Directory UMM :Data Elmu:jurnal:J-a:Journal of Economics and Business:Vol51.Issue2.Mar1999:
Anticipated, Unanticipated Expansionary,
and Unanticipated Contractionary
Monetary Policy
Joonsuk Chu and Ronald A. Ratti
It has been found that distinctions among positive innovations, negative innovations, and
anticipated monetary policy change are relevant for explaining movement in real output.
An asymmetry in the effects of anticipated expansionary and anticipated contractionary
monetary policy on output also was found to be statistically significant, and the null
hypothesis of no asymmetry in stimulative/contractionary policy was rejected. There is
evidence that unanticipated stimulative, unanticipated contractionary, anticipated
stimu-lative, and anticipated contractionary monetary policy each have statistically significant
effects on output. Recognition of these asymmetries was found to make the finding of
non-neutrality more likely.
© 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.
Keywords:
Expansionary; Contractionary; Monetary policy
JEL classification:
E52, E58
I. Introduction
The policy ineffectiveness proposition advanced by Lucas (1973) and Sargent and
Wallace (1975) conjectures that anticipated nominal changes have no effect on real output.
The hypothesis that differentiation between anticipated and unanticipated change in
nominal variables is important for explaining movement in real output was tested by Barro
(1977), who found support for the neutrality hypothesis. In contrast, Mishkin (1982) found
that when lag length was increased in the nominal variables, the neutrality hypothesis was
Youngsan University of International Affairs, Yangsan, Korea (JC); Department of Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri (RAR).
Address correspondence to: Dr. R. A. Ratti, University of Missouri-Columbia, Department of Economics, 118 Professional Building, Columbia, MO 65211.
Journal of Economics and Business 1999; 51:109 –131 0148-6195 / 99 / $–see front matter © 1999 Elsevier Science Inc., New York, New York PII S0148-6195(99)00029-0
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rejected. In a further extension, Frydman and Rappoport (1987) presented evidence
casting doubt on the relevance of the distinction itself between anticipated and
unantic-ipated nominal change in explaining real output. Work by De Long and Summers (1988)
and Cover (1992) has drawn attention to a different asymmetry and concluded that
negative-money shocks have a greater effect on output than positive-money shocks.
1Macklem et al. (1996) found evidence for Canada that asymmetric effects on output exist
in anticipated policy.
2This paper examines the relevance of distinctions among anticipated monetary policy
change, unanticipated positive-money change, and unanticipated negative-money change
in explaining movement in real output. The role of a possible asymmetry in policy actions,
e.g., stimulative versus contractionary policy, is also considered.
3Growth in M1 will be
one of the measures of monetary policy. The spread between the commercial paper rate
and the Treasury bill rate will be another. Work by Friedman and Kuttner (1992) indicates
that spread contains highly significant information about movement in real output.
Kashyap et al. (1993) viewed spread as a proxy for the stance of monetary policy. A tight
monetary policy causes firms to compete for funds, leading to an increase in the issuance
of commercial paper. Hence, the commercial paper rate rises more than the Treasury bill
rate when money is tight.
4The change in the federal funds rate will also be used as a measure of monetary policy.
This will allow the issue of possible asymmetry in the effects of anticipated policy to be
tested.
5Bernanke and Blinder (1992) have argued that innovations in the federal funds
1Cover (1992, p. 1261) went so far as to state that “positive-money shocks have no effect on output, whereas negative-money shocks cause output to decline.” Cover noted that this outcome is consistent with either a rigidly vertical aggregate supply curve and sticky prices in the face of unexpected changes in demand, or with a situation in which wages are sticky downwards but flexible upwards and a vertical aggregate supply curve at the point of full employment. A zero effect of positive money shocks is, of course, not predicted by either the new classical model with rational expectations, in which prices are flexible, or the nonclassical rational expectations model with contracts. Recent work by Lucas (1990), Christiano (1991), and Fuerst (1992) within a cash-in-advance real business-cycle framework, provides some motivation for assuming an asymmetry in the effect of positive and negative money shocks, but not a basis for concluding that positive shocks are unimportant.
2A number of papers have addressed ways in which there may be asymmetric effects of policy on the real economy. This includes work by Bernanke and Gertler (1989), Caplin and Leahy (1991), and Ball and Mankiw (1994). Empirical evidence of asymmetric effects of monetary policy has been reported by Morgan (1993), Huh (1994), Thoma (1994), Ammer and Brunner (1995), and Garcia and Schaller (1995). Macklem et al. (1996) provide an excellent survey of work on asymmetric effects of monetary policy.
3In this paper, monetary policy innovations are formed by using a method used by Mishkin (1982), Cover (1992), and Macklem et al. (1996). This involves a forecast equation for the monetary policy indicator. Residuals from this equation are then used as innovations to be used in an output equation. This method of construction contrasts with that used to identify policy shocks in a large literature using structural vector autoregression (VAR) models [see, for example Sims (1980, 1992); Bernanke (1986); Bernanke and Blinder (1992)]. Cochrane (1995) argued that the VAR technique implicitly assumes that only unanticipated shocks matter. Bernanke and Mihov (1995) and Cochrane (1995) maintained that it is important to allow for the possible effect of anticipated money on output. In addition, Macklem et al. (1996) stressed that when asymmetric effects are being considered, scarcity of degrees of freedom becomes even more of a problem with the VAR approach.
4Friedman and Kuttner (1992) held that the gap between the Commercial Paper rate and the Treasury bill rate better captures information about occurrences in financial markets relevant for the determination of output than movements in an interest rate or fluctuations in money. In another paper, Friedman and Kuttner (1993) point out that monetary policy is only one of several factors that can account for movement in spread and its relationship to output. Kashyap et al. (1993) have shown that monetary policy influences a firm’s mix of external financing and that this implies that a loan supply channel of monetary policy exists.
5We are grateful to two referees for suggesting that we consider asymmetry in anticipated policy between stimulative and contractionary components, and also in policy action overall, as between stimulative and contractionary operations. Exploration of these issues with the other measures of monetary policy is not possible (anticipated growth in M1 is nearly always positive, and anticipated spread is always positive).
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rate are a good measure of changes in monetary policy and are informative about future
movements in real activity.
6It was found in our study that distinctions between positive innovations, negative
innovations, and anticipated monetary policy change are relevant for explaining
move-ment in real output. There is evidence that unanticipated expansionary monetary policy is
just as likely to have a statistically significant effect on output as is unanticipated
contractionary monetary policy.
7These results appear to be robust across different
measures of monetary policy, different specifications of the monetary policy and output
equations, and over different sample periods.
For monetary policy measured by change in the federal funds rate, an asymmetry in the
effects of anticipated expansionary and anticipated contractionary monetary policy on
output was found. The null hypothesis of no asymmetry in stimulative/contractionary
policy was rejected. Anticipated expansionary monetary policy and anticipated
contrac-tionary policy were each found to have statistically significant effects on output. A major
finding of the study is that allowing asymmetries in anticipated and unanticipated
monetary policy between stimulative and contractionary components makes the finding of
neutrality of money less likely.
In Section II, the model and the hypotheses to be considered are presented. Empirical
results for growth in money and for spread are presented in Sections III and IV,
respectively. The issue of asymmetry in stimulative/contractionary policy is taken up in
Section V, when the change in the federal funds rate is used as the measure of monetary
policy. Section VI is the conclusion.
II. The Model and Hypotheses
The procedure adopted in this paper involves nonlinear joint estimation of a money policy
indicator equation—from which monetary policy innovations will be constructed—and a
real output growth equation. The setup of the relationship between money and output
follows that in Barro (1977) and Mishkin (1982).
8The monetary policy indicator process
is characterized by:
MPI
t5
Z
t21g 1
u
t,
(1)
where
t
5
2, . . . ,
T
. In equation (1), the monetary policy indicator,
MPI
t, can be
represented by the growth in M1, spread, the change in the federal funds rate, or some
other measure of the stance of monetary policy.
Z
t21is a vector of variables used to
forecast
MPI
tavailable at time
t
2
1, and
g
is a vector of coefficients.
u
tis an error term
assumed to be serially uncorrelated and independent of
Z
t21.
The output equation is initially given in difference stationary form by:
6Bernanke and Blinder (1992) argued that the forecasting performance of the federal funds rate is based on sensitivity to changes in bank reserves. They also felt that a credit channel is at work in the monetary transmission mechanism.
7The cumulative effects of unanticipated positive, unanticipated negative, or anticipated monetary policy on the other hand were not found to be statistically different from one another for each measure of monetary policy. 8Mishkin (1982) employed a nonlinear joint estimation method by nonlinear generalized least squares in order to estimate both M1 growth and output growth equations.
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GY
t5
a
01
O
i51
m
a
1iGY
t2i1
O
i50n
b
iu1
MPI
tu2i1
1
O
i50
n
b
iu2
MPI
tu2i2
1
O
i50
n
b
ieMPI
te2i1
W
tu
1
e
t.
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In equation (2),
GY
tis growth in real gross domestic product;
W
tis a vector of variables
influential in determining real growth;
u
is a vector of coefficients, and
e
tis an error term.
9The
b
iu1,
b
iu2,
b
ie,
i
5
0, 1, . . .
n
, are the effects of positive innovations (
MPI
t2iu1
), negative
innovations (
MPI
t2iu2
), and anticipated (
MPI
t2i e) monetary policy on real growth,
respec-tively. In a later section of the paper, when the change in the federal funds rate is
considered as the monetary policy indicator, anticipated monetary change will also be
separated into positive and negative components. This will allow the possible role of
asymmetry in stimulative/contractionary policy to be considered.
The residuals from equation (1),
uˆ
t, form the basis for measures of monetary policy
indicator shocks and anticipated monetary policy used in equation (2). A positive
mon-etary policy shock is defined as
MPI
tu1
5
uˆ
tif
uˆ
tis positive; otherwise, it equals zero. A
negative monetary policy shock is defined as
MPI
t u25
uˆ
tif
uˆ
tis negative; otherwise it
equals zero. Anticipated monetary policy for time
t
is defined as
MPI
t e5
Z
t21g
ˆ
. For MPI
given by growth in M1, Cover (1992) jointly estimated equations (1) and (2), and tested
the null hypothesis that the positive-negative innovation distinction is irrelevant for
explaining output (henceforth, PNDI) by testing
b
iu15
b
iu2,
i
5
0, 1, . . .
n
. Cover found
that PNDI was rejected, and that the null hypothesis
b
iu15
0,
i
5
0, 1 . . .
n
, could not
be rejected.
10The hypotheses to be tested are basically checks for asymmetries of one type or
another. Frydman and Rappoport (1987) tested the null hypothesis that the
anticipated-unanticipated distinction is irrelevant (AUDI) for explaining output by implicit imposition
of the restriction that
b
iu15
b
iu2(
5
k
iu),
i
5
0, 1, . . .
n
. The difference stationary form of
their output equation is given by:
GY
t5
a
01
O
i51
m
a
1iGY
t2i1
O
i50n
k
iuMPI
tu2i1
O
i50n
k
ieMPI
te2i1
W
tu 1 h
t.
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Frydman and Rappoport tested the null hypothesis that
k
iu5
k
ie,
i
5
0, 1, . . .
n
(AUDI).
They reported results for
n
$
7 for M1 over the period 1954:I–1976:IV which suggested
AUDI could not be rejected.
This paper examines the null hypothesis that distinctions among anticipated monetary
policy, unanticipated positive policy shocks, and unanticipated negative policy shocks are
irrelevant for explaining output (
SYMMETRY
).
SYMMETRY
will be tested by setting up
the null hypothesis of
b
iu15
b
iu25
b
ie,
i
5
0, 1, . . .
n
.
11It is argued in this paper that
a distinction between anticipated and unanticipated monetary policy shocks might be
9Analysis of the time series properties ofGY
tindicated a stationary process. With the presence of money
shock terms in equation (2), tests indicated that the error term does not show first-order or higher-order serial correlation.
10The Cover (1992) conclusion that expansionary monetary has statistically insignificant effects on output was formed given imposition of the constraint thatbi
e50,i50, 1, . . .n.
11Note that if SYMMETRY cannot be rejected, equation (2) reduces down to an equation in which expectations about monetary policy do not affect output, asMPIt2i
1 1MPI
t2i
2 1MPI
t2i e 5MPI
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rejected by failure to account for a possible asymmetry between positive and negative
monetary policy surprises. It is also contended that if such an asymmetry exists in effects
on output, taking account of this distinction will affect findings on neutrality.
The underlying reason for these results can be seen intuitively by supposing that the
true output equation is given by equation (2). In this case, the error term in equation (3)
is defined as:
h
t5
O
i50n
~
b
iu1
2
k
iu!
MPI
tu2i1
1
O
i50
n
~
b
iu2
2
k
iu!
MPI
tu2i2
1
e
t.
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Equation (4) demonstrates that in equation (3),
h
tis not orthogonal to the
MPI
t2i u(
5
MPI
t2i u11
MPI
t2iu2
) terms when
b
i u1
Þ
b
i u2
,
i
5
0, 1 . . .
n
. This leads to inconsistent
estimators of the parameters in equation (3) and inconsistent test statistics on hypotheses
concerning these parameters.
12The estimation procedure is as follows. Equations (1) and (2) are estimated by OLS. In
equation (2),
MPI
t2iu1
and
MPI
t2i u2(
i
5
0, 1, . . .
n
) have been given by the residuals from
equation (1). In this second stage,
n
is determined by the Akaike (1973) Information
Criterion (AIC). The OLS residuals of both equations are used to construct the
variance-covariance matrix for the system, and equations (1) and (2) are re-estimated jointly by
nonlinear generalized least-squares, treating the estimated variance-covariance matrix as
given. It is assumed that the residuals in the monetary policy equation and in the output
equation are uncorrelated. A new variance-covariance matrix is re-estimated with each
new set of coefficient estimates until the change in this estimated matrix is infinitesimal.
13III. Empirical Results for M1
To separate monetary policy into anticipated and unanticipated positive and negative
components, growth in M1 (
GM
) is regressed on lagged values of itself, lagged values of
growth in the monetary base (
GB
), lagged values of the unemployment rate (
UR
), lagged
growth rates of GDP (
GY
), lagged changes in the T-bill rate (
DTBR
), and lags of the
federal government surplus (
FEBS
).
14This specification is similar to that in Mishkin
(1982), Frydman and Rappoport (1987), and Cover (1992). The growth rate in output is
regressed on lag distributions of
MG
e,
MG
u1, and
MG
u2, and lags of changes in the
Treasury-bill rate and growth in output.
15Results of joint estimation of money and output
12It should also be noted that inconsistent estimators might be obtained if an asymmetry exists in anticipated policy. However, for measures of monetary policy given by growth in M1 and spread, it is not possible with the method outlined above to identify stimulative and contractionary components of anticipated policy. This issue is considered when change in the federal funds rate is used as measure of monetary policy.
13This procedure iterated until the relative change in the value of the function was less than 0.000001. The BHHH algorithm was used for optimization. The resulting estimates are approximately maximum-likelihood estimates [Mishkin (1982, p. 26)]. The coefficient estimates obtained from joint estimation are more efficient because of cross-equation restrictions.
14Data are from CITIBASE, except for M1 prior to 1959:I. As in Cover (1992), M1 during the third month of the quarter was used as the money supply. Prior to 1959:I, data on M1 obtained from Friedman and Schwartz (1970) was multiplied by 0.990302 (the ratio of the M1 series in CITIBASE to the M1 series in Friedman and Schwartz for the period 1959:I–1960:IV).
15The Treasury-bill rate did not appear in the output equations of Barro and Rush (1980), Mishkin (1982), or Frydman and Rappoport (1987). Results when changes in the Treasury-bill rate were excluded from the output equation were found to be very similar and, for that reason, are not reported. Cover (1992) reported results on output specifications that both included and excluded lags of changes in the Treasury-bill rate, with similar
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equations for
n
5
4 appear in Tables 1 and 2 for the period 1951:I–1979:III, and in Tables
1 and 3 for the period 1951:I–1992:II.
16Money equations are reported in Table 1 and
output equations in Tables 2 and 3. In these tables, Set I corresponds to equations (1) and
(2), and Set II corresponds to equations (1) and (3).
results on an asymmetry between positive and negative policy shocks. Note that lagged changes in the Treasury-bill rate were found to be statistically significant in the output equations.
16Results for the period ending in 1979:III are reported, as during October 1979, Fed operating procedures changed and results could be more easily compared with those obtained by Barro and Rush (1980), Mishkin (1982), and Frydman and Rappoport (1987). Results are also reported for the period ending in 1992:II. This provides an update and also facilitates comparison with the work of Cover (1992), whose sample period ended in 1987:IV.n54 was chosen by AIC applied to the initial OLS estimate of the output equation. Results for higher values ofnwill be reported.
Table 1. M1 Growth Equations: Nonlinear Joint Estimation (standard errors in parentheses)
Variable
Set I Set II
Coefficient (se.) pValue Coefficient (se.) pValue 1951:I–1979:III
Constant 20.153 (0.245) 0.5349 0.233 (0.180) 0.1933
GM{1} 0.174 (0.080) 0.0306 0.241 (0.085) 0.0044
GM{2} 0.261 (0.078) 0.0008 0.260 (0.089) 0.0035
GM{3} 0.155 (0.070) 0.0276 0.093 (0.077) 0.2272
GM{4} 0.019 (0.058) 0.7408 20.018 (0.066) 0.7793
GB{1} 0.156 (0.087) 0.0731 0.143 (0.086) 0.0957
GB{2} 0.084 (0.087) 0.3358 0.163 (0.095) 0.0866
DTBR{1} 20.349 (0.081) 0.0000 20.384 (0.091) 0.0000
UR{1} 0.064 (0.041) 0.1189 20.016 (0.028) 0.5590
FEBS{1} 0.002 (0.004) 0.6818 0.001 (0.002) 0.5836
GY{1} 20.004 (0.034) 0.8994 20.006 (0.039) 0.8670
Std. error 0.544 0.549
DW 1.987 2.057
R2 0.485 0.475
1951:I–1992:II
Constant 0.246 (0.174) 0.1548 0.332 (0.173) 0.0551
GM{1} 0.276 (0.066) 0.0000 0.250 (0.070) 0.0003
GM{2} 0.222 (0.069) 0.0013 0.277 (0.075) 0.0002
GM{3} 20.089 (0.069) 0.1938 20.098 (0.071) 0.1681
GM{4} 20.079 (0.057) 0.1623 20.080 (0.058) 0.1682
GB{1} 0.129 (0.071) 0.0664 0.094 (0.061) 0.1232
GB{2} 0.114 (0.073) 0.1149 0.093 (0.062) 0.1295
DTBR{1} 20.399 (0.048) 0.0000 20.371 (0.050) 0.0000
UR{1} 0.030 (0.029) 0.3120 0.015 (0.029) 0.5819
FEBS{1} 20.002 (0.001) 0.0816 20.002 (0.001) 0.0079
GY{1} 0.025 (0.043) 0.5495 0.031 (0.044) 0.4685
Std. error 0.713 0.713
DW 2.006 1.923
R2 0.509 0.509
Notes:GM{i}5log difference in M1 with lagi;GB{i}5log difference in monetary base with lagi;DTBR{1}5change in the T-bill rate lagged one period;UR{1}5civilian unemployment rate lagged one time period;FEBS{1}5federal budget surplus lagged one period;GY{1}5log difference in real GDP lagged one period. In output equation for Set I, a distinction between the effects of positive and negative money shocks was recognized. This distinction was suppressed in Set II.
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From the Set I results in Tables 1, 2, and 3, it can be seen that the null hypothesis—that
distinctions among the effects of
MG
e,
MG
u1, and
MG
u2on growth in output are
irrelevant (
SYMMETRY
)—is rejected at the 0.05 level for both time periods. From the Set
II results, it is also apparent that AUDI is also rejected. These results are summarized in
the first column of the upper part of Table 4 which brings together a number of results as
Table 2. Output Equations with Growth in M1 as Monetary Policy Indicator: Nonlinear Joint Estimation 1951:I–1979:III(standard errors andx2statistics* in parentheses)
Set I Set II
Variable Coefficient pValue Variable Coefficient pValue Constant 0.442 (0.255) 0.0836 Constant 0.859 (0.404) 0.0334
GY{1} 0.327 (0.086) 0.0001 GY{1} 0.256 (0.134) 0.0549
DTBR 0.377 (0.151) 0.0124 DTBR{1} 0.280 (0.159) 0.0777
DTBR{1} 20.071 (0.349) 0.8395 DTBR{1} 20.883 (0.607) 0.1455
GMe 20.157 (0.865) 0.8563 GMe 22.195 (1.395) 0.1157
GM3{1} 1.067 (0.567) 0.0602 GMe{1} 1.486 (0.656) 0.0234
GMe{2} 20.856 (0.592) 0.1481 GMe{2} 0.094 (0.724) 0.8965
GMe{3} 1.451 (0.634) 0.0221 GMe{3} 1.513 (0.591) 0.0104
GMe{4} 21.454 (0.461) 0.0016 GMe{4} 21.080 (0.419) 0.0099
GMu2 0.088 (0.330) 0.7888 GMu 0.347 (0.153) 0.0235
GMu2{1} 0.490 (0.381) 0.1987 GMu{1} 0.939 (0.477) 0.0488
GMu2{2} 0.043 (0.402) 0.9142 GMu{2} 0.943 (0.555) 0.0894
GMu2{3} 0.202 (0.334) 0.5449 GMu{3} 0.141 (0.335) 0.6723
GMu2{4} 20.771 (0.361) 0.0329 GMu{4} 20.180 (0.264) 0.4944
GMu1 0.375 (0.284) 0.1863
GMu1{1} 0.103 (0.325) 0.7502
GMu1{2} 0.137 (0.380) 0.7192
GMu1{3} 20.818 (0.328) 0.0127
GMu1{4} 0.290 (0.334) 0.3845
Hypothesis
GMe{i}50a,i50, . . . 4 (13.273)* 0.0209 GMe{i}50a,i50, . . . 4(9.860)* 0.0792
¥(GMe)50b, (0.083)* 0.7729 ¥(GMe)50b, (0.330)* 0.5658
GMu2{i}50a,i50, . . . 4 (5.702)* 0.3363 GMu{i}50a,i50, . . . 4(10.814)* 0.0552
¥(GMu2)50b, (0.005)* 0.9433 ¥(GMu)50b, (3.143)* 0.0762
GMu1{i}50a,i50, . . . 4 (8.700)* 0.1217
¥(GMu1)50b, (0.015)* 0.9014
GMu2{i}5GMu1{i}c,i50, . . . 4 (8.202)* 0.1454
¥(GMu2)5¥(GMu1)d (0.001)* 0.9695
GMu2{i}5GMu1{i}
5GMe{i}c,i50, 1 . . .4 (19.744)* 0.0317
GMe{i}5GMu{i}c,i5
0, 1 . . . 4 (12.833)* 0.0249
¥(GMu2)5¥(GMu1)5¥
(GMe)d (0.002)* 0.9988 ¥(GMe)5¥(GMu)d (2.965)* 0.0851
Std. error 0.764 0.773
DW 2.126 2.094
R2 0.432 0.420
ax2
(5)-test of the null hypothesis that the coefficients onGMe
(GMu1
,GMu2
, orGMu
) terms are jointly zero.
bx2
(1)-test of the null hypothesis that the sum of the coefficients on theGMe
(GMu1
,GMu2
, orGMu
) terms is zero.
cx2
(5)-test andx2
(10)-test of joint pairwise equality and of joint triple-wise equality, respectively, of coefficients on variables indicated.
dx2
(1)-test andx2
(2)-test of pairwise equality and of triple-wise equality, respectively, of sums of coefficients on variables indicated.
GMe
{i},GMu2
{i}, andGMu1
{i} represent anticipated, unanticipated negative, and unanticipated positive growth in M1, respectively.
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lag distributions of the nominal variables are increased. For example, for
n
5
8 and
greater, the result noted by Frydman and Rappoport (1987), of the
anticipated-Table 3. Output Equations with Growth in M1 as Monetary Policy Indicator: Nonlinear Joint Estimation 1951:I–1992:II(standard errors andx2statistics* in parentheses)
Set I Set II
Variable Coefficient pValue Variable Coefficient pValue Constant 0.746 (0.268) 0.0054 Constant 0.661 (0.264) 0.0122
GY{1} 0.311 (0.103) 0.0025 GY{1} 0.343 (0.121) 0.0045
DTBR 0.300 (0.064) 0.0000 DTBR 0.270 (0.065) 0.0000
DTBR{1} 20.550 (0.294) 0.0614 DTBR{1} 20.749 (0.292) 0.0103
GMe 21.583 (0.689) 0.0214 GMe 22.126 (0.740) 0.0040
GMe{1} 0.840 (0.363) 0.0207 GMe{1} 1.077 (0.406) 0.0079
GMe{2} 0.998 (0.351) 0.0044 GMe{2} 1.277 (0.423) 0.0025
GMe{3} 20.084 (0.201) 0.6743 GMe{3} 20.204 (0.234) 0.3834
GMe{4} 20.157 (0.175) 0.3695 GMe{4} 20.151 (0.206) 0.4607
GMu2 0.690 (0.193) 0.0003 GMu 0.219 (0.090) 0.0156
GMu2{1} 0.537 (0.306) 0.0789 GMu{1} 0.558 (0.283) 0.0485
GMu2{2} 0.366 (0.278) 0.1869 GMu{2} 0.695 (0.289) 0.0161
GMu2{3} 20.502 (0.282) 0.0746 GMu{3} 20.693 (0.251) 0.0058
GMu2{4} 20.362 (0.255) 0.1555 GMu{4} 20.460 (0.227) 0.0423
GMu1 20.189 (0.165) 0.2493
GMu1{1} 0.462 (0.297) 0.1198
GMu1{2} 0.594 (0.284) 0.0363
GMu1{3} 20.676 (0.234) 0.0038
GMu1{4} 20.379 (0.231) 0.1013
Hypothesis
GMe{i}50a,i50, . . . 4 (12.428)* 0.0293 GMe{i}50a,i50, . . . 4(11.518)* 0.0420
¥(GMe)50b, (0.005)* 0.9434 ¥(GMe)50b, (0.525)* 0.4684
GMu2{i}50a,i50, . . . 4 (19.949)* 0.0012 GMu{i}50a,i50, . . . 4(18.401)* 0.0024
¥(GMu2)50b, (2.946)* 0.0860 ¥(GMu)50b, (1.087)* 0.2971
GMu1{i}50a,i50, . . . 4 (12.792)* 0.0254
¥(GMu1)50b, (0.201)* 0.6538
GMu2{i}5GMu1{i}c,i50, . . . 4 (9.501)* 0.0906
¥(GMu2)5¥(GMu1)d (2.455)* 0.1171
GMu2{i}5GMu1{i}5GMe{i}c,i
50, 1 . . . 4 (22.016)* 0.0150
GMe{i}5GMu{i}c,i5
0, 1 . . . 4 (12.487)* 0.0286
¥(GMu2)5¥(GMu1)5¥
(GMe)d (3.140)* 0.2080 ¥(GMe)5¥(GMu)d (1.067)* 0.3014
Std. error 0.767 0.786
DW 2.107 2.125
R2 0.405 0.375
ax2
(5)-test of the null hypothesis that the coefficients onGMe
(GMu1
,GMu2
, orGMu
) terms are jointly zero.
bx2
(1)-test of the null hypothesis that the sum of the coefficients on theGMe
(GMu1
,GMu2
, orGMu
) terms is zero.
cx2
(5)-test andx2
(10)-test of joint pairwise equality and of joint triple-wise equality, respectively, of coefficients on variables indicated.
dx2
(1)-test andx2
(2)-test of pairwise equality and of triple-wise equality, respectively, of sums of coefficients on variables indicated.
GMe
{i},GMu2
{i}, andGMu1
{i} represent anticipated, unanticipated negative, and unanticipated positive growth in M1, respectively.
(9)
unanticipated distinction being irrelevant for the period 1954:I–1976:IV, comes into play
(on the first line of Table 4).
17Note however that these results on the rejection of AUDI contrast sharply with those
obtained at longer lags when distinctions among positive shocks, negative shocks, and
anticipated money growth are simultaneously allowed. The null hypothesis that
distinc-tions among the three types of monetary change are irrelevant is rejected at the 0.01 level
for
n
$
8 for the period ending in 1979:III. In comparison to the conclusion of Frydman
and Rappoport, it appears that distinctions between anticipated and unanticipated changes
in nominal values do matter for explaining movement in output, at least when a distinction
is allowed between the impact of positive and negative shocks. This outcome is relatively
stable for both sample periods and over various lag lengths.
As reported in Table 5, at longer lags for both sample periods, the null hypotheses that
neither positive money nor negative money surprises have an effect on output is rejected
at the 0.05 level. Thus positive money surprises matter (as do negative money surprises).
This result seems to differ from that reported by Cover (1992), to the effect that positive
17Frydman and Rappoport (1987) reported results for a period ending in 1976:IV and forn$7. They stated that results with regard to AUDI would be similar for a period ending in 1979, as was indeed the case for results reported in Table 4.Table 4. Test Results of Null Hypotheses of Irrelevance of Distinctions Among Anticipated, Unanticipated Positive, and Unanticipated Negative Growth in M1 for Explaining Movement in Real Output
(pvalues reported)
Equation Hypothesisa
Lag Lengthb
n54 n58 n512 n516
M1 (1951:I–1979:III)
AUDI 0.0249 0.2378 0.2781 0.4979
PNDI 0.1454 0.0119 0.0037 0.0090
SYMMETRY 0.0317 0.0050 0.0018 0.0001
M1 (1951:I–1992:II)
AUDI 0.0286 0.0233 0.0364 0.1146
PNDI 0.0906 0.1671 0.1002 0.0369
SYMMETRY 0.0150 0.0135 0.0215 0.0195
Structural Shifts in Money Equationc
M1 (1951:I–1979:III)
AUDI 0.0248 0.1870 0.1619 0.1859
PNDI 0.1172 0.0001 0.0000 0.0000
SYMMETRY 0.0232 0.0001 0.0000 0.0000
M1 (1951:I–1992:II)
AUDI 0.1139 0.3654 0.0297 0.0615
PNDI 0.1404 0.0032 0.0040 0.0036
SYMMETRY 0.0701 0.0057 0.0001 0.0005
a
SYMMETRY-distinctions among anticipated, unanticipated positive, and unanticipated negative monetary policy change are irrelevant. Null hypothesis:bi
e5b i u15b
i u2
,i50, 1, . . .n.
AUDI-distinction between anticipated and unanticipated monetary policy change is irrelevant. Null hypothesis:bi e5b
i u
,i5 0, 1, . . .n(restrictionbi
u15b
i u2
,i50, . . .n).
PNDI-distinction between unanticipated positive and unanticipated negative monetary policy change is irrelevant. Null hypothesis:bi
u15b
i u2
,i50, 1, . . .n.
b
Forn54, regressions start from 1951:I. Asnincreases, regressions start at successively later dates.
c
Intercept differs before and after 1963:III, and coefficients on first and second lags of money growth terms differ before and after 1971:III. No Treasury-bill rate variables appear in output equation.
(10)
money shocks did not affect output growth, and negative shocks had a highly significant
effect in reducing output (at least for the period 1951:I–1987:IV). The results of Cover
(1992), however, hold in an equation (which is not reported here), in which the anticipated
money terms were suppressed. Results for the period ending in 1987:IV, when
GM
u1,
GM
u2, and
GM
eterms appear in the output equation, are similar to those for a period
ending in 1992:II, and over both periods, money was found to be non-neutral. The
Table 5. Test of Null Hypotheses of Irrelevance of Unexpected Expansionary, Unexpected Contractionary, and Anticipated M1 Growth for Explaining Movement in Real GDPEquation Hypothesisa
Lag Length
n54 n58 n512 n516
M1 (1951:I–1979:III)
Un. expansionary 0.1217 0.0190 0.0006 0.0004
Un. contractionary 0.3363 0.0187 0.0111 0.0013
Anticipated 0.0209 0.0079 0.0137 0.0017
With restriction
biu
15 biu
2,i5
0, . . .n
{Anticipated}b 0.0792 0.1211 0.0650 0.1147
Unanticipated 0.0551 0.0136 0.0015 0.0020
M1 (1951:I–1992:II)
Un. expansionary 0.0254 0.0119 0.0110 0.0075
Un. contractionary 0.0012 0.0141 0.0794 0.1555
Anticipated 0.0293 0.0405 0.1328 0.0506
With restriction
biu
15 biu
2,i5
0, . . .n
{Anticipated}b 0.0420 0.1003 0.2078 0.1463
Unanticipated 0.0024 0.0101 0.0267 0.0722
Structural Shifts in Money Equation M1 (1951:I–1979:III)
Un. expansionary 0.6226 0.0254 0.0019 0.0102
Un. contractionary 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0000
Anticipated 0.9771 0.0006 0.0012 0.0000
With restriction
biu
15 biu
2,i5
0, . . .n
{Anticipated}b 0.8746 0.1367 0.0356 0.0172
Unanticipated 0.0002 0.0347 0.0001 0.0003
M1 (1951:I–1992:II)
Un. expansionary 0.6757 0.0325 0.0228 0.0093
Un. contractionary 0.0158 0.0143 0.0018 0.0047
Anticipated 0.2334 0.4116 0.0355 0.0057
With restriction
biu
15 biu
2,i5
0, . . .n
{Anticipated}b 0.4259 0.5456 0.1351 0.0736
Unanticipated 0.0387 0.2138 0.0637 0.2654
a
For Un. Expansionary (unanticipated positive growth in M1), null hypothesis isbi u15
0,i50, 1, . . .n. For Un. Contractionary (unanticipated negative growth in M1), null hypothesis isbi
u25
0,i50, 1, . . .n. For Anticipated, null hypothesis isbi
e5
0,i50, 1, . . .n.
b
Null hypothesis for {Anticipated}:bi e5
0,i50, 1, . . .n, given restrictionbi u15b
i u2
,i50, . . .n. Null hypothesis for Unanticipated:bi
u5
0,i50, 1, . . .n, given restrictionbi u15b
i u2
(11)
inclusion of anticipated money in the output equation yielded positive money shocks
(
EXPANSIONARY
policy in Table 5) which were statistically significant. Anticipated
money was found, for the most part, to matter, and as noted in Table 5, did so more
strongly when a distinction between positive and negative money surprises was
recog-nized.
18In Tables 2 and 3, for
n
5
4, it is reported that the null hypothesis that the sums of the
coefficients on positive money shocks, on negative money shocks, and on anticipated
money growth are significantly different from zero could not be rejected at the 0.05
level.
19This result (not reported) was robust for various lag lengths and for both sample
periods. The implication of alternative specifications for the money equation will now be
briefly considered.
Alternative Specifications of the Equations
Intercept and slope dummy variables will now be introduced into the money equation to
account for structural change. This will have the effect of altering the measure of
expectations. Following Frydman and Rappoport (1987), in equation (1), the intercept is
allowed to differ before and after 1963:III and the coefficients of each of the variables
GM
t21and
GM
t22are allowed to differ before and after 1971:III.
20It was found that
money equations estimated with these changes were much improved. Results under the
heading of “structural shifts in money equation” appear in Tables 4 and 5. There, it can
again be seen that for both sample periods,
SYMMETRY
was rejected over all
n
, whereas
AUDI could not be rejected except for
n
5
4. Other results were similar to those already
noted.
IV. Spread as Monetary Policy Indicator
In a number of recent papers, the importance of various interest-rate measures as
indicators of the stance of monetary policy has been emphasized. In this section, the
relevance of distinctions among unanticipated expansionary, unanticipated contractionary,
and anticipated policy, when the indicator of monetary policy is taken to be spread, is
investigated.
21Spread was regressed on four-lagged values of itself and on four-lagged
values of a number of economic variables. These variables were
GM
,
GY
,
GB
,
UR
,
FEBS
,
18Cover (1992) noted the non-neutrality of money for the period 1951:I–1987:IV. However, because the coefficients on theGMt
1terms were of the wrong sign in the presence of anticipated money terms, Cover’s
preferred regression equation is one in which anticipated money growth terms were excluded. Note that the main finding of Cover concerning an asymmetry between positive and negative money shocks in explaining movement in output continues to be confirmed in this paper.
19Cover (1992) also reported a similar result when anticipated money was included in the output equation [see Cover (1992, Tables VI and VII, pp. 1273, 1275)]. He found that the sums of coefficients on the positive shocks (SUM(POS)) and on negative shocks (SUM(NEG)) were not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. When anticipated money terms did not appear in the output equation, Cover (1992, pp. 1269–70) found that SUM(NEG) was statistically significant at the 0.01 level (and thatSUM(POS) was insignificant).
20Frydman and Rappoport (1987) introduced these dummy variables to test the robustness of tests of AUDI. They pointed out that the intercept dummy was introduced to catch the observation that money growth rose appreciably during the early 1960s, and the slope coefficients on the first and second lags ofGMwere allowed to change after 1971.III to capture structural shifts associated with the collapse of the Bretton Woods regime. 21Spread was measured by the difference between the 3-month commercial paper rate and the 3-month Treasury bill rate from 1971:II. Prior to 1971:II, the 6-month commercial paper rate was used. The spread series was found to be level stationary.
(12)
and GDP inflation (
GDINF
).
22GY
,
GB
, and
GDINF
were not statistically significant for
1949:II–1992:II. Thus, four-lagged values of
GM
,
UR
, and
FEBS
appear along with
four-lagged values of spread in the forecasting equation for spread.
To begin with, four-lagged values of the dependent variable,
GY
t, and current and
four-lagged values of anticipated change, and positive and negative innovations in spread
appear in the output equation.
23A positive (negative) surprise in spread indicates that
spread was greater (less) than expected and, hence, that monetary policy was more
contractionary (expansionary) than expected. The coefficients on the monetary policy
variables should be negative (at least at first). To avoid confusion,
MPI
te
,
MPI
tu1
, and
MPI
tu2
refer to anticipated, unexpected expansionary, and unexpected contractionary
policy, respectively.
The results of joint estimation of equations for spread and for output for the period
1950:II–1992:II appear in Tables 6 and 7, respectively. Sets I and II are again estimates
of equations (1) and (2), and of equations (1) and (3). In the spread equations in Table 6,
it can be seen that increases in the rate of money growth and in the budget surplus tended
22Four-lagged values of each of these variables were retained in the equation explaining spread only if they were jointly significant at the .05 level or stronger. This was the method employed by Mishkin (1982, p. 30). 23Four lags in the spread terms are indicated by AIC from examination of the output equation before applying a joint estimation. The residuals of the output equation do not show first-order or higher-order serial correlation.
Table 6. Monetary Policy Equations with Spread as Monetary Policy Indicator: Nonlinear Joint Estimation 1950:II–1992:II
(standard errors in parentheses)
Set I Set II
Variable Coefficient pValue Coefficient pValue
Constant 0.200 (0.077) 0.0098 0.147 (0.099) 0.1386
MPI{1} 0.630 (0.055) 0.0000 0.690 (0.073) 0.0000
MPI{2} 20.038 (0.067) 0.5739 20.083 (0.089) 0.3512
MPI{3} 0.076 (0.067) 0.2556 0.066 (0.089) 0.4544
MPI{4} 0.057 (0.053) 0.2885 0.168 (0.078) 0.0313
UR{1} 20.004 (0.047) 0.9331 20.122 (0.061) 0.0445
UR{2} 0.118 (0.080) 0.1422 0.272 (0.110) 0.0136
UR{3} 20.336 (0.085) 0.0001 20.356 (0.112) 0.0015
UR{4} 0.212 (0.048) 0.0000 0.191 (0.061) 0.0018
FEBS{1} 0.427 (0.109) 0.0001 0.320 (0.135) 0.0176
FEBS{2} 20.036 (0.133) 0.7896 0.182 (0.163) 0.2659
FEBS{3} 20.485 (0.133) 0.0003 20.597 (0.180) 0.0008
FEBS{4} 0.170 (0.127) 0.1830 0.167 (0.155) 0.2823
GM{1} 0.038 (0.024) 0.1200 0.071 (0.028) 0.0112
GM{2} 20.015 (0.024) 0.5376 20.048 (0.031) 0.1141
GM{3} 20.014 (0.025) 0.5834 0.002 (0.030) 0.9214
GM{4} 0.086 (0.022) 0.0002 0.057 (0.027) 0.0353
Std. error 0.307 0.301
DW 1.933 1.957
R2 0.534 0.549
Notes:GM{i}5log difference in M1 with lagi;UR{i}5civilian unemployment rate laggeditime periods;FEBS{i}5 federal budget surplus laggeditime periods. In output equation for Set I, a distinction between the effects of positive and negative money shocks was recognized. This distinction was suppressed in Set II.
(13)
Table 7. Output Equations with Spread as Monetary Policy Indicator (MPI): Nonlinear Joint Estimation 1950:II–1992:II
(standard errors andx2statistics* in parentheses)
(1indicates expansionary shock and2indicates contractionary shock)
Set I Set II
Variable Coefficient pValue Variable Coefficient pValue Constant 0.750 (0.298) 0.0119 Constant 1.216 (0.288) 0.0000
GY{1} 0.372 (0.083) 0.0000 GY{1} 0.210 (0.085) 0.0137
GY{2} 0.131 (0.082) 0.1146 GY{2} 0.102 (0.083) 0.2178
GY{3} 20.193 (0.088) 0.0282 GY{3} 20.169 (0.085) 0.0469
GY{4} 20.054 (0.081) 0.5054 GY{4} 20.062 (0.082) 0.4529
MPIe 1.401 (0.728) 0.0543 MPIe 1.676 (0.741) 0.0237
MPIe{1} 22.739 (0.954) 0.0041 MPIe{1} 21.981 (0.877) 0.0238
MPIe{2} 0.741 (0.928) 0.4253 MPIe{2} 0.081 (0.795) 0.9185
MPIe{3} 0.605 (0.846) 0.4749 MPIe{3} 20.591 (0.760) 0.4365
MPIe{4} 20.296 (0.495) 0.5502 MPIe{4} 0.093 (0.489) 0.8487
MPIu1 20.631 (0.574) 0.2721 MPIu 20.714 (0.218) 0.0010
MPIu1{1} 24.435 (0.818) 0.0000 MPIu{1} 21.915 (0.598) 0.0013
MPIu1{2} 2.734 (0.862) 0.0015 MPIu{2} 20.043 (0.583) 0.9410
MPIu1{3} 0.014 (0.829) 0.9866 MPIu{3} 0.005 (0.529) 0.9909
MPIu1{4} 0.201 (0.758) 0.7912 MPIu{4} 0.722 (0.510) 0.1571
MPIu2 21.057 (0.356) 0.0030
MPIu2{1} 0.044 (0.588) 0.9398
MPIu2{2} 20.898 (0.589) 0.1276
MPIu2{3} 20.330 (0.559) 0.5551
MPIu2{4} 0.086 (0.548) 0.8761
Hypothesis Hypothesis
MPIe{i}50a,i50, . . . 4 (11.483)* 0.0425 MPIe{i}50a,i50, . . . 4 (13.684)* 0.0177
¥(MPIe)50b, (0.447)* 0.5034 ¥(MPIe)50b, (5.078)* 0.0242
MPIu1{1}50a,i5
0, . . . 4 (37.892)* 0.0000 MPIu{i}50a,i50, . . . 4 (22.527)* 0.0004
¥(MPIu1)50b, (3.764)* 0.0523 ¥(MPIu)50b, (4.121)* 0.0423
MPIu2{i}50a,i5
0, . . . 4 (12.477)* 0.0287
¥(MPIu2)50b, (5.457)* 0.0194
MPIu1{i}5MPIu2{i}c,i
50, . . . 4 (35.947)* 0.0000
¥(MPIu1)5¥(MPIu2)d (0.001)* 0.9764
MPIu1{i}5MPIu2{i}5
MPIe{i}c,i50, 1 . . . 4 (46.562)* 0.0000
MPIe{i}5MPIu{i}c,i5
0, 1 . . . 4 (12.782)* 0.0255
¥(MPIu1)5¥(MPIu2)
5¥(MPIe)d (3.647)* 0.1614 ¥(MPIe)5¥(MPIu)d (1.275)* 0.2588
Std. error 0.712 0.794
DW 2.098 2.092
R2 0.529 0.412
ax2
(5)-test of the null hypothesis that the coefficients onMPIe
(MPIu1
,MPIu2
, orMPIu
) terms are jointly zero.
bx2
(1)-test of the null hypothesis that the sum of the coefficients on theMPIe
(MPIu1
,MPIu2
, orMPIu
) terms is zero.
cx2
(5)-test andx2
(10)-test of joint pairwise equality and of joint triple-wise equality, respectively, of coefficients on variables indicated.
dx2
(1)-test andx2
(2)-test of pairwise equality and of triple-wise equality, respectively, of sums of coefficients on variables indicated.
(14)
to raise spread one quarter later, after which time the effect was eroded, and a rise in the
unemployment rate tended to reduce spread after three quarters followed by a reversal in
the fourth quarter. In the output equation in Table 7, the null hypothesis that distinctions
among anticipated, unanticipated positive, and unanticipated negative changes in spread is
irrelevant in explaining growth in output (
SYMMETRY
) was rejected.
The effects of increasing
n
for the period ending in 1992:II, and for a period ending in
1979:III, are reported in Table 8. Also, results are presented for a period starting in
1957:III. This sample period was included because it matches the period for which results
were available on the federal funds rate as the measure of monetary policy. From Table
8, it can be seen that as lag length increased in the spread variables, the null hypothesis
of equality of coefficients on
MPI
u1,
MPI
u2, and
MPI
econtinued to be rejected at the 0.01
level.
24Expansionary monetary policy, signaled by spread, usually had a statistically
signifi-cant effect on output in Table 8. The exception was for the sample ending in 1979:III with
n
5
16. It is interesting that contractionary monetary policy signaled by spread was not
usually quite as potent, especially for the sample ending in 1979:III. Consistent with the
M1 results, spread as an indicator of monetary policy reinforces the conclusion that
asymmetries among the effects of anticipated, expansionary unanticipated, and
contrac-tionary unanticipated monetary policy on aggregate output are of some empirical
impor-tance.
25V. Federal Funds Rate as Monetary Policy Indicator
The use of change in the federal funds rate as a monetary policy indicator provides an
opportunity to test a stimulative/contractionary distinction in the effect on output.
Antic-ipated changes in the federal funds rate are divided into positive (anticAntic-ipated
contraction-ary) and negative (anticipated stimulative) components,
MPI
e2and
MPI
e1, respectively.
The output equation is given by:
GY
t5
a
01
O
i51
m
a
1iGY
t2i1
O
i50n
b
iu1
MPI
tu2i1
1
O
i50
n
b
iu2
MPI
tu2i2
1
O
i50
n
b
ie1
MPI
te2i1
1
O
i50
n
b
i e2MPI
t2i e21
W
tu 1 e
t.
(2
9
)
It is now possible to test the following two hypotheses:
26H
0(SC):
No stimulative/contractionary asymmetry given by
b
ie15
b
ie2and
b
iu15
b
iu2,
i
5
1, . . .
n
.
H
0(AU):
No anticipated/unanticipated asymmetry given by
b
ie15
b
iu1and
b
ie25
b
iu2,
i
5
1, . . .
n
.
24As a check for robustness, an alternative specification of the spread equation was tried in which four lags of real growth (GY) and of inflation (GDINFL) were added to those listed in the spread equation in Table 6. Results were found to be very similar to those given in Tables 7 and 8 (concerning effects of spread as MPI) and, thus, are not reported here.
25In contrast to results when monetary policy was measured by growth in M1, results in Table 8 suggest that anticipated change in spread has, at best, only marginal effects on output (except whenn54).
(15)
Table 8. Test Results of Null Hypotheses When Spread is Monetary Policy Indicator (pvalues reported)
Equation Hypothesisa
Lag Lengthb
n54 n58 n512 n516
Spread (1950:II–1979:III)
SYMMETRY 0.0049 0.0001 0.0001 0.0000
PNDI 0.0026 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
Un. expansionary 0.0017 0.0179 0.0223 0.4890
Un. contractionary 0.3818 0.3058 0.4120 0.0082
Anticipated 0.0007 0.0704 0.1384 0.4302
With restrictionbiu
15 biu
2,i50, . . .n
{Anticipated} 0.0616 0.4415 0.5884 0.9426
Unanticipated 0.2939 0.4106 0.2190 0.4695
AUDI 0.1091 0.5425 0.5453 0.9406
Spread (1950:II–1992:II)
SYMMETRY 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
PNDI 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
Un. expansionary 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
Un. contractionary 0.0287 0.0503 0.0326 0.0262
Anticipated 0.0425 0.2139 0.0821 0.0801
With restrictionbiu
15 biu
2,i50, . . .n
{Anticipated} 0.0177 0.4581 0.4642 0.6535
Unanticipated 0.0004 0.0024 0.0123 0.0527
AUDI 0.0255 0.2089 0.3646 0.5426
Spread (1957:III–1992:II)
SYMMETRY 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
PNDI 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
Un. expansionary 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
Un. contractionary 0.0053 0.0002 0.0004 0.0000
Anticipated 0.3477 0.3800 0.2576 0.1083
With restrictionbiu
15 biu
2,i50, . . .n
{Anticipated} 0.2301 0.2846 0.5347 0.5322
Unanticipated 0.0009 0.0085 0.2314 0.0684
AUDI 0.0547 0.2173 0.5137 0.5372
a
SYMMETRY-distinctions among anticipated, unanticipated positive, and unanticipated negative monetary policy are irrelevant. Null hypothesis:bi
e5b i u15b
i u2
,i50, 1, . . .n.
AUDI-distinction between anticipated and unanticipated monetary policy is irrelevant. Null hypothesis:bi e5b
i u
,i50, 1, . . .n(restrictionbi
u15b
i u2
,i50, . . .n).
PNDI-distinction between unanticipated positive, and unanticipated negative monetary policy is irrelevant. Null hypothesis:
bi u15b
i u2
,i50, 1, . . .n.
Un. expansionary refers to unanticipated negative spread (null hypothesis isbi u15
0,i50, 1, . . .n). Un. contractionary refers to unanticipated positive spread (null hypothesis isbi
u25
0,i50, 1, . . .n). Anticipated-null hypothesis isbi
e5
0,i50, 1, . . .n. Null hypothesis for {Anticipated}:bi
e5
0,i50, 1, . . .n, given restrictionbi u15b
i u2
,i50, . . .n. Null hypothesis for Unanticipated:bi
u5
0,i50, 1, . . .n, given restrictionbi u15b
i u2
,i50, . . .n.
b
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The change in the federal funds rate is now regressed on four-lagged values of itself
and on four-lagged values of a number of economic variables which have been previously
introduced.
27The variables tried on the righthand side of equation (1) as explanatory
variables include four lags of the variables
GM
,
GY
,
UR
,
FEBS
, and
GDINF
. Four-lagged
values of each of these variables were retained in the equation explaining spread only if
they were jointly significant at the .05 level or stronger. It was found that the lagged
dependent variable,
GY
, and
GDINF
were statistically significant.
In the output equation, two-lagged values of the dependent variable,
GY
, and current
and five-lagged values of anticipated and unanticipated positive and negative innovations
in the change in the federal funds rate appear on the basis of AIC. The current and lagged
value of the change in the T-bill rate (
DTBR
) are also included as explanatory variables
in the output equation.
28Innovations in the change in the federal funds rate should be
negatively associated with real output growth (at least, at first).
The federal funds rate equation and the output equation were jointly estimated and the
results are presented in Tables 9 and 10. Set I refers to joint estimation of equations (1)
and (2
9
), and Set II refers to joint estimation of equations (1) and (3). In the federal funds
equations, it can be seen that increases in the rate of real growth raised the change in the
federal funds rate for several quarters, and that an increase in the rate of inflation had the
same effect for about two quarters.
27The level of the federal funds rate is non-stationary and the change in the federal funds rate is stationary. 28As emphasized by Bernanke and Blinder (1992), when interpreting movement in the federal funds rate, it helps to know the current level of market rates of interest.
Table 9. Monetary Policy Equations with Change in Federal Funds Rate as Monetary Policy Indicator: Nonlinear Joint Estimation 1957:III–1992:II
(standard errors in parentheses)
Set I Set II
Variable Coefficient pValue Coefficient pValue
Constant 21.122 (0.199) 0.0000 20.726 (0.244) 0.0029
MPI{1} 0.069 (0.059) 0.2402 0.063 (0.084) 0.4517
MPI{2} 20.300 (0.066) 0.0000 20.356 (0.082) 0.0000
MPI{3} 0.034 (0.052) 0.5138 0.087 (0.088) 0.3234
MPI{4} 0.027 (0.054) 0.6103 0.018 (0.080) 0.8172
GY{1} 0.294 (0.059) 0.0000 0.373 (0.095) 0.0000
GY{2} 0.116 (0.054) 0.0328 0.154 (0.089) 0.0853
GY{3} 0.216 (0.052) 0.0000 0.119 (0.078) 0.1255
GY{4} 0.088 (0.050) 0.0810 0.002 (0.065) 0.9716
GDINF{1} 0.250 (0.121) 0.0395 0.216 (0.131) 0.0993
GDINF{2} 0.537 (0.136) 0.0000 0.469 (0.167) 0.0049
GDINF{3} 20.326 (0.124) 0.0089 20.039 (0.138) 0.7738
GDINF{4} 0.009 (0.101) 0.9193 20.396 (0.167) 0.0178
Std. error 0.978 0.949
DW 1.930 1.981
R2 0.238 0.276
Notes:GY{i}5log difference in real GDP with lagi;GDINF{i}5log difference in GDP-deflator laggeditime periods. In the output equation for Set I, distinctions among the effects of positive and negative anticipated and unanticipated change in the federal funds rate are recognized. In the output equation for Set II, only a distinction between anticipated and unanticipated change in the federal funds rate is recognized.
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In Table 10, it is reported, based on exclusion tests, that each of the four components of policy had statistically significant effects on output. The cumulative effects were also each found to be statistically significant. This latter result is different from that obtained when MPI was measured by growth in M1.
Results on the no stimulative/contractionary asymmetry (SC) and no anticipated/ unanticipated (AU) hypotheses are reported at the bottom of Table 10. It was found that SCwas rejected at the 0.0136 level. This result would seem to be based on the finding of asymmetry in anticipated policy between stimulative and contractionary actions. This follows, as the null hypothesis of bie1 5 bie2,i 5 0, 1 . . . 5 was rejected withpvalue 0.0208, compared to failure to reject the null hypothesis ofbiu15b
i u2
,i50, 1, . . . 5. In addition, it will be noted from Set II, that the exclusion test for anticipated money had a pvalue of only 0.0751. Thus, recognition of an asymmetry in anticipated policy would again seem to be of importance to results. In Table 10,AUwas rejected at the 0.0516 level. The results discussed here for n 5 5 generally held for longer lag lengths and are reported in Table 11.29 For the purpose of comparison with the results obtained in the earlier part of the paper, results are presented in Table 12 for the federal funds rate, in which an asymmetry in anticipated policy was not recognized (these results can be contrasted with those for spread summarized in Table 8).
In Table 11, asymmetries are to be found in both stimulative versus contractionary policy, and in anticipated versus unanticipated effects. For changes in the federal funds rate, as a measure of monetary policy, it would seem that an asymmetry in the effects on output of anticipated policy between stimulative and contractionary components is of some empirical importance.
To illustrate these asymmetries, a simple five-variable VAR(GY, MPIu2
, MPIu1 , MPIe2
,MPIe1
) was estimated and impulse response functions for GY obtained.30 The impulse responses of growth in GDP (GY) to one-standard-error shocks toMPIu2 and MPIu1 are shown in Figure 1, and toMPIe2 and MPIe1 in Figure 2. In Figure 1, the negative effect of unanticipated contractionary policy was initially somewhat larger in absolute value than the positive effect of unanticipated stimulative policy. Both effects on GY fluctuated and decayed fast (with eight quarters). In Figure 2, the negative effect of anticipated contractionary policy was larger in absolute value in the first two quarters than the positive effect of anticipated stimulative policy.MPIe2
showed a positive effect after two quarters. Thus, it seems that anticipated contractionary policy has a relatively large, but short-lived, negative effect on GY. The impulse responses from the VAR are
consis-29Results are not reported for a period ending in 1979:III because there was an inadequate number of degrees
of freedom available for test statistics. As a check for robustness for the results over the period 1957:III–1992:II, an alternative specification of the federal funds rate equation in Table 9 was tried. In addition to four lags ofGY
and ofGDINFL, four lags each ofUR,FEBS, andGMwere added as explanatory variables in the federal funds rate equation. The main difference in results concerned unanticipated policy.AUwas more likely to be rejected, withpvalues that the anticipated/unanticipated distinction not being relevant (H0(AU):bie
15
biu
1
andbie
25
bi
u2,i51, . . .n.) now being 0.0905 (n55), 0.0008 (n58), 0.0000 (n512), and 0.0000 (n516). In addition, the hypothesis of no asymmetry in unanticipated policy (H0:biu
15
biu
2) was also more likely to be rejected with
pvalues 0.8628 (n55), 0.0061 (n58), 0.0000 (n512), and 0.0000 (n516). Results for asymmetry in anticipated policy were similar to those already reported. Given limitations of space, these results are not reported here.
30MPIu2,
MPIu1,
MPIe2,
MPIe1were obtained for change in the federal funds rate implied by Set I in Tables 9 and 10. The VAR had five lags, constant and deterministic variables,DTBR{0} andDTBR{1}, and was estimated over the period 1957:III–1992:II. We are grateful to a referee for suggesting impulse response functions be used to illustrate the impact of the components of monetary policy.
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Table 11. Test Results of Null Hypotheses with Federal Funds Rate as Measure of Monetary Policy for 1957:III–1992:II
(pvalues reported;x2( )-statistics in parentheses)
Hypothesis Lag Length
n55 n58 n512 n516
No Anticipated Expansionary Effect Ho:bie
150,i50, 1 . . .na
0.0208 (14.929) 0.0074 (22.483) 0.0683 (21.236) 0.0038 (36.534)
Ho:¥bie
1overi50, 1 . . .nb
0.0047 (7.969) 0.0001 (14.414) 0.0019 (9.576) 0.0442 (4.047)
No Anticipated Contractionary Effect Ho:bie
250,i50, 1 . . .na
0.0029 (19.866) 0.0011 (27.523) 0.0019 (32.570) 0.0191 (31.151)
Ho:¥bie
2overi50, 1 . . .nb
0.0146 (5.957) 0.0014 (10.093) 0.0064 (7.428) 0.2394 (1.383)
No Unanticipated Expansionary Effect Ho:biu
150,i50, 1 . . .na
0.0078 (17.419) 0.0157 (20.374) 0.0083 (28.259) 0.0013 (39.821)
Ho:¥biu
1overi50, 1 . . .nb
0.0012 (10.481) 0.0001 (14.310) 0.0002 (13.265) 0.0146 (5.961)
No Unanticipated Contractionary Effect Ho:biu
250,i50, 1 . . .na
0.0005 (23.707) 0.0001 (33.439) 0.0019 (32.585) 0.0017 (39.039)
Ho:¥biu
2overi50, 1 . . .nb
0.0001 (14.168) 0.0001 (14.765) 0.0037 (8.425) 0.1335 (2.250)
No Asymmetry in Anticipated Policy Ho:bie
15
bie
250,i50, 1 . . .na
0.0038 (19.194) 0.0178 (20.002) 0.0329 (23.811) 0.0064 (34.863)
Ho:¥bie
15¥
bie
2overi50,
1 . . .nb
0.9660 (0.001) 0.7835 (0.075) 0.8094 (0.068) 0.9297 (0.007)
No Asymmetry in Unanticipated Policy Ho:biu
15
biu
250,i50, 1 . . .na
0.2559 (7.763) 0.2693 (11.094) 0.1216 (19.047) 0.0033 (37.012)
Ho:¥biu
15¥
biu
2overi50,
1 . . .nb
0.8450 (0.038) 0.9310 (0.007) 0.8966 (0.152) 0.4404 (0.595)
No Stimulative/Contractionary Asymmetry Ho(SC):bie
15
bie
2and
biu
15
biu
2i 50, 1 . . .nc
0.0136 (25.259) 0.0538 (28.573) 0.0062 (47.459) 0.0003 (69.193)
No Anticipated/Unanticipated Asymmetry Ho(AU):bie
15
biu
1and
bie
25
biu
2i 50, 1 . . .nc
0.0516 (20.913) 0.0726 (27.350) 0.0964 (35.743) 0.0470 (48.906)
ax2
test withn11 degrees of freedom.
bx2
test with one degree of freedom.
cx2
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tent with the results noted in Table 11, concerning an asymmetry in anticipated policy between stimulative and contractionary effects.
VI. Conclusion
For monetary policy measured by change in the federal funds rate, an asymmetry in the effects of anticipated expansionary and anticipated contractionary monetary policy on output was found. The null hypothesis of no asymmetry in stimulative/contractionary policy was rejected. Anticipated expansionary, anticipated contractionary, unanticipated expansionary, and unanticipated contractionary monetary policy were each found to have statistically significant effects on output. Each of the four components of monetary policy were also found to have statistically significant cumulative effects on output.
Table 12. Test Results of Null Hypotheses When Federal Funds Rate is Monetary Policy Indicator. Asymmetry in Anticipated Policy not Recognized (bi
e15b i e2)
(pvalues reported)
Equation Hypothesisa
Lag Lengthb
n55 n58 n512 n516 Federal Funds (1957:III–1979:III)
SYMMETRY 0.3598 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
PNDI 0.2632 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
Un. expansionary 0.8846 0.0063 0.0930 0.0000
Un. contractionary 0.0195 0.0005 0.0001 0.0000
Anticipated 0.6415 0.4207 0.9365 0.0011
With restrictionbiu
15
biu
2,i 50, . . .n
{Anticipated} 0.6014 0.9028 0.1590 0.4211
Unanticipated 0.5689 0.0192 0.0030 0.0169
AUDI 0.4260 0.6435 0.2691 0.5539
Federal Funds (1957:III–1992:II)
SYMMETRY 0.2383 0.1140 0.0558 0.0118
PNDI 0.3147 0.1322 0.0133 0.0004
Un. expansionary 0.1421 0.0585 0.0028 0.0024
Un. contractionary 0.0003 0.0003 0.0015 0.0000
Anticipated 0.0357 0.0055 0.0855 0.0716
With restrictionbiu
15
biu
2,i 50, . . .n
{Anticipated} 0.0751 0.0245 0.4450 0.3898
Unanticipated 0.0002 0.0004 0.0000 0.0006
AUDI 0.2553 0.3239 0.6074 0.8436
a
SYMMETRY-distinctions among anticipated, unanticipated positive, and unanticipated negative monetary policy are irrelevant. Null hypothesis:bi
e5b i u15b
i u2
,i50, 1, . . .n.
AUDI-distinction between anticipated and unanticipated monetary policy is irrelevant. Null hypothesis:bi e5b
i u
,i50, 1, . . .n.
PNDI-distinction between unanticipated positive, and unanticipated negative monetary policy is irrelevant. Null hypothesis:
bi u15b
i u2
,i50, 1, . . .n.
Un. Expansionary refers to unanticipated negative change in federal funds rate (null hypothesis isbi u15
0,i50, 1, . . .n). Un. Contractionary refers to unanticipated positive change in federal funds rate (null hypothesis isbi
u25
0,i50, 1, . . .n). Anticipated-null hypothesis isbi
e5
0,i50, 1, . . .n. Null hypothesis for {Anticipated}:bi
e5
0,i50, 1, . . .n, given restrictionbi u15b
i u25k
i u
,i50, . . .n. Null hypothesis for Unanticipated:bi
u5
0,i50, 1, . . .n, given restrictionbi u15b
i u2
,i50, . . .n.
b
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For different measures of monetary policy, different specifications of the monetary policy and output equations, and over different sample periods, distinctions among positive innovations, negative innovations, and anticipated monetary policy change were found to be relevant for explaining movement in real output. Unanticipated expansionary monetary policy was found to be just as likely to have a statistically significant effect on output as unanticipated contractionary monetary policy. In addition, recognition of asym-metries in anticipated and unanticipated monetary policy between stimulative and con-tractionary components made the finding of neutrality of money less likely.
Figure 1. Impulse response of GDP to money shocks.
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The results provide some empirical evidence that modeling of asymmetric effects of expansionary and contractionary policy, particularly when policy is anticipated, should be the focus of further work.
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