated with the actual one-period inflation rate during two sample periods, 1961Q1 to 1979Q3 and 1961Q1 to 1995Q4. This result indicates that in the long run the bond rate and actual inflation move together. The nature of short-run dynamic adjustments between these variables has, however, changed over time. In the pre-1979 period, when the bond rate rose above the one-period inflation rate, actual inflation accelerated. In the post-1979 period, however, the bond rate reverted back and actual inflation did not accelerate. Thus, the bond rate signaled future inflation in the period before 1979, but not thereafter. The results here indicate that in the period after 1979 Fed policy prevented any pickup in inflationary expectations (evidenced by the rise in the bond rate) from getting reflected in higher actual future inflation.

Deficits and long-term interest rates: an empirical note

This note examines whether long-term nominal interest rates are cointegrated with budget deficits over the period 1959 to 1990. A key finding of this note is that long-term rates are cointegrated with deficits if a one-year ahead inflation forecast series is used to measure long-term expected inflation. However, the evidence favoring cointegration between deficits and interest rates weakens and almost disappears when inflation forecasts over longer horizons (2 to 4 years) are used. This result indicates that a one-year ahead inflation forecast series does not adequately measure long-term expected inflation. Hence, the link found between deficits and long-term rates using one-year inflation forecast series is spurious.

Velocity and the Variability of Money Growth: Evidence from Granger-Causality Tests Reevaluated

Hall and Nobel (1987) use the Granger-causality test to show that volatility influences velocity, leading them to conclude that the recent decline in the velocity of Ml is due to increased volatility of money growth which is alleged to be caused by the Federal Reserves new operating procedures. This note shows that such a conclusion is unwarranted, because the causality result reported in their paper is not robust. When the test is implemented either using first differences of the volatility variable or using the volatility and velocity variables that are based on the broad definition of money or over the sample period that includes the 1985-86 episode of the decline in the velocity of Ml, then the test results do not support the inference that volatility influences velocity.

Level and growth policy rules and actual Fed policy since 1979

Abstract The good macroeconomic performance of the US economy since the early 1980s has sparked interest in determining how the Fed has conducted the monetary policy. One widely shared view is that actual policy has broadly been consistent empirically with Taylor-type policy rules in which the funds rate responds to actual or expected inflation and the level of the output gap. In particular, as shown in Mehra (2001) , a policy rule in which the funds rate responds to expected inflation, the bond rate, and the level of the output gap predicts actual policy well. It is shown here that the growth version of this rule in which the funds rate responds to the growth rate of the output gap instead of its level predicts actual policy almost as well. Hence, uncertainty that exists in measuring the current level of the output gap may not have mattered much in the conduct of policy, in contrast to the view focused on level policy rules.

Cointegration and a test of the quantity theory of money

The main implication of the Quantity Theory of Money is that long-run movements in the price level are determined primarily by long-run movements in the excess of money over real output. This implication is related to the concept of cointegration discussed in Granger (1986), which states cointegrated multiple time series share common long-run movements. It is shown that the general price level is cointegrated with money, real output, and the nominal rate of interest. These economic variables enter a price equation based on the Equation of Exchange. Furthermore, the appearance of this cointegration in the data seems consistent with the presence of Granger-causality from money and real output to the price level. It is also shown that an inflation equation that incorporates the above stated implication of the Quantity Theory of Money predicts quite well the actual behavior of inflation during the past decade or so. These results however hold for M2, not M1, measure of money.

The Recent Financial Deregulation and the Interest Elasticity of the Simple M1 Demand Function: An Empirical Note

The main objective of this note is to examine whether the interest elasticity of money demand has increased during the last few years. A simple money demand regression that includes additional intercept and slope dummy variables defined over the interval 1981.01 to 1985.03 is estimated for the whole sample period 1961.01-1985.03. The regression results show that the elasticity of money demand with respect to market interest rates has for now increased. No shifts are detected in income and time trend elasticities. The in-sample predictions of the more interest-sensitive money demand regression are broadly consistent with the actual behavior of Ml observed so far in the 1980s. The residuals also suggest that the MI demand function has been subject to transitory shocks over the same period.