Arbeitspapier

Macroeconomic uncertainty and the impact of oil shocks

This paper evaluates whether macroeconomic uncertainty changes the impact of oil shocks on the oil price. Using a structural threshold VAR model, we endogenously identify different regimes of uncertainty in which we estimate the effects of oil demand and supply shocks. The results show that higher macroeconomic uncertainty, as measured by higher world industrial production volatility, significantly increases the responsiveness of oil prices to oil shocks. This implies a lower price elasticity of oil demand and supply in the uncertain regime, or in other words, that both oil curves become steeper when uncertainty is high. The difference in oil demand elasticities is both statistically and economically meaningful. Accordingly, varying uncertainty about the macroeconomy can explain time variation in the oil price elasticity and hence in oil price volatility. Also the impact of oil shocks on economic activity appears to be significantly stronger in uncertain times.

Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Series: ECB Working Paper ; No. 1479

Classification
Wirtschaft
Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
Business Fluctuations; Cycles
Energy: Demand and Supply; Prices
Energy and the Macroeconomy
Subject
Oil prices
price elasticity
sign restrictions
threshold VAR
uncertainty

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Van Robays, Ine
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
European Central Bank (ECB)
(where)
Frankfurt a. M.
(when)
2012

Handle
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:46 AM CET

Data provider

This object is provided by:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.

Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Van Robays, Ine
  • European Central Bank (ECB)

Time of origin

  • 2012

Other Objects (12)