Category Archives: Credit and Banking

Historical Patterns of Inequality and Productivity around Financial Crises

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Abstract

To understand the determinants of financial crises, previous research focused on developments closely related to financial markets. In contrast, this paper considers changes originating in the real economy as drivers of financial instability. To this end, I assemble a novel data set of long-run measures of income inequality, productivity, and other macrofinancial indicators for advanced economies. I find that rising top income inequality and low productivity growth are robust predictors of crises, and their slow-moving trend components largely explain these relations. Moreover, recessions that are preceded by such developments are deeper than recessions without such ex ante trends.

The Time‐Varying Response of Hours Worked to a Productivity Shock

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Abstract

This paper revisits the dynamic response of hours worked to a total factor productivity (TFP) shock. I estimate a structural vector autoregression that includes time-varying parameters and stochastic volatility. The estimation produces structural parameters that are consistent with the long-run identification. The impulse response functions of hours worked to a TFP shock are negative on impact and at the business cycle horizons. This is evidence that Galí (1999) would interpret as supporting new Keynesian theory. My results also show that TFP shocks are the dominant source of variation in average labor productivity. Structural changes in the U.S. economy play an important role in the TFP–hours worked relationship.

Monetary Policy and Mispricing in Stock Markets

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Abstract

We investigate the role of monetary policy in stock price misalignments and explore whether central banks can attenuate excessive mispricing as suggested by the proponents of a “leaning against the wind” monetary policy. Decomposing stock prices into expected excess dividends, an equity risk premium, and a mispricing component, we find that prices fall more strongly in response to an increase in the policy rate than what is implied by their underlying fundamentals. This systematic overreaction suggests that tighter monetary policy may contain emerging asset price misalignments. Our findings are at odds with the predictions of a rational bubble framework, but can be explained by mispricing arising from false subjective expectations of irrational investors.

Media Treatment of Monetary Policy Surprises and Their Impact on Firms’ and Consumers’ Expectations

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Abstract

We investigate whether monetary policy announcements affect firms' and consumers' expectations by considering their media treatment. We initially use standard monetary policy surprise measures and analyze how the main general newspapers in France report on the announcements. Eighty-five percent of the monetary policy surprises are either not associated with the newspapers reporting a change in the monetary policy stance or have a sign inconsistent with the media report. Only when we consider media-consistent monetary policy surprises do we find that consumers and firms respond to monetary policy announcements. The economic tonality of the media reports drives the sign of consumers' response.

Real Interest Rates and Population Growth across Generations*

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Abstract

This paper empirically examines the correlation between population growth and real interest rates. Although this correlation is well founded in macroeconomic theory, the corresponding empirical results have been rather tenuous. Demographic interest rate theories are typically based on long-term relationships across generations. Accordingly, key population trends appear often only across decades, if not centuries, worth of data. To capture these trends, we distinguish between population growth resulting from a birth surplus and net migration. Within a panel covering 12 countries and the years since 1820, we find robust evidence that the birth surplus is significantly correlated with the real interest rate.

Can Internet Banking Affect Households’ Participation in Financial Markets and Financial Awareness?

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Abstract

We are in a digital era and more and more banks have begun to offer Internet banking. The availability of this new channel can reduce households' cost of acquiring information and the time spent on financial transactions; therefore, it could also impact on households' decisions to start investing in financial markets. Using an instrumental variable approach, we find that the adoption of Internet banking induces households to participate in financial markets and, in particular, to hold short-term assets with a low risk/return profile. Over time, the adoption of Internet banking also drives a better understanding of basic financial concepts.

Oil Shocks, External Adjustment, and Country Portfolio

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Abstract

This study examines the intertemporal nature of countries’ external adjustment by using two oil income shocks with different timings: giant oil discovery news shocks and contemporaneous oil revenue shocks from international oil price changes. Empirical estimates using a large panel of countries support the intertemporal theory. Net foreign assets hike immediately upon oil revenue shocks, but decline for the first 5 years after oil discoveries and rebound subsequently. These adjustments are largely through the current account but partially stabilized by valuation effects for oil revenue shocks. Oil discoveries attract FDI inflows, while oil revenue shocks increase foreign debt assets holdings.

Housing Boom‐Bust Cycles and Asymmetric Macroprudential Policy

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Abstract

In this paper, I argue that occasionally binding borrowing constraints are a source of nonlinearity that warrant an appropriate nonlinear macroprudential policy response. Nonlinear policy responses likely better capture the spirit of macroprudential policy. I show that an asymmetric macroprudential policy rule, which lowers the borrowing limit more aggressively during credit booms, obtains better economic outcomes compared to an optimized symmetric rule that is typically studied in the literature. An asymmetric policy response reduces output and inflation tail risks, generating not only better economic stabilization but also positive externalities to monetary policy.

Monetary and Macroprudential Policy and Welfare in an Estimated Four‐Agent New Keynesian Model

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Abstract

We examine the social and agent-specific welfare effects of monetary and macroprudential policy in a four-agent estimated macro-economic model comprising “banked simple households,” “underbanked simple households,” “firm owners,” and “bank owners.” Optimal capital requirement and loan loss provisions ratios improve all agent-specific and social welfare, but imply smaller gains for simple households and firm owners that rely on credit. Countercyclical capital buffers support firm owners and bank owners with smaller gains for the two simple households, while countercyclical loan loss provisions improve social welfare only for specific shocks. Coordination between monetary and macroprudential policies yields higher social welfare than no coordination.

R&D, Market Power, and the Cyclicality of Employment

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Abstract

This paper provides a first look into the joint effects of research and development (R&D) and market power on the cyclicality of employment. It presents a theoretical model with R&D and monopolistically competitive firms which shows that firms smooth their R&D activities when they face large R&D adjustment costs. This smoothing behavior comes at the expense of higher labor volatility, and it is stronger for firms with high R&D intensity and low market power. Firm-level data support these predictions. Dynamic panel estimations reveal that employment at competitive firms engaging in a high level of R&D is more procyclical.