Search Results
Journal Article
The effect of war expenditures on U.S. output
A study of how war-related temporary increases in government expenditures affect real interest rates and output, with particular emphasis on the probable fiscal effects of the Persian Gulf War.
Working Paper
Macro Credit Policy and the Financial Accelerator
This paper studies macro credit policies within the celebrated financial accelerator model of Bernanke, Gertler and Gilchrist (1999). The focus is on borrower-based restrictions on lending such as loan-to-value (LTV) ratios. We find that the efficacy of cyclical taxes on LTV ratios depends upon the nature of the underlying loan contract. If the loan contract contains equity-like features such as indexation to aggregate conditions, then there is little role for cyclical taxation. But if the loan contract is not indexed to aggregate conditions, then there are substantial gains to procyclical ...
Journal Article
Monetary policy and asset prices with imperfect credit markets
The Modigliani-Miller theorem is fundamental to the theory of corporate finance. One of the theorem's immediate implications is that there is no reason for the monetary authority to respond to asset prices. This article posits a world in which the Modigliani-Miller theorem does not hold. The authors assume that the amount of an entrepreneur's external financing is limited by the amount of collateral she holds. They examine the implications for the monetary authority in such an environment.
Working Paper
Asset prices, nominal rigidities, and monetary policy
Should monetary policy respond to asset prices? This paper analyzes this question from the vantage point of equilibrium determinacy.
Working Paper
Price-level and interest-rate targeting in a model with sticky prices
An examination of a standard sticky-price monetary model whose conditions are perturbed relative to the canonical real-business-cycle model by two varying distortions: marginal cost and the nominal rate of interest. The paper explores the implications of two monetary policies that are frequently advocated: (1) an inflation target and (2) an interest rate target.
Journal Article
Conducting monetary policy when interest rates are near zero
This Economic Commentary explains the concerns that are associated with the combination of deflation, low economic activity, and zero nominal interest rates and describes how monetary policy might be conducted in such a situation. We argue that avoiding expectations of deflation is key and that the monetary authority needs to demonstrate an unequivocal commitment to preventing deflation. We also argue that price-level targeting might be a good device for communicating such a commitment.
Working Paper
Marginal tax rates and income inequality: a quantitative-theoretic analysis
An Auerbach-Kotlikoff (AK) overlapping-generations model is used to examine how changes in marginal income-tax rate structures affect the distribution of income, drawing on actual changes to the U.S. tax code. This approach builds on AK by allowing for many different cohort types, and hence for a nontrivial endogenous distribution of income.
Working Paper
Estimating contract indexation in a financial accelerator model
This paper addresses the positive implications of indexing risky debt to observable aggregate conditions. These issues are pursued within the context of the celebrated financial accelerator model of Bernanke, Gertler and Gilchrist (1999). The principal conclusions include: (1) the estimated level of indexation is significant, (2) the business cycle properties of the model are significantly affected by this degree of indexation, (3) the importance of investment shocks in the business cycle depends upon the estimated level of indexation, and (4) although the data prefers the financial model ...
Working Paper
Bracket creep in the age of indexing: have we solved the problem?
An examination of the inflation-indexing provisions contained in the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
Journal Article
Stock prices and output growth: an examination of the credit channel
When stock market values fall, we know that investors expect lower economic growth in the future. But can stock market declines actually affect future growth? There is some evidence that they can-through the credit channel.