FISCAL POLICY AND ASSET PRICE CYCLES: EVIDENCE FROM FOUR EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

We test for non-linear effects of asset prices on the fiscal policy of four major European economies (France, Italy, Spain and UK). We model government spending and revenue as time-varying transition probability Markovian processes (TVPMS), and find that: (i) in France and Italy, the impact of housing prices on government revenue is conditioned by the phase of the stock price cycle; (ii) a similar asymmetric pattern is found for the UK when considering the effect of stock price fluctuations on government revenue and spending vis-à-vis the troughs and peaks of aggregate wealth; and (iii) for Spain, a fall in government revenue is typically associated with a negative performance of the housing market, while government spending does not seem to adjust to the dynamics of financial market. In addition, the magnitude of the contribution of housing prices to changes in government revenue appears to have dominated that of stock prices in France and the UK. As for government spending, changes in this policy instrument are correlated with changes in asset prices, but the effect depends on the magnitude of the price variation and the influence of the output cycle. Therefore, the empirical evidence corroborates the idea that accounting for the dynamics of asset markets provides a more accurate assessment of the fiscal stanc

Unconventional monetary policy reaction functions: Evidence from the US

We specify unconventional monetary policy reaction functions for the Fed using linear and nonlinear econometric frameworks. We find that nonstandard policy measures are largely driven by the dynamics of inflation and the output gap, with the effect being particularly strong during QE rounds. Moreover, we uncover the presence of asymmetry and regime dependence in central bank's actions since the global financial crisis, especially concerning the response of the term spread and the shadow short rate to the growth rate of central bank reserves. From a policy perspective and given the lack of a systematic response of monetary policy to asset price growth in nonstandard times, our findings seem to corroborate the view that concerns about asset price bubbles, financial sector pro-cyclicality and systemic risk should be part of the macro-prudential policy toolkit

Drivers of Exchange Rate Dynamics in Selected CIS Countries: Evidence from a Factor-Augmented Vector Autoregressive (FAVAR) Analysis

We investigate the likely sources of exchange rate dynamics in selected member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS; Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Moldova) over the past decade (1999-2010). Evidence is based on country VARs augmented by a regional common-factor structure (FAVAR model). The models include nominal exchange rates, the common factor of exchange rates in the CIS countries, and international drivers such as global trade, share prices, and oil price. Global, regional, and idiosyncratic shocks are identified in a standard Cholesky fashion. Their relevance for exchange rates is explored by a decomposition of the variance of forecast errors. The impact of global shocks on the development of exchange rates has increased, particularly if financial shocks are considered. Because of the recent global financial crisis, regional shocks have become more important at the expense of global shocks.This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Emerging Markets, Finance & Trade on 07 Dec 2014, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/REE1540-496X470403. This publication was produced as part of the FINESS project, funded by the European Commission through the 7th Framework Programme under contract no. 217266 (http://www.finess-web.eu/)