The Great Moderation: Causes & Condition
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The Federal Reserve System: History and Structure
Printed Page 253 [Notes/Highlighting] The Federal Reserve System: History and Structure The history of the Federal Reserve System The structure of the Federal Reserve System How the Federal Reserve has responded to major financial crises Module 26: The Federal Reserve System: H... Printed Page 253 The Federal Reserve System [Notes/Highlighting] Who’s in charge of ensuring that banks maintain enough reserves? Who decides how large the monetary base will be? The answer, in the United A central bank is an States, is an institution known as the Federal Reserve (or, informally, as institution that oversees and “the Fed”). The Federal Reserve is a central bank—an institution that regulates the banking system oversees and regulates the banking system, and controls the monetary and controls the monetary base. Other central banks include the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, base. and the European Central Bank, or ECB. The Federal Reserve System Printed Page 253 An Overview of the Twenty-first Century [Notes/Highlighting] American Banking System Under normal circumstances, banking is a rather staid and unexciting business. Fortunately, bankers and their customers like it that way. However, there have been repeated episodes in which “sheer panic” would be the best description of banking conditions—the panic induced by a bank run and the specter of a collapse of a bank or multiple banks, leaving depositors penniless, bank shareholders wiped out, and borrowers unable to get credit. In this section, we’ll give an overview of the behavior and regulation of the American banking system over the last century. -
Gauging Taylor Rules: Do Differences Make a Difference?
Gauging Taylor rules: Do differences make a difference? Severin Bernhard∗ Tommaso Mancini Griffoliyz October 2011; first version April 2010 Abstract The normative literature on Taylor rules is vibrant with debates as to the value of one rule formulation versus another. But do these “differences make a difference” in practice, in terms of recommended interest rates when responding to actual data? And if differences do arise, which are the elements of rules most responsible for them? Their specification, their assumptions of parameter values, or their defini- tions of inflation and output gaps? This paper attempts to provide a systematic and rigorous analysis of these questions over the 1990 to 2010 sample period. While the normative literature mostly insists on specification and assumptions, it is the choice of data that makes the biggest difference to interest rates. These findings imply that debates as to the conduct of policy should primarily focus on data sources. Yet, even the most favorable choice of data does not satisfactorily ex- plain the very loose policy of the Federal Reserve between 2002 and 2007. JEL classification: TBD Keywords: TBD ∗University of Fribourg, [email protected] ySwiss National Bank, [email protected] zMany thanks to Jean-Pierre Danthine for comments to have pushed us to explore the questions behind this paper, as well as to Katrin Assenmacher, Daniel Kaufmann, Bob King, Elmar Mertens, Michel Peytrignet, Marcel Savioz, John Taylor, S´ebastienW¨alti and Mark Watson for helpful comments. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Swiss National Bank or University of Fribourg. -
The Taylor Rule and Interval Forecast for Exchange Rates
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System International Finance Discussion Papers Number 963 January 2009 The Taylor Rule and Interval Forecast For Exchange Rates Jian Wang and Jason J. Wu NOTE: International Finance Discussion Papers are preliminary materials circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comment. References in publications to International Finance Discussion Papers (other than an acknowledgment that the writer has had access to unpublished material) should be cleared with the author or authors. Recent IFDPs are available on the Web at www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/ifdp/. This paper can be downloaded without charge from Social Science Research Network electronic library at http://www.ssrn.com/. The Taylor Rule and Interval Forecast For Exchange Rates Jian Wang and Jason J. Wu* Abstract: This paper attacks the Meese-Rogoff (exchange rate disconnect) puzzle from a different perspective: out-of-sample interval forecasting. Most studies in the literature focus on point forecasts. In this paper, we apply Robust Semi-parametric (RS) interval forecasting to a group of Taylor rule models. Forecast intervals for twelve OECD exchange rates are generated and modified tests of Giacomini and White (2006) are conducted to compare the performance of Taylor rule models and the random walk. Our contribution is twofold. First, we find that in general, Taylor rule models generate tighter forecast intervals than the random walk, given that their intervals cover out-of-sample exchange rate realizations equally well. This result is more pronounced at longer horizons. Our results suggest a connection between exchange rates and economic fundamentals: economic variables contain information useful in forecasting the distributions of exchange rates. -
Researchupdate
www.newyorkfed.org/research ReseResearcharchUUPDATEPDATE federalFederal reserve reserve bank bank of of new new york York ■ ■ Number Number 2, 3, 2012 2009 Research and Statistics Group www.newyorkfed.org/researchwww.newyorkfed.org/research Two Research Series Examine Recent Changes in Banking n July, the Research Group published a special The five articles that follow explore the idea of volume of the Economic Policy Review (EPR) bank adaptation in more depth, presenting arguments and a companion series of Liberty Street and findings associated with the volume’s emphasis on Economics blog posts on the evolution of intermediation roles and changes in bank structure. Ibanking since the advent of asset securitization. In “The Rise of the Originate-to-Distribute The project came out of discussions within the Model and the Role of Banks in Financial Intermedia- Group about “shadow banks” and their role in the tion,” Vitaly Bord and João Santos show that banks 2007-09 financial crisis. The consensus was that it is indeed play a much more important part in lending no longer obvious what banks really do and to what than what the balance sheet suggests. Moreover, bank extent they are still central to the process of financial actions have actually spurred the growth of shadow intermediation. Getting a better under- banks involved in the subsequent steps of the credit The main finding standing of these issues is important from intermediation chain. of the studies an academic perspective, but the insights Benjamin Mandel, Donald Morgan, and is that financial gained from the exercise could also prove Chenyang Wei next analyze the importance of banks intermediation is in useful in a practical sense for policymakers. -
Janet L Yellen: the Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Toolkit
Janet L Yellen: The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy toolkit – past, present, and future Speech by Ms Janet L Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Symposium “Designing resilient monetary policy frameworks for the future”, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, 26 August 2016. * * * The Global Financial Crisis and Great Recession posed daunting new challenges for central banks around the world and spurred innovations in the design, implementation, and communication of monetary policy. With the U.S. economy now nearing the Federal Reserve’s statutory goals of maximum employment and price stability, this conference provides a timely opportunity to consider how the lessons we learned are likely to influence the conduct of monetary policy in the future. The theme of the conference, “Designing Resilient Monetary Policy Frameworks for the Future,” encompasses many aspects of monetary policy, from the nitty-gritty details of implementing policy in financial markets to broader questions about how policy affects the economy. Within the operational realm, key choices include the selection of policy instruments, the specific markets in which the central bank participates, and the size and structure of the central bank’s balance sheet. These topics are of great importance to the Federal Reserve. As noted in the minutes of last month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, we are studying many issues related to policy implementation, research which ultimately will inform the FOMC’s views on how to most effectively conduct monetary policy in the years ahead. I expect that the work discussed at this conference will make valuable contributions to the understanding of many of these important issues. -
An Indicator of Credit Crunch Using Italian Business Surveys
Munich Personal RePEc Archive An Indicator of Credit Crunch using Italian Business Surveys Girardi, Alessandro and Ventura, Marco and Margani, Patrizia Parliamentary Budget Office, PBO, Rome, Italy, Italian National Institute of Statistics, ISTAT, Rome, Italy September 2018 Online at https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/88839/ MPRA Paper No. 88839, posted 14 Sep 2018 15:29 UTC An Indicator of Credit Crunch using Italian Business Surveys Alessandro Girardia,b, Patrizia Marganib, Marco Venturab a Parliamentary Budget Office, PBO, Rome, Italy b Italian National Institute of Statistics, ISTAT, Rome, Italy Abstract This paper presents a two-step procedure to derive a credit crunch indicator for the Italian manufacturing sector. Using qualitative firm-level data over the years 2008-2018, nonlinear discrete panel data techniques are first applied in order to identify the loan supply curve controlling for firm-specific observable characteristics. In the subsequent step, the variation of the estimated supply curve that cannot be explained by proxies for loan demand is interpreted as the degree of credit squeeze prevailing in the economy at a given point in time. The empirical evidence shows that credit crunch episodes are less likely to occur during periods of sustained economic growth, or when credit availability for the manufacturing sector is relatively abundant. In contrast, a tight monetary policy stance or a worsening of the quality of banking balance sheets tend to increase the likelihood of experiencing a credit squeeze. JEL: G30; G32; C23 Keywords: business survey, credit crunch, access to credit 1 1. Introduction During periods of financial distress, troubles affecting the credit system are likely to spread to the real sector, especially in countries where the banking sector is the most relevant financing channel to the business sector and/or the productive structure is predominantly based on small and medium enterprises (Ferrando et al., 2014; Berger and Udell, 2006). -
Friedman and Schwartz's a Monetary History of the United States 1867
NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES NOT JUST THE GREAT CONTRACTION: FRIEDMAN AND SCHWARTZ’S A MONETARY HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 1867 TO 1960 Michael D. Bordo Hugh Rockoff Working Paper 18828 http://www.nber.org/papers/w18828 NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 February 2013 Paper prepared for the Session: “The Fiftieth Anniversary of Milton Friedman and Anna J. Schwartz, A Monetary History of the United States”, American Economic Association Annual Meetings, San Diego, CA, January 6 2013. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer- reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications. © 2013 by Michael D. Bordo and Hugh Rockoff. All rights reserved. Short sections of text, not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission provided that full credit, including © notice, is given to the source. Not Just the Great Contraction: Friedman and Schwartz’s A Monetary History of the United States 1867 to 1960 Michael D. Bordo and Hugh Rockoff NBER Working Paper No. 18828 February 2013 JEL No. B22,N1 ABSTRACT A Monetary History of the United States 1867 to 1960 published in 1963 was written as part of an extensive NBER research project on Money and Business Cycles started in the 1950s. The project resulted in three more books and many important articles. A Monetary History was designed to provide historical evidence for the modern quantity theory of money. -
Thoughts on Fiscal and Monetary Policy Since the Onset of the Global Financial Crisis
The Great Moderation and the Great Confusion: thoughts on fiscal and monetary policy since the onset of the Global Financial Crisis “The central problem of depression-prevention [has] been solved for all practical purposes” Robert Lucas, incoming address to the American Economic Association, 2003 “I’ve looked at life from both sides now From win and lose and still somehow It’s life’s illusions I recall I really don’t know life at all” Joni Mitchell Clouds (1967) “The Great Moderation” is a term used in 2002 by James Stock and Mark Watson and given wider currency by Ben Bernanke, amongst others. It was presumably chosen to contrast with the Great Depression of the 1930s and, perhaps, the great stagflation of the 1970s. It began in the mid-1980s and lasted until the onset of the Global Financial Crisis in 2007. Between 2002 and 2007 much was written about the Great Moderation in what became an orgy of self-congratulation, especially on the part of monetary economists. The Great Moderation was characterised by two related, and obviously beneficial, phenomena. The first was much reduced volatility in business cycles. The second was an initial downward trend in inflation, followed by a sustained period of relatively stable low inflation. It is reasonable to argue that this occurred despite the fact that both the American and world economies suffered a number of shocks while the Great Moderation was occurring. The most notable of these were the sharemarket crash of 1987 and the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Interestingly enough, Stock and Watson argue that luck did play a significant part, that in fact the shocks were weaker than in previous eras. -
Financial Catastrophe Research & Stress Test Scenarios
Cambridge Judge Business School Centre for Risk Studies 7th Risk Summit Research Showcase Financial Catastrophe Research & Stress Test Scenarios Dr Andy Skelton Research Associate, Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies 20 June 2016 Cambridge, UK Financial Catastrophe Research 1. Catalogue of historical financial events 2. Development of stress test scenarios 3. Understanding contagion processes in financial networks (eg, interbank loans) - Network models & visualisations - Role of central banks in financial crises - Practitioner model – scoping exercise 2 Learning from History Financial systems and transaction technologies have changed But principles of credit cycles, human trust and financial interrelationships that trigger crises remain relevant 12 Historical Financial Crisis Crises occur periodically – Different causes and severities – Every 8 years on average – $0.5 Tn of lost annual economic output – 1% of global economic output Without FinCat global growth could be 4% a year instead of 3% Financial catastrophes are the single greatest economic risk for society – We need to understand them better 3 Historical Severities of Crashes – Past 200 Years US Stock Market Crashes UK Stock Market Crashes 1845 Railway Mania… 1845 Railway Mania… 1997 Asian Crisis 1997 Asian Crisis 1866 Collapse of Overend… 1866 Collapse of Overend… 1825 Latin American Crisis 1825 Latin American Crisis 1983 Latin American Debt… 1983 Latin American Debt… 1837 Cotton Crisis 1837 Cotton Crisis 1857 Railroad Mania… 1857 Railroad Mania… 1907 Knickerbocker 1907 Knickerbocker -
Facts and Challenges from the Great Recession for Forecasting and Macroeconomic Modeling
NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES FACTS AND CHALLENGES FROM THE GREAT RECESSION FOR FORECASTING AND MACROECONOMIC MODELING Serena Ng Jonathan H. Wright Working Paper 19469 http://www.nber.org/papers/w19469 NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 September 2013 We are grateful to Frank Diebold and two anonymous referees for very helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper. Kyle Jurado provided excellent research assistance. The first author acknowledges financial support from the National Science Foundation (SES-0962431). All errors are our sole responsibility. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. At least one co-author has disclosed a financial relationship of potential relevance for this research. Further information is available online at http://www.nber.org/papers/w19469.ack NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer- reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications. © 2013 by Serena Ng and Jonathan H. Wright. All rights reserved. Short sections of text, not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission provided that full credit, including © notice, is given to the source. Facts and Challenges from the Great Recession for Forecasting and Macroeconomic Modeling Serena Ng and Jonathan H. Wright NBER Working Paper No. 19469 September 2013 JEL No. C22,C32,E32,E37 ABSTRACT This paper provides a survey of business cycle facts, updated to take account of recent data. Emphasis is given to the Great Recession which was unlike most other post-war recessions in the US in being driven by deleveraging and financial market factors. -
What Is Past Is Prologue: the History of the Breakdown of Economic Models Before and During the 2008 Financial Crisis
McCormac 1 What is Past is Prologue: The History of the Breakdown of Economic Models Before and During the 2008 Financial Crisis By: Ethan McCormac Political Science and History Dual Honors Thesis University of Oregon April 25th, 2016 Reader 1: Gerald Berk Reader 2: Daniel Pope Reader 3: George Sheridan McCormac 2 Introduction: The year 2008, like its predecessor 1929, has established itself in history as synonymous with financial crisis. By December 2008 Lehman Brothers had entered bankruptcy, Bear Sterns had been purchased by JP Morgan Chase, AIG had been taken over by the United States government, trillions of dollars in asset wealth had evaporated and Congress had authorized $700 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds to bailout different parts of the U.S. financial system.1 A debt-deflationary- derivatives crisis had swept away what had been labeled Alan Greenspan’s “Great Moderation” and exposed the cascading weaknesses of the global financial system. What had caused the miscalculated risk-taking and undercapitalization at the core of the system? Part of the answer lies in the economic models adopted by policy makers and investment bankers and the actions they took licensed by the assumptions of these economic models. The result was a risk heavy, undercapitalized, financial system primed for crisis. The spark that ignited this unstable core lay in the pattern of lending. The amount of credit available to homeowners increased while lending standards were reduced in a myopic and ultimately counterproductive credit extension scheme. The result was a Housing Bubble that quickly turned into a derivatives boom of epic proportions. -
Operationalising a Macroprudential Regime: Goals, Tools and Open Issues
Operationalising a Macroprudential Regime: Goals, Tools and Open Issues David Aikman, Andrew G. Haldane and Sujit Kapadia 2013 OPERATIONALISING A MACROPRUDENTIAL REGIME: GOALS, TOOLS AND OPEN ISSUES David Aikman, Andrew G. Haldane and Sujit Kapadia (*) (*) David Aikman, Andrew G. Haldane and Sujit kapadia, Bank of England. The authors would like to thank Rafael Repullo for his excellent comments on an earlier draft of this paper. This article is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Banco de España or the Bank of England. OPERATIONALISING A MACROPRUDENTIAL REGIME: GOALS, TOOLS AND OPEN ISSUES 1 Introduction Since the early 1970s, the probability of systemic crises appears to have been rising. The costs of systemic crises have risen in parallel. The incidence and scale of systemic crises have risen to levels never previously seen in financial history [Reinhart and Rogoff (2011)]. It has meant that reducing risks to the financial system as a whole – systemic risks – has emerged as a top public policy priority. The ongoing financial crisis is the most visible manifestation of this trend. Five years on from its inception, the level of real output in each of the major industrialised economies remains significantly below its pre-crisis path (Chart 1). In cumulative terms, crisis-induced output losses have so far reached almost 60 %, over 40 % and over 30 % of annual pre- crisis GDP in the UK, Euro-area and US respectively.1 With the benefit of hindsight, the pre-crisis policy framework was ill-equipped to forestall the build-up in systemic risk which generated these huge costs.