We estimate a time-varying parameter VAR (TVP-VAR) with stochastic volatility using post- WWII U.S. data to study the effects of uncertainty shocks on inflation. We find the response of inflation to be statistically insignificant until mid-to-late 1990s and negative thereafter. Our findings...

We use non-Gaussian features in U.S. macroeconomic data to identify aggregate supply and demand shocks while imposing minimal economic assumptions. Recessions in the 1970s and 1980s were driven primarily by supply shocks, later recessions were driven primarily by demand shocks, and the Great...

We propose a multicountry quantile factor augmeneted vector autoregression (QFAVAR) to model heterogeneities both across countries and across characteristics of the distributions of macroeconomic time series. The presence of quantile factors allows for summarizing these two heterogeneities in a...

We analyze the distributional consequences of uncertainty shocks in the U.S. economy at a business cycle frequency. Our findings reveal that uncertainty shocks have heterogeneous effects across income and wealth distribution. While their impact on income inequality appears marginal when measured...

This paper shows how uninsurable unemployment risk is crucial to qualitatively and quantitatively match macro responses to uncertainty shocks. Empirically, uncertainty shocks i) generate deflationary pressure; ii) have considerably negative consequences on economic activity; iii) produce a drop...

We estimate the time-varying distribution of aggregate supply (AS) and aggregate demand (AD) shocks defined in the Keynesian tradition. In modeling the time variation in higher order moments, we distinguish between traditional Gaussian uncertainty and "bad" uncertainty, associated with negative...

This paper presents and estimates a sticky-price model with heterogenous households and financial frictions. Financial frictions lead to imperfect risk-sharing among households with idiosyncratic labor incomes. I study implications of imperfect risk-sharing for optimal monetary policy by...

Price setting has become more flexible following a string of large adverse shocks (Covid-19, the Ukraine War). We argue that a shift to a high-uncertainty regime incentivizes firms to invest in their ability to adjust prices. We formalize this idea in a general equilibrium model with endogenous...

We use a factor model with stochastic volatility to decompose the time-varying variance of Macro economic and Financial variables into contributions from country-specific uncertainty and uncertainty common to all countries. We find that the common component plays an important role in driving the...