Does Money Matter for the Identification of Monetary Policy Shocks: A DSGE Perspective.

This paper investigates how the identification assumptions of monetary policy shocks modify the inference in a standard DSGE model. Considering SVAR models in which either the interest rate is predetermined for money or these two monetary variables are simultaneously determined, two DSGE models are estimated by Minimum Distance Estimation. We emphasize that real balance effects are necessary to replicate the high persistence implied by the simultaneity assumption. In addition, the estimated monetary policy rule is strongly sensitive to the identification scheme. This suggests that the way money is introduced in the identification scheme is not neutral for the estimation of DSGE models.SVAR model ; DSGE model ; Non recursive identification ; Money.

How Well Does a Small Structural Model with Sticky Prices and Wages Fit Postwar U.S. Data?

In this paper, we ask whether a small structural model with sticky prices and wages, embedding various modelling devices designed to increase the degree of strategic complementarity between price-setters, can fit postwar US data. To answer this question, we resort to a two-step empirical evaluation of our model. In a first step, we estimate the model by minimizing the distance between theoretical autocovariances of key macroeconomic variables and their VAR-based empirical counterparts. In a second step, we resort to Watson's (1993) procedure [Measures of fit for calibrated models. Journal of Political Economy 101 (6), 1011.1041] to quantify the model's goodness-of-fit. Our main result is that the combination of sticky prices and sticky wages is central in order to obtain a good empirical fit. Our analysis also reveals that a model with only sticky wages does not perform well according to Watson's criterion (1993).Sticky prices ; Sticky wages ; Strategic complementarities ; Watson's test.

Estimations du ratio de sacrifice dans la zone euro.

Le ratio de sacrifice de la zone euro est simulé dans le cadre d’une maquette structurelle macroéconomique. Le modèle est utilisé pour analyser l’impact d’une modification du degré de rigidité des salaires sur le ratio.ratio de sacrifice, flexibilité du marché du travail, désinflation.

Une évaluation structurelle du ratio de sacrifice dans la zone euro.

In this paper, we seek to estimate the sacrifice ratio of the euro area using a small DSGE model where prices and wages are sticky. We estimate model's parameters so as to minimize the distance between VAR-based and model-based covariances of a set of variables. The estimated value of the sacrifice ratio reaches 1.30%. In a second step, we proceed to a set of counterfactual exercises in order to highlight the link between the sacrifice ratio and the degree of prices and wages stickiness. We obtain that a decrease of prices stickiness does not necessary result in a decrease of the sacrifice ratio. In addition, the sacrifice ratio rises with the degree of wage stickiness.Sacrifice ratio ; Sticky prices and sticky wages ; DSGE model.

Corporate Cash and Employment

In the aftermath of the U.S. financial crisis, both a sharp drop in employment and a surge in corporate cash have been observed. In this paper, based on U.S. data, we argue that the negative relationship between the corporate cash ratio and employment is systematic, both over time and across firms. We develop a dynamic general equilibrium model where heterogenous firms need cash and external liquid funds in their production process. We analyze the dynamic impact of aggregate shocks and the cross-firm impact of idiosyncratic shocks. We show that external liquidity shocks generate a negative comovement between the cash ratio and employment, as documented in the data

Set up of a methodology for participatory plant breeding in bread wheat in France

In Organic Agriculture, cultivation environments and agronomic practices are very diverse. This diversity can be handled with decentralized selection based on the knowledge of farmers and scientists. A collaborative work between associations from Réseau Semences Paysannes and the DEAP team from INRA du Moulon set up an innovative breeding approach on farm based on decentralization and participation of farmers. This approach makes it possible to (i) create new population varieties of bread wheat locally adapted (genetic innovation) (ii) set up an organizational scheme based on decentralization and co construction between actors (societal innovation) and (iii) develop experimental designs, create statistical and data management tools which stimulate these genetic and societal innovations

Firm entry, markups and the monetary transmission mechanism

Two business cycle models with endogenous firm and product entry are estimated by matching impulse responses to a monetary policy shock. The 'competition effect' implies that entry lowers desired markups and dampens inflation. Under translog preferences, where the substitutability between goods depends on their number, we find evidence of such an effect. That model generates more countercyclical markups than monopolistic competition model, where price stickiness is the only source of markup fluctuations. In contrast, a model with strategic interactions between oligopolistic firms cannot generate an empirically relevant competition effect and is statistically equivalent to the Dixit-Stiglitz model