Search Results
Journal Article
Low inflation in a world of securitization
Weak lending may still be the culprit behind low inflation, but monetary aggregates may no longer closely track credit conditions.
Journal Article
Unemployment and the role of monetary policy
On balance, the figure suggests that structural unemployment during economic downturns has increased since 1991.
Journal Article
The evolution of Federal Reserve policy and the impact of monetary policy surprises on asset prices
This article describes the joint evolution of Federal Reserve policy and the study of the impact of monetary policy surprises on high-frequency asset prices. Since the 1970s, the Federal Open Market Committee has clarified its objectives and modified its procedures to become more transparent and predictable. Researchers have had to account for these changes to procedures and perceived objectives in developing methods to study the effects of monetary surprises. Unexpected changes to the Committee?s federal funds target and postmeeting statements strongly and consistently affect asset prices, ...
Newsletter
Exploiting exportation: why foreign exchange rates matter
The emphasis on global economics is here to stay, but how does it affect the average citizen? The April 2010 Newsletter examines the links between foreign exchange rates and global trade and explains the effect on U.S. prices and import/export trading.
Journal Article
Commodity price gains: speculation vs. fundamentals
Commodities of all sorts have risen in price over the past few years. Some say that the prices reflect a bubble, driven by low interest rates and excessive speculation. Others say the price gains can be fully explained by supply and demand.
Journal Article
Food prices and inflation in emerging markets
The experience of the past decade illustrates the sensitivity of inflation in emerging markets to rapidly rising food prices.
Journal Article
The great Chinese housing boom
Significant store-of-value demand for housing suggests a bubble that could burst, especially when both the household income growth rate and the savings rate start to decline and capital controls in China start to relax.
Working Paper
Capital flows and Japanese asset volatility
Characterizing asset price volatility is an important goal for financial economists. The literature has shown that variables that proxy for the information arrival process can help explain and/or forecast volatility. Unfortunately, however, obtaining good measures of volume and/or order flow is expensive or difficult in decentralized markets such as foreign exchange. We investigate the extent that Japanese capital flows?which are released weekly?reflect information arrival that improves foreign exchange and equity volatility forecasts. We find that capital flows can help explain transitory ...
Journal Article
Monetary policy and asset prices
The housing market crisis is the latest reminder that asset prices can and do run wild at rates capable of negative effects on real economic activity. Not surprisingly, this has reinvigorated debate over whether central banks should respond to asset price bubbles.
Journal Article
Mexico's oportunidades program fails to make the grade in NYC
A program that pays poor, rural Mexican families to keep their children in school didn't translate well to New York City. The latter's version will end this summer.