Arbeitspapier

The Fed's real reaction function: monetary policy, inflation, unemployment, inequality and presidential politics

Using a VAR model of the American economy from 1984 to 2003, we find that, contrary to official claims, the Federal Reserve does not target inflation or react to inflation signals.” Rather, the Fed reacts to the very real” signal sent by unemployment, in a way that suggests that a baseless fear of full employment is a principal force behind monetary policy. Tests of variations in the workings of a Taylor Rule, using dummy variable regressions, on data going back to 1969 suggest that after 1983 the Federal Reserve largely ceased reacting to inflation or high unemployment, but continued to react when unemployment fell too low.” Further, we find that monetary policy (measured by the yield curve) has significant causal impact on pay inequalitya domain where the Fed refuses responsibility. Finally, we test whether Federal Reserve policy has exhibited a pattern of partisan bias in presidential election years, with results that suggest the presence of such bias, after controlling for the effects of inflation and unemployment.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: Working Paper ; No. 511

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions
Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects
Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
Thema
Personal Income
Wage Level
Wage Differentials
Price Level
Inflation
Deflation
Term Structure of Interest Rates

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Galbraith, James K.
Giovannoni, Olivier
Russo, Ann J.
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
(wo)
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
(wann)
2007

Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
10.03.2025, 11:45 MEZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.

Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Galbraith, James K.
  • Giovannoni, Olivier
  • Russo, Ann J.
  • Levy Economics Institute of Bard College

Entstanden

  • 2007

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