Monetary Policy Effectiveness and Yield Curve Dynamics

We present a pricing kernel that summarizes well the main features of the dynamics of interest rates and risk in postwar U.S. data and use it to uncover how the pricing kernel has moved with the short rate in this data. Our findings imply that standard monetary models miss an essential link between the central bank instrument and the economic activity that monetary policy is intended to affect, and thus we call for a new approach to monetary policy analysis. We sketch a new approach using an economic model based on our pricing kernel. The model incorporates the key relationships between policy and risk movements in an unconventional way: the central bank's policy changes are viewed as primarily intended to compensate for exogenous business cycle fluctuations in risk that threaten to push inflation off target. This model, while an improvement on standard models, is considered just a starting point for their revision. It leads to critical questions that researchers need to answer as they continue to revise their approach to monetary policy analysis. Copyright © 2009 by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

At present, China is in the critical stage of transforming from a quantitative monetary policy to a price-based monetary policy. The implementation of a quantitative-price mixed monetary policy can further improve the effect of monetary policy and interest rate regulation and maintain the stable operation of the macro economy. Based on the current economic situation, this article conducts experiments to prove the relationship between its monetary policy and the term structure of interest rates. To this end, this article first analyzes and compares the final effects of monetary policy on regional economies with the aid of an analysis framework that can simultaneously take into account the individuality of regional economies, the spillover effects between regional economies and the overall nature of monetary policy. Then, this article further combines the current background of interest rate marketization and monetary policy from quantity-oriented price-oriented changes. Focusing on the interest rate channel, it deeply analyzes the regional effects and formation of China's monetary policy under the new situation. First of all, on the basis of combing and summarizing relevant literature, find the expansion space for evaluating the regional effect of China's monetary policy. Experimental research results show that the term structure of interest rates is playing an increasingly important role in monetary policy. Combining the study of the term structure of interest rates with monetary policy and examining the relationship between them can not only promote the role of interest rates in macro-control, but also have important implications for improving the forward-looking and effectiveness of monetary policy.

Recent events have highlighted the potential importance of nonlinear efiects of flscal variables (notably debt and deflcits) on interest rates: While in times when government solvency is not a concern the standard crowding-out efiects are of moderate magnitude, in times when default risk becomes an issue the interest rate efiects can become very large. This paper provides new evidence on the magnitude of these efiects. For the case when default risk is not a concern, it uses an arbitrage-free term structure model to estimate the dynamic efiects of flscal policy shocks on interest rates along the entire maturity spectrum. For the case when default risk becomes a concern (thereby violating a central assumption of the term structure model), I present evidence based on EMU government bond spread regressions on time-varying efiects of national flscal policies on spreads as well as the time-varying sensitivity of yield spreads to international risk aversion as a function of the state of flscal policy. JEL classiflcation: E6, H6.

Background and statement of the problem: Previous studies on Australian data provide inconclusive results on expectation hypothesis. Moreover, it is argued that Australian long-term rate is influenced by US long term rate, which signals decoupling of short rate from long rate. This decoupling, if true, makes monetary policy transmission ineffective. Accordingly, the paper examines expectation hypothesis with Australian data. Research methodology and data: Daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly data on 30-day, 90-day and 180-day dealers bill and 5-year and 10-year Australian government bond rate over the period from 1976 to 2016 are sourced from Datastream. Unit root test with structural break is applied to check the stationarity of data. Threshold co-integration approach is followed to test the expectation hypothesis of interest rate. Principal component analysis is used to identify common global factors affecting long rates in developed countries. Finally, Gewek’s instantaneous feedback method is applied to examine contemporaneous movement of long rate in developed countries. Research findings: Empirical analysis shows that all interest rate series are nonstationary at level; however, stationary at their first differences, which are suitable for co-integration analysis. Threshold co-integration results show that short rate and long rate in Australia are co-integrated, that is, expectation hypothesis holds. We also find evidence of threshold effect in some cases. Using principal component and instantaneous feedback method we find that long term bond yields in developed markets are driven by some unobserved global factors and the USA long rate has no causal influence on other developed markets’ long rate. We conclude that in Australia short rate is not de-coupling from long rate and hence effectiveness of monetary policy is well maintained. Policy implications: Expectation hypothesis is essential for the effective transmission of monetary policy. The hypothesis, if does not hold, causes interruption in monetary policy transmission. We find that expectation hypothesis holds for Australian data; hence RBA’s monetary policy transmission should not foresee any interruption. Moreover, bond contains premium for expected inflation, so it can be used as an indicator of RBA’s commitment for low inflation. Besides, financial intermediaries can effectively use the link between short and long rate in setting their interest on long-term loans based on short term interest rates.

INTERRELATIONSHIP OF INFLATION, EXCHANGE RATE AND INTEREST RATES IN THE CONTEXT OF HUNGARY'S STRATEGIC POLICY

Purpose The main purpose of this study is to see the macroeconomic effects of monetary and fiscal policy shocks in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach The joint effects of monetary and fiscal policy are analyzed by applying short-run contemporaneous restrictions for the identification of shocks in an SVAR in order to derive impulse response functions. Hence, a general AB model of (Amisano and Giannini, 1997) identification scheme, which is not recursive, is employed in this study. Findings The author shows that monetary tightening leads to a fall in real economic activity and depreciates the exchange rate. And in regard to the fiscal policy, the author calculates an initial government spending multiplier of 0.20, which later peaks at 0.40. The tax multiplier is almost 0 on impact and statistically insignificant. However, the author finds evidence supporting the existence of accommodative stance between monetary policy and fiscal policy, which is important for economic and political decision-making. Originality/value Empirical studies that deal with the joint effects of monetary and fiscal policy for South Africa through the SVAR framework are quite limited. This paper, therefore, contributes to the empirical literature on the effects of monetary and fiscal policy in a small open economy like South Africa.

In recent years, there have been sharp fluctuations in short-term interest rates in China’s financial markets, posing challenges to the implementation of monetary policies and the stability of financial markets. There was a similar phenomenon in LIBOR rates of major currencies during the financial crisis. After the financial crisis, the interest rate corridor” gradually became a new trend of monetary policies, and the central bank of China gradually introduced a similar mechanism to implement monetary policies. This paper sets up a three-phase model of the inter-bank market, expanding the traditional analytical framework into a peer-to-peer market with OTC market attributes. This approach enables the model of this paper to characterize the heterogeneous characteristics of the bank’s liquidity, and distinguish between banks which need interest rate corridors and those which have no need of the corridors, so that the unique mechanism that interest rate corridors affect market liquidity can be reflected. The establishment of the interest rate corridor mechanism will affect the liquidity position of commercial banks by affecting the expected liquidity management costs and benefits of commercial banks. Thus, the inter-bank offered rate can be impacted and it will be stable within interest rate corridors. In order to highlight the unique mechanism of the interest rate corridor mechanism, this paper first analyzes the impact of open market operations with characteristics of quantitative regulation on market interest rates, and demonstrates the advantages and disadvantages of the interest rate corridor mechanism through comparison. The theoretical analysis shows that open market operations and interest rate corridors have their own advantages and disadvantages in regulating interest rate fluctuations. First, open market operations regulate interest rate volatility by regulating the liquidity of the whole interbank market. Interest rate corridors only need to adjust the liquidity of part of the banks to regulate interest rate fluctuations, so interest rate corridors affect market activities from the margin, and the regulation has less disturbance to the market. Second, in terms of regulating short-term interest rates, both the expected open market operations and interest rate corridor adjustments will be constrained by the liquidity substitution effect”. Because of the liquidity substitution effect, the adjustment of open market operations may be completely offset, but that of interest rate corridors cannot be. In terms of stabilizing interest rates, open market operations rely on the judgment of the central bank, while interest rate corridors can be more independently implemented. Finally, under the interest rate corridor mechanism, a tight mortgage policy may cause the inter-bank offered rate to break through the interest rate corridor ceiling. However, the central bank can adjust the mortgage policy, using the camera selection strategy and the cooperation with macro-prudential management, which can respectively achieve different purposes for post-hoc response and pre-existing prevention.

Comment

We develop a benchmark against which the effects of ECB monetary policy on the German bond market can be evaluated. We first estimate an affine term structure model for the pre‐EMU period linking the German yield curve with the Bundesbank monetary policy. The German monetary policy and its implied yield curve are then reprojected onto the EMU period. The reprojected yield curve differs significantly from the observed one. Short‐term interest rates during the EMU period are significantly lower than they would have been in case the Bundesbank were still in charge of monetary policy. Furthermore, yield spreads increased substantially during the EMU period.

This article assesses the effect of tight monetary policy on economic performance under different levels of capital flows. Empirical evidence from Turkey between 1990 and 2013 suggests that tight monetary policy measured with a positive innovation on interest rate appreciates the Turkish Lira and decreases output and prices. However, the effectiveness of monetary policy decreases for interest rate and increases for exchange rate and prices if capital flows are high. Specifically, interest rate, local currency value of foreign currency and prices will be lower for higher levels of capital flows. However, the relative effectiveness of monetary policy on output is virtually unchanged.

The space of probability distributions on a given sample space possesses natural geometric properties. For example, in the case of a smooth parametric family of probability distributions on the real line, the parameter space has a Riemannian structure induced by the embedding of the family into the Hilbert space of square-integrable functions, and is characterised by the Fisher-Rao metric. In the nonparametric case the relevant geometry is determined by the spherical distance function of Bhattacharyya. In the context of term structure modelling, we show that minus the derivative of the discount function with respect to the maturity date gives rise to a probability density. This follows as a consequence of the positivity of interest rates. Therefore, by mapping the density functions associated with a given family of term structures to Hilbert space, the resulting metrical geometry can be used to analyse the relationship of yield curves to one another. We show that the general arbitrage-free yield curve dynamics can be represented as a process taking values in the convex space of smooth density functions on the positive real line. It follows that the theory of interest rate dynamics can be represented by a class of processes in Hilbert space. We also derive the dynamics for the central moments associated with the distribution determined by the yield curve.

This study investigates the effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policies in the US by employing cointegration and a quatrovariate Vector Error Correction Model together with Granger causality tests. Two models are estimated: (i) nominal national income, the ten-year government bond yield, and two policy variables, the federal government deficit and the federal funds rate; (ii) real national income, and the other same three variables. Monetary and fiscal policies are jointly ineffective in influencing nominal national income. However, monetary and fiscal policies are jointly effective in influencing real national income. In contrast to the first model, only monetary policy was found to be reactive to changes in real national income and the long-term interest rate. The asymmetric responses of the two policies to changes in real economic activity are attributed to the fact that monetary policy is much more efficient in promptly responding to changes in economic conditions than fiscal policy.

Discussion

The article studies the relationship between regulatory interest and market interest rates in Vietnam from 2015 – 2022. This relationship has been mentioned in many theories and empirical studies in different countries and in different periods. In order to explain it, the research team collected data on the refinancing rate – which represents the regulatory interest rates and lending rates – representing the market interest rates from 2005 to 2022. The data is collected quarterly and analyzed using Eviews8 software to build a linear regression model showing the relationship between regulatory interest rates and market interest rates during the research period. In this article, the research team divides the research period into three phases: 2005Q1 – 2011Q4, 2012Q1 – 2016Q4, 2017Q1 – 2022Q4. The results of the linear regression model show that for the period 2005Q1 – 2011Q4, when the regulatory interest rate increases by 1%, the market interest rate increases by 1%, the market interest rate increases by 0.7326%; for the period 2012Q1 – 2016Q4, when the regulatory interest rate increases by 1%, the market interest rate increases by 0.5943%; for the period 2017Q1-2022Q4, when the regulatory interest rate increases by 1%, the market interest rate increases by 0.2269%. This shows a positive relationship of regulatory interest rate and market interest rate. In addition, for the period 2012Q1-2016Q4, the research team added trend variables and for the period 2017Q1-2022Q4 the research team added trend variables and dummy variables to the regression model. It also proves that the market interest rate in the research period is governed by the trend and volatility of the economy. From the research results, the research team made several exchanges and discussions to improve the effectiveness of the interest rate management policy in order to achieve the goal of stabilizing the macro economy and supporting economic growth.

PurposeWhat causes the downward trend of real interest rates in major developed economies since the 1980s? What are the challenges of the near-zero interest and inflation rates for monetary policy? What can the policymakers learn from the latest developments in the monetary and interest rate theory? This paper aims to answer these questions by reviewing both basic principles of interest rate determination and recent academic and policy debates.Design/methodology/approachThe paper critically reviews the explanations for the downward trend of real interest rates in recent decades and monetary policy options in a near-zero interest rate environment.FindingsThe decline of real interest rates is likely an outcome of multiple technological, social and economic factors including diminished productivity growth, changing demographics, elevated tail-risk concerns, time-varying convenience yields of safe assets, increased global demand for safe assets, rising wealth and income inequality, falling relative price of capital, accommodative monetary policies, and changes in industry structure that alter the investment and saving behaviors of the corporate sector. The near-zero interest rate limits the space of central banks' response to economic crises. It also challenges some conventional wisdoms of monetary theory and sparks radically new ideas about monetary policy.Originality/valueThis survey differs from the existing work by taking a broader view of both economics and finance literature. It critically assesses the economic forces driving the global decline of real interest rates through the lens of basic principles and empirical evidence and discusses the merits and limitations of each proposed explanation. The study emphasizes the importance of a better understanding of economic forces driving diverging trends of corporate investment and saving behaviors. It also discusses the implications of the neo-Fisherism and the fiscal theory of price level for monetary policy in a low interest rate environment.