Search Results
Journal Article
The securitization of housing finance
Since 1970, housing finance has undergone a radical transformation due to the securitization of mortgage loans. As the market for mortgage securities continues to grow and develop, this transformation raises a number of important public policy issues.
Working Paper
The effect of monetary policy actions on exchange rates under interest-rate targeting
One puzzling feature of recent empirical studies of the effects of monetary policy changes on exchange rates is the result that the exchange rate does not adjust immediately to the policy shock. Instead, these studies find that it can take as long as two years for the exchange rate to fully reflect the policy change. In this paper, a model of the exchange-rate response to U.S. monetary policy actions which captures these results is specified. This model is also capable of generating standard overshooting results. The authors show that the response pattern of spot and expected future exchange ...
Journal Article
Monetary policy actions and long-term interest rates
It is generally believed that monetary policy actions are transmitted to the economy through their effect on market interest rates. According to this standard view, a restrictive monetary policy by the Federal Reserve pushes up both short-term and long-term interest rates, leading to less spending by interest-sensitive sectors of the economy such as housing, consumer durable goods, and business fixed investment. Conversely, an easier policy results in lower interest rates that stimulate economic activity. Unfortunately, empirical studies and the observed behavior of interest rates appear to ...
Journal Article
Has financial market volatility increased?
Working Paper
Measuring monetary policy
Journal Article
Is the debit card revolution finally here?
For three decades, experts on payments systems have forecast the imminent arrival of a completely electronic, paperless payment system. In this vision of the future, households, businesses, and government agencies would replace paper transactions with faster, more efficient electronic payments. The centerpiece of this new payment world is the debit card, a magnetically encoded plastic card that would eliminate cash, checks, and even credit cards in most retail transactions.> While some parts of this payment revolution have arrived, in many respects the forecasts have proved to be overly ...