Inflation, Exchange Rates and PPP in a Multivariate Panel Cointegration Model

New multivariate panel cointegration methods are used to analyze nominal exchange rates and prices in the four major economic powers in Europe, France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain for the post- Bretton Woods period. We test for PPP and find that the theoretical PPP relationship does not hold but there is a similar (1,-1.5,0.9 instead of 1,-1,1) relationship which is common for the investigated countries. Parametric bootstrap inference is used to deal with badly small sample sized tests.Long-run purchasing power parity, multivariate cointegration analysis, bootstrap inference.

Average Inflation Targeting

The analysis of this paper demonstrates that when the Phillips curve has forward-looking components, a goal for average inflation - i.e. targeting a j-period average of one-period inflation rates - will cause inflation expectations to change in a way that improves the short-run trade-off faced by the monetary policymaker. Average inflation targeting is thus an example of a 'modified' loss function, which when implemented ina discretionary fashion results in more efficient outcomes from the standpoint of the true social objective (inflation targeting under commitment), than the discretionary pursuit of the true objective itself. In purely forward-looking models, average inflation targeting is dominated by price level targeting. But we also demonstrate that in models where the Phillips curve has both forward- and backward-looking components, there are cases when the average inflation target provides more efficient outcomes than both 'ordinary' one-period inflation targeting and price level targeting.Optimal monetary policy; Inflation targeting; Optimal delegation

Core Inflation and Monetary Policy

What are the implications of targeting different measures of inflation? We extend a basic theoretical framework of optimal monetary policy under inflation targeting to include several components of CPI inflation ratio, and analyze the implications of using different measures of inflation as target variable — core inflation, CPI excluding interest rates, and headline CPI inflation. Our main results are the following. (i) Barring the interest rate component, temporary shocks to inflation do not affect optimal monetary policy under any regime. (ii) Indirect (second-round) effects of disturbances on goal variables need to be accounted for properly. Simply excluding seemingly temporary disturbances from the reaction function risks leading to inappropriate policy responses. (iii) It may be optimal to respond to changes in one measure of inflation even if the target is defined in terms of another. (iv) The presence of the direct interest rate component in the CPI tends to push optimal monetary policy in an expansionary direction. The net effect, considering also the traditional channel, however, depends on the nature of the initial disturbance.Inflation targeting; Underlying inflation; CPI; CPIX

Examining world-wide purchasing power parity

We examine long-run PPP between Germany, Great Britain, Japan and the United States over the period 1930–1996 using multivariate cointegration techniques. Bilateral PPP between the four countries is examined in one system (as opposed to e.g. series of trivariate systems). In all of the statistical analysis, asymptotic tests are augmented by parametric bootstrap analogues, whereby we reduce, if not eliminate, the size distortion typically present in small-sample studies. The cointegration analysis provides support for the necessary conditions for PPP (i.e. cointegrating relations are found) but not for the sufficient conditions (i.e., the coefficients in the cointegrating relations are far from what PPP predicts). These results are at odds with results from other studies that also analyze long-horizon data sets. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2004Long-run purchasing power parity, multivariate cointegration analysis, bootstrap inference, F30, C15, C32,

Monetary Policy in an Estimated Open-Economy Model with Imperfect Pass-Through

We develop a structural model of a small open economy with gradual exchange rate pass-through and endogenous inertia in inflation and output. We then estimate the model by matching the implied impulse responses with those obtained from a VAR model estimated on Swedish data. Although our model is highly stylized it captures very well the responses of output, domestic and imported inflation, the interest rate, and the real exchange rate. However, in order to account for the observed persistence in the real exchange rate and the large deviations from UIP, we need a large and volatile premium on foreign exchange.structural open-economy model; new open-economy macroeconomics; estimation; calibration

Monetary policy in an estimated open-economy model with imperfect pass-through

We develop a structural model of a small open economy with gradual exchange rate pass-through and endogenous inertia in inflation and output. We then estimate the model by matching the implied impulse responses with those obtained from a VAR model estimated on Swedish data. Although our model is highly stylized it captures very well the responses of output, domestic and imported inflation, the interest rate, and the real exchange rate. However, in order to account for the observed persistence in the real exchange rate and the large deviations from uncovered interest parity (UIP), we need a large and volatile premium on foreign exchange. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Monetary Policy in an Estimated Open-Economy Model with Imperfect Pass-Through

We develop a structural model of a small open economy with gradual exchange rate pass-through and endogenous inertia in inflation and output. We then estimate the model by matching the implied impulse responses with those obtained from a VAR model estimated on Swedish data. Although our model is highly stylized it captures very well the responses of output, domestic and imported inflation, the interest rate, and the real exchange rate. However, in order to account for the observed persistence in the real exchange rate and the large deviations from UIP, we need a large and volatile premium on foreign exchange.