Recent empirical literature suggests that the degree of nominal rigidities varies over monetary policy regimes. This implies that monetary policy analysis with exogenously given nominal rigidities is subject to the Lucas critique. In a Calvo-style sticky price model, we endogenize nominal...

This paper quantitatively evaluates a steady-state inflation rate that is considered desirable from the perspective of social welfare, using a model describing the Japanese economy. Specifically, it begins by setting out points concerning the costs and benefits that accompany inflation. We build...

Using a model of island economy where financial markets aggregate dispersed information of the public, we analyze how two-way communication between the central bank and the public affects inflation dynamics. When inflation target is observable and credible to the public, markets provide the bank...

Standard theoretical models predict that higher inflation expectations generate greater current consumer spending at the zero lower bound of interest rates. However, a recent empirical study using US micro data finds negative results for this relationship. We use micro data for Japan, which has...

This paper proposes an empirical dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) framework to measure the degree of monetary policy accommodation when the nominal interest rate is zero. The framework employs a hypothetical DSGE model in which the nominal interest rate can be lowered below zero...

This paper estimates an affine term structure model (ATSM) and a shadow rate model (SRM) using Japanese, US, and UK data until March 2013. These models produce very different results, which are attributable to the ATSM's neglect of the zero lower bound (ZLB). The 10-year term premium estimated...

A macro-finance model combined with Black's (1995) model of interest rates as options is employed to investigate the relationship between the yield curve and monetary policy under Japan's zero interest rate environment. The results indicate a strong effect on nominal yields, but not on real...

This paper proposes a new estimation framework for identifying monetary policy shocks in both conventional and unconventional policy regimes using a structural VAR model. Exploiting a latent threshold modeling strategy that induces time-varying shrinkage of the parameters, we explore a recursive...

Two years have passed since the Bank of Japan introduced quantitative and qualitative monetary easing (QQE) in April 2013. This article considers attempts to assess the effects of QQE on Japan's economic and financial developments during this period. The start of the transmission mechanism of...

The literature provides evidence that term spreads help predict output growth, inflation, and interest rates. This paper integrates and explains these predictability results by using an affine term structure model with observable macroeconomic factors for U.S. data. The results suggest that...