Search Results
Working Paper
Core and 'Crust': Consumer Prices and the Term Structure of Interest Rates
We propose a no-arbitrage model that jointly explains the dynamics of consumer prices as well as the nominal and real term structures of risk-free rates. In our framework, distinct core, food, and energy price series combine into a measure of total inflation to price nominal Treasuries. This approach captures different frequencies in inflation fluctuations: Shocks to core are more persistent and less volatile than shocks to food and, especially, energy (the 'crust'). We find that a common structure of latent factors determines and predicts the term structure of yields and inflation. The model ...
Journal Article
Underlying Trends in the U.S. Neutral Interest Rate
After a prolonged decline, U.S. inflation-adjusted interest rates have increased somewhat since the pandemic—possibly implying a higher new normal. As central banks attempt to tame the post-pandemic inflationary bout, whether real rates will fall back closer to pre-pandemic levels will ultimately depend on the trends in their long-term underlying determinants. Estimates suggest that the pre-pandemic downward pressures from global factors and from U.S. population aging have faded, while fiscal conditions continue to put upward pressure on U.S. real rates.