Interest rate pass-through estimates from vector autoregressive models

The empirical literature on interest rate transmission presents diverse and sometimes conflicting estimates. By discussing methodological and specification-related issues, the results of this paper contribute to the understanding of these differences. Eleven Austrian bank lending and deposit rates are utilized to illustrate the pass-through of impulses from monetary policy and banks’ cost of funds. Results from vector autoregressions suggest that the long-run pass-through is higher for movements in the bond market than of changes in money market rates. Deposit rates have no predictive content for lending rates beyond that of market interest rates.Monetary policy transmission; interest rate pass-through; retail interest rates; vector autoregression; impulse-response functions

Financial predictors of real activity and the propagation of aggregate shocks

Bond yield and retail interest rate spreads are presumed to lead real activity on the basis of financial accelerator mechanisms, markup cyclicality or simply because they are forward-looking. Empirical results for Austria show that retail rate spreads outperform many other indicators in this respect. Nevertheless, there is no evidence for a financial accelerator being behind this finding.Leading indicator; business cycle; shock propagation; financial accelerator; bank markup

Are stock returns a leading indicator for real macroeconomic developments?

I examine whether or not returns on stock markets are a leading indicator for real macroeconomic developments in Austria, Japan and the USA. Further I deal with the concept of stock market efficiency, the question whether or not information from real and financial sectors of the economy is consistently priced on stock markets. This would not be the case if past macroeconomic developments could be used to improve forecasts of subsequent stock returns. Time series models are used to investigate the respective long-run relations between stock prices and other macroeconomic variables as well as short-term dynamics. I conclude that none of the markets under study is efficient in the above-mentioned strict sense. Only U.S. stock returns lead private consumption and, rather weakly, retail sales growth.Stock returns; stock market efficiency; leading indicators; macroeconomic variables; vector error correction models