We estimate a Bayesian structural vector autoregression that allows for time-varying parameters and stochastic volatility in the errors to account for the effects of various aggregate shocks on the real price of oil. We employ US quarterly data from 1948:Q1 to 2011:Q2. We find that aggregate...

The author provides a general model to incentivize student involvement in an economics course on an ongoing basis. Rather than presenting students with a discrete number of diverse experiments to illustrate different economic concepts, he opts for the adoption of a single experiment that lives...

In their classic 1999 paper, "Monetary policy shocks: What have we learned and to what end?," Christiano, Eichenbaum, and Evans (CEE) investigate one of the most widely used methods for identifying monetary policy shocks of its time. Unfortunately, their approach is no longer viable, at least...

In their classic 1999 paper, Monetary policy shocks: What have we learned and to what end?, Christiano, Eichenbaum, and Evans (CEE) investigate one of the most widely used methods for identifying monetary policy shocks of its time. Unfortunately, their approach is no longer viable, at least not...

We identify the effects of monetary policy shocks on macroeconomic variables in VARs using the Divisia M4 measure of money as the policy indicator variable. We obtain theoretically sensible responses—whether or not a commodity price index is included. Thus, we eliminate the well-known...

While theoretical predictions establish a strong positive relationship between equity prices and inflation, finding substantiating empirical evidence has been a difficult endeavor. Generally, the data suggests a weak negative relationship between stock prices and inflation. Aided by two...

In late 2008, deteriorating economic conditions led the Federal Reserve to lower the federal funds rate to near zero and inject massive liquidity into the financial system through novel facilities. The combination of conventional and unconventional measures complicates the challenging task of...

This paper investigates the dynamics of the real exchange rate and relative output among the US and five of its top six trading partners since the collapse of Bretton Woods. It employs long-run restrictions to identify the usual suspect macroeconomic shocks and their relative importance for...

There is mixed evidence in the literature of a clear relationship between income inequality and economic growth. Most of that work has focused almost exclusively on developed economies. In what we believe to be a first effort, our emphasis is solely on developing economics, which we classify as...