The Postbellum Deflation and its Lessons for Today

A number of recent studies examining historical experiences with deflation have called into question the widely-held view that maintains deflation is economically harmful. These studies contend that a broad, historical perspective reveals a more nuanced view of deflation, one that requires taking seriously both malign and benign deflation. This paper builds on these findings by taking an in-depth look at the U.S. experience with deflation during the postbellum period and considers whether it supports the claim that deflation can be benign. This paper also considers the lessons of this deflation experience for monetary policy today. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

The stance of US monetary policy: an alternative measure

Knowing the stance of monetary policy is important for its successful implementation. Typically, observers look to the changes in the money supply and short-term interest rates to determine the stance of monetary policy. Sometimes, however, discerning the stance of monetary policy through these measures can be misleading. In this article, an alternative measure of the stance of US monetary policy is proposed and empirically examined, which appears to be a promising improvement over the standard metrics currently used.

One nation under the fed? The asymmetric effects of US monetary policy and its implications for the United States as an optimal currency area

Is the United States best served by a single currency? This question is explored in this paper by looking at the regional effects of US monetary policy shocks through the perspective of the optimal currency area framework. Using monthly state-level data for the period 1983:1-2008:3, this paper finds that some regions of the United States during this time may have benefited from having their own currency.Optimal currency area Regional effects of monetary policy US monetary policy Vector autoregressions

Monetary policy and corporate bond yield spreads

Firm characteristics, economic conditions and policy regimes are the key determinants that most researchers have used to explain corporate bond yield spreads. In this article, we examine whether monetary policy shocks are also important determinants given their ability to affect default risk, risk aversion and liquidity premiums. Using a Vector Autoregression (VAR) with long-run monetary neutrality, we find that monetary policy shocks do, in fact, account for a large portion of the variation in corporate bond yield spreads.