Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP2848
Authors: Katharine S. Neiss; Edward Nelson
Abstract: A long-standing area of research and policy interest has been the construction of a measure of monetary policy stance. One measure that has been proposed?as an alternative to indices that employ monetary aggregates or exchange rates?is the spread between the actual real interest rate and its flexible-price, or natural-rate, counterpart. We examine the properties of the natural real interest rate and ?real interest rate gap? using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model. Issues we investigate include: (1) the response of the gap and its components to fundamental economic shocks; and (2) the indicator and forecasting properties of the real interest rate gap for inflation, both in the model and in the data. Our results suggest that the real interest rate gap has value as an inflation indicator, supporting the ?neo-Wicksellian framework? advocated by Woodford (2000).
Keywords: inflation; monetary policy; natural interest rate; output gap; real interest rate gap
JEL Codes: E31; E43; E52
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Technology Shock (O33) | Natural Real Interest Rate (E43) |
| Natural Real Interest Rate (E43) | Real Interest Rate Gap (E43) |
| Demand Shock (D12) | Natural Real Interest Rate (E43) |
| Real Interest Rate Gap (E43) | Future Inflation (E31) |