Central banks

Monetary and fiscal policy interactions in the aftermath of an inflationary shock

This paper studies the effect of alternative monetary policy responses and the implementation of different fiscal policy measures to an inflationary shock in a monetary union, through the lens of a global DSGE model calibrated to the euro area. We find that a more aggressive monetary policy response mitigates the inflation surge, but has a detrimental impact on economic activity that imposes a stronger increase of public debt, reducing the fiscal policy space.

The protectionist gamble: How tariffs shape greenfield foreign direct investment

Motivated by current events, this paper assesses the impact of tariff increases on bilateral greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) over the period 2016-2023. Leveraging a comprehensive dataset of announced greenfield investment projects, official FDI statistics, and bilateral product-level tariff data, we estimate a series of gravity equations to uncover key relationships. Our results show that, at an aggregate level, tariff increases are associated with a rise in greenfield FDI, consistent with the tariff-jumping hypothesis.

Geopolitical risk, bank lending and real effects on firms: evidence from the Russian invasion of Ukraine

This paper investigates whether geopolitical risk causes a reduction in bank lending. In particular, it focuses on how the increase in geopolitical risk stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine affected euro area bank credit supply. Matching granular supervisory and credit register data and using a panel difference-in-difference approach, the results show that banks with larger exposure to the increase in geopolitical risk cut lending significantly more than those with smaller exposure.

FEDS Paper: Declining Search Frictions, Unemployment, and Growth Revisited

Juan Carlos Córdoba, Anni T. Isojärvi, and Haoran LiThis paper revisits the conditions under which search models generate balanced growth paths (BGPs)—equilibria where unemployment, vacancies, and job flows remain steady as search frictions decline. Martellini and Menzio (2020) claim that such paths exist only when matches are “inspection goods” and match quality follows a Pareto distribution. We show that these conditions are sufficient but not necessary.

FEDS Paper: Do the Rich Really Save More? Answering an Old Question Using the SCF with Direct Measures of Lifetime Earnings and an Expanded Wealth Concept

Elizabeth Llanes, Jeffrey Thompson, and Alice Henriques VolzThe question of whether affluent households save at a higher rate than other parts of the distribution has been asked by economists on numerous occasions since the 1950s. It is standard in this research to define affluent, or “rich,” households as those with high lifetime earnings or income to better ground the empirical question in relevant theory.

FEDS Paper: Understanding Preferences for Payment Cards using Household Scanner Data

Marc Rysman, Shuang Wang, and Krzysztof WozniakWe use consumer panel scanner data to examine households' payment choices, a new application of such data. In particular, we study the long-term shift towards payment cards, as well as the role of transaction size in determining choices. We find that idiosyncratic household preferences are a key driver of payment choice.

IFDP Paper: The case for supporting liquidity supply in (some corners of) non-bank intermediation

Sirio AramonteAfter the Global Financial Crisis, the liquidity-supply ecosystem that underpins nonbank intermediation shifted away from traditional dealers. Instead, it started to rely more on intermediaries with fragile funding structures and opportunistic investment strategies. Over the years, stress episodes saw the sudden retrenchment of these intermediaries, which amplified liquidity imbalances and market malfunction.

IFDP Paper: Retail inventories and inflation dynamics: The price margin channel

Neil Mehrotra, Hyunseung Oh, and Julio L. OrtizUsing industry-level panel data and plausibly exogenous variation in supply conditions, we estimate the elasticity of retail price margins with respect to inventories along the retailer's optimal pricing curve. We find that this elasticity is negative and statistically significant, implying that lower finished-good inventories lead to higher price margins.

FEDS Paper: Decomposing Recent Employment Gains Among Disabled Workers

Hsinyu (Samuel) Tseng, Douglas A. WebberWe use the longitudinal component of the Current Population Survey to compare transition rates into and out of disability and employment prior to and after the onset of the pandemic. We find that one-third of the increased employment rate among disabled people is due to the excess incidence of disability seen following the pandemic, while the other two-thirds is attributable to higher participation among people whose disabilities were unrelated to the pandemic.

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