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Is there a cost channel of monetary policy transmission? An investigation into the pricing behaviour of 2,000 firms

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Author Info
Eugenio Gaiotti () (Banca d'Italia)
Alessandro Secchi () (Banca d'Italia)

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Abstract

The paper exploits a unique panel, covering some 2,000 Italian manufacturing firms and 14 years of data on individual prices and individual interest rates paid on several types of debt, to address the question of the existence of a channel of transmission of monetary policy operating through the effect of interest expenses on the marginal cost of production. It has been argued that this mechanism may explain the dimension of the real effects of monetary policy, give a rationale for the positive short-run response of prices to rate increases (the “price puzzle”) and call for a more gradual monetary policy response to shocks. We find robust evidence in favour of the presence of a cost channel of monetary policy transmission, proportional to the amount of working capital held by each firm. The channel is large enough to have non-trivial monetary policy implications.

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Paper provided by Bank of Italy, Economic Research Department in its series Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) with number 525.

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Date of creation: Dec 2004
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Handle: RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_525_04

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Related research
Keywords: monetary transmission; cost channel; working capital;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation

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  2. Bils, Mark & Chang, Yongsung, 2000. "Understanding how price responds to costs and production," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 33-77, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Valerie A. Ramey, 1991. "The Source of Fluctuations in Money: Evidence From Trade Credit," NBER Working Papers 3756, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Gerali, Andrea & Lippi, Francesco, 2003. "Optimal Control and Filtering in Linear Forward-looking Economies: A Toolkit," CEPR Discussion Papers 3706, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Farmer, Roger E A, 1984. "A New Theory of Aggregate Supply," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(5), pages 920-30, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Marvin J. Barth III & Valerie A. Ramey, 2000. "The Cost Channel of Monetary Transmission," NBER Working Papers 7675, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Chevalier, Judith A & Scharfstein, David S, 1996. "Capital-Market Imperfections and Countercyclical Markups: Theory and Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(4), pages 703-25, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Gali, Jordi & Gertler, Mark, 1999. "Inflation dynamics: A structural econometric analysis," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 195-222, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Riccardo Fiorentini & Roberto Tamborini, 2001. "The Monetary Transmission Mechanism in Italy: The Credit Channel and a Missing Ring," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 60(1), pages 1-42, June. [Downloadable!]
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  15. Pau Rabanal, 2003. "The Cost Channel of Monetary Policy: Further Evidence for the United States and the Euro Area," IMF Working Papers 03/149, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  16. Sims, Christopher A., 1992. "Interpreting the macroeconomic time series facts : The effects of monetary policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 975-1000, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  17. Domenico Marchetti, 2002. "Markups and the Business Cycle: Evidence from Italian Manufacturing Branches," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 87-103, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Christiano, Lawrence J. & Eichenbaum, Martin & Evans, Charles L., 1997. "Sticky price and limited participation models of money: A comparison," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1201-1249, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  19. Goodhart, Charles, 1986. "Financial Innovation and Monetary Control," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(4), pages 79-102, Winter.
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  3. Fabio Maccheroni & Massimo Marinacci & Aldo Rustichini & Marco Taboga, 2008. "Portfolio Selection with Monotone Mean-Variance Preferences," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 664, Bank of Italy, Economic Research Department. [Downloadable!]
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  4. Pierre-Richard Agénor & Karim El Aynaoui, 2008. "Excess Liquidity, Bank Pricing Rules, and Monetary Policy," Centre for Growth and Business Cycle Research Discussion Paper Series 105, Economics, The Univeristy of Manchester. [Downloadable!]
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  9. Joao Sousa & Andrea Zaghini, 2007. "Monetary Policy Shocks in the Euro Area and Global Liquidity Spillovers," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 629, Bank of Italy, Economic Research Department. [Downloadable!]
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