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Working Paper
Constructing high-frequency monetary policy surprises from SOFR futures
Eurodollar futures were the bedrock for constructing high-frequency series of monetary policy surprises, so their discontinuation poses a challenge for the continued empirical study of monetary policy. We propose an approach for updating the series of Gurkaynak et al. (2005) and Nakamura and Steinsson (2018) with SOFR futures in place of Eurodollar futures that is conceptually and materially consistent. We recommend using SOFR futures from January 2022 onward based on regulatory developments and trading volumes. The updatedseries suggest that surprises over the recent tightening cycle are ...
Working Paper
FOMC Responses to Calls for Transparency
I apply latent semantic analysis to Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) transcripts and minutes from 1976 to 2008 in order to analyze the Fed's responses to calls for transparency. Using a newly constructed measure of the transparency of deliberations, I study two events that define markedly different periods of transparency over this 32-year period. First, the 1978 Humphrey-Hawkins Act increased the degree to which the FOMC used meeting minutes to convey the content of its meetings. Historical evidence suggests that this increased transparency reflected a response to the Act's requirement ...
Discussion Paper
Hanging on Every Word : Semantic Analysis of the FOMC's Postmeeting Statement
The Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC or "Committee") postmeeting statements constitute one of the key vehicles through which the Committee communicates its assessment of the economy, its policy actions, and its thinking about future policy.
Working Paper
Financial Market Effects of FOMC Communication: Evidence from a New Event-Study Database
This paper introduces the U.S. Monetary Policy Event-Study Database (USMPD), a novel, public, and regularly updated dataset of financial market data around Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy announcements, press conferences, and minutes releases. Using the rich high-frequency data in the USMPD, we document several new empirical findings. Large monetary policy surprises have made a comeback in recent years, and post-meeting press conferences have become the most important source of policy news. Monetary policy surprises have pronounced negative effects on breakeven inflation based on ...