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Did the Fed follow an implicit McCallum rule during the Great Depression?

Author

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  • Olivier Damette

    (ENGREF - Ecole Nationale du Génie Rural, des Eaux et des Forêts, BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - UL - Université de Lorraine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, LEF - Laboratoire d'Economie Forestière - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - AgroParisTech)

  • Antoine Parent

    (IXXI - Institut Rhône-Alpin des systèmes complexes - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UJML - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 - Université de Lyon - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon - INSA Lyon - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon - Université de Lyon - INSA - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - Inria - Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA [2016-2019] - Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019], IEP Lyon - Sciences Po Lyon - Institut d'études politiques de Lyon - Université de Lyon, LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - ENTPE - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

In this paper we address the issue of the consistency of the Fed action during the interwar period using a McCallum base money rule. Developing backward-looking models, forward-looking models and counterfactual historical simulation, we found that the McCallum rule provides interesting historical lessons to identify possible driving forces of its policy setting. We give evidence that over the period 1921–1933 the Fed followed an imperfect and partial McCallum rule, moving the money base instrument according to an output target but not correcting for the deviation from this target. Lastly, our outcomes highlight that during the Great Depression the Fed was probably more active than suggested in the literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Olivier Damette & Antoine Parent, 2016. "Did the Fed follow an implicit McCallum rule during the Great Depression?," Post-Print halshs-01346726, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01346726
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2014.11.012
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard Clarida & Jordi Galí & Mark Gertler, 2000. "Monetary Policy Rules and Macroeconomic Stability: Evidence and Some Theory," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(1), pages 147-180.
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    Cited by:

    1. Caggiano, Giovanni & Castelnuovo, Efrem & Damette, Olivier & Parent, Antoine & Pellegrino, Giovanni, 2017. "Liquidity traps and large-scale financial crises," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 99-114.
    2. Le Riche, Antoine & Magris, Francesco & Parent, Antoine, 2017. "Liquidity Trap and stability of Taylor rules," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 16-27.
    3. Yutaka Kurihara & Akio Fukushima, 2020. "Taylor and McCallum Rule during the Unprecedented Monetary Easing Era: The Recent Japanese Case," Applied Economics and Finance, Redfame publishing, vol. 7(3), pages 70-77, May.
    4. Klingelhöfer, Jan & Sun, Rongrong, 2018. "China's regime-switching monetary policy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 32-40.

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