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Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Money and Interest Rates (P. 2 Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Money and Interest Rates (p. 2) Cyril Monnet Warren E. Weber REPRINT] Some Monetary Facts (p. u) George T. McCandless Jr. Warren E. Weber Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Quarterly Review Vol. 25, No. 4 ISSN 0271-5287 This publication primarily presents economic research aimed at improving policymaking by the Federal Reserve System and other governmental authorities. Any views expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis or the Federal Reserve System. Editor: Arthur J. Rolnick Associate Editors: Patrick J. Kehoe, Warren E. Weber Economic Advisory Board: Harold L. Cole, Russell W. Cooper, Thomas J. Holmes, Urban J. Jermann, Preston J. Miller Managing Editor: Kathleen S. Rolfe Article Editor: Kathleen S. Rolfe Production Editor: Jenni C. Schoppers Designer: Phil Swenson Typesetter: Mary E. Anomalay Circulation Assistant: Elaine R. Reed The Quarterly Review is published by the Research Department Comments and questions about the Quarterly Review may be " of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Subscriptions are sent to available free of charge. Quarterly Review Quarterly Review articles that are reprints or revisions of papers Research Department published elsewhere may not be reprinted without the written Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis permission of the original publisher. All other Quarterly Review P. O. Box 291 articles may be reprinted without charge. If you reprint an article, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55480-0291 please fully credit the source—the Minneapolis Federal Reserve (Phone 612-204-6455 / Fax 612-204-5515). Bank as well as the Quarterly Review—and include with the reprint a version of the standard Federal Reserve disclaimer Subscription requests may also be sent to the circulation (italicized above). Also, please send one copy of any publication assistant at [email protected]; editorial comments and that includes a reprint to the Minneapolis Fed Research questions, to the managing editor at [email protected]. Department. Electronic files of Quarterly Review articles are available through the Minneapolis Fed's home page on the World Wide Web: http://www.minneapolisfed.org. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Quarterly Review Fall 2001 Money and Interest Rates Cyril Monnet* Warren E. Weber* Economist Senior Research Officer Directorate General Research Research Department European Central Bank Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Central banks routinely state monetary policies in terms ey. According to this view, money demand is a decreasing of interest rates. For example, in October 2001, the Euro- function of the nominal interest rate because the interest pean Central Bank stated that it had not changed interest rate is the opportunity cost of holding cash (liquidity). So rates recently because it considered current rates "consis- a decrease in the supply of money must cause interest rates tent with the maintenance of price stability over the me- to increase in order to keep the money market in equilibri- dium term" (ECB 2001, p. 5). In May 2001, Brazil's cen- um. We call this the liquidity effect view} tral bank "increased interest rates" because it was "worried Another view, which follows from the Fisher equation, about mounting inflationary pressure," according to the is that money and interest rates are positively related: in- New York Times (Rich 2001). And in the first half of 2000creasin, g interest rates requires an increase in the rate of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee increased the money growth. The Fisher equation states that the nominal federal funds rate target three times in order to head off interest rate equals the real interest rate plus the expected "inflationary imbalances" (FR Board 2000). rate of inflation (Fisher 1896).2 If monetary policy does not Despite this common practice, central banks do not con- trol interest rates directly. They can target interest rates, but they can only attempt to hit those targets by adjusting other instruments they do control, such as the supply of bank *The authors thank Russ Cooper, Urban Jermann, and Art Rolnick for helpful dis- reserves. Changes in these instruments directly affect a cussions of earlier versions of this article. 1 The term liquidity effect as now used in the literature refers to the effect of un- country's stock of money, and financial market reactions expected changes in money growth rather than the effect of changes in the money to money supply changes are what actually change the stock. Nonetheless, since the origin of this idea is the interaction of money demand and supply, we use the term as a convenient label for the idea that money and interest rates level of interest rates. Clearly, in order to hit interest rate are negatively related. targets, central banks must have a reliable view about the 2The reasoning behind the Fisher equation is straightforward. Lenders (and bor- relationship between money supply changes and interest rowers) care about the number of units of goods they will get (or have to pay) for each unit of goods they lend (or borrow) today; this number is the real interest rate. How- rate changes. ever, loan contracts are written in terms of the number of dollars, not the goods, that Economic theory offers two seemingly contradictory the lenders (and borrowers) will receive (or pay) in the future; this number is the nom- inal interest rate. If the price of goods could never change over time, then real and views of this relationship. One view, which follows from nominal interest rates would be the same. But the price of goods can change. How the interaction of money demand and supply, is that money much the price of goods is expected to change between the time a loan is made and the time it is repaid is the expected rate of inflation. Since loan contracts take account and interest rates are negatively related: increasing interest of the expected inflation rate, adding that rate to the real interest rate converts rates of rates, for example, requires a decrease in the stock of mon- return in terms of goods to equivalent rates of return in terms of dollars. 2 Cyril Monnet, Warren E. Weber Money and Interest Rates affect the real interest rate (and errors in inflation expec- that have considered how a surprise change in the money tations are ignored), then the Fisher equation implies that supply—a so-called monetary policy shock—affects inter- higher nominal interest rates are associated with higher est rates. Although somewhat mixed, the empirical evi- rates of inflation. Since in the long run, high inflation rates dence on balance does support the liquidity effect conclu- are associated with high money growth rates, the Fisher sion that the money-interest rate relationship is negative. equation suggests that an increase in interest rates requires A surprise decrease in the money supply, for example, will an increase in the money growth rate. We call this the lead to increases in interest rates. Fisher equation view. In the second part of the study, we turn to economic These two views provide seemingly conflicting answers theory and present a simple model that incorporates both to the question of how a central bank should translate its views of the money-interest rate relationship. The model interest rate targets into actual changes in the money sup- allows money supply changes within a period to be accom- ply. One view implies that interest rates move in the op- panied by nominal interest rate changes in the opposite posite direction as the money supply; the other, that they direction, which is consistent with the liquidity effect view. move in the same direction. The model also allows the long-run average nominal in- This study presents empirical evidence as well as a sim- terest rate to move positively, percentage point for percent- ple model to explore this apparent conflict. The empirical age point, with the long-run average rate of money supply evidence supports both views of the relationship between growth, which is consistent with the Fisher equation view. changes in money and changes in interest rates. The model The model shows that how changes in the money supply shows that the two views are not, in fact, contradictory. affect interest rates depends both on what happens to the Which view applies at any particular point in time depends money stock today and on what is expected to happen to on when the central bank's change in money is to occur it in the future. If the money stock is unexpectedly changed and how long the public expects it to last. According to the today, but future money growth rates are expected to re- model, the nominal interest rate at any point in time is main unchanged, then interest rates move in the opposite determined by current and expected future money growth direction. But if the money stock is unexpectedly changed rates. A surprise increase in the current rate of money today and future money growth rates are expected to move growth, for example, causes the nominal interest rate to fall in the same direction, then interest rates move in that di- if the public expects the surprise increase to be temporary, rection too. that is, if their expectations for future money growth rates Finally, in the third part of the study, we shift from one are not increased as a result. However, if a surprise in- type of monetary policy to another. Up to this point, we crease in current money growth is interpreted by the public have assumed that the monetary policy is stated in terms of as permanent, then the nominal interest rate will rise. A the money supply. However, again, because most central surprise increase only in expected future money growth banks today state their policies in terms of interest rates, rates will also raise the nominal interest rate.
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