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The hockey stick Phillips curve and the effective lower bound

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  • Boehl, Gregor
  • Lieberknecht, Philipp

Abstract

We show that the interplay between a binding effective lower bound (ELB) on nominal interest rates and the costs of external financing weakens the disinflationary effect of financial shocks. In normal times, the real costs of production factors dominate in firms' marginal costs and are therefore key for inflation dynamics. In contrast, financing costs normally play a subordinate role as higher credit spreads are balanced-out by lower nominal rates. At the ELB, however, higher spreads following financial shocks can offset the effect of lower production factor costs on firms' price setting. The relationship between inflation and output hence features a hockey stick shape: the Phillips curve is flat at the ELB, but conventionally upward-sloping during normal times. This mechanism also weakens the power of forward guidance at the ELB, since such policy reduces spreads and financing costs.

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  • Boehl, Gregor & Lieberknecht, Philipp, 2025. "The hockey stick Phillips curve and the effective lower bound," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:dyncon:v:170:y:2025:i:c:s0165188924001945
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jedc.2024.105002
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrejs Zlobins, 2024. "On the time-varying effects of the ECB’s asset purchases," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 66(6), pages 2593-2623, June.
    2. Boehl, Gregor, 2022. "Efficient solution and computation of models with occasionally binding constraints," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    3. Andrejs Zlobins, 2021. "On the Time-varying Effects of the ECB's Asset Purchases," Working Papers 2021/02, Latvijas Banka.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Phillips curve; Financial frictions; Effective lower bound; Disinflation; Forward guidance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C62 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Existence and Stability Conditions of Equilibrium
    • C63 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Computational Techniques
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • E63 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Comparative or Joint Analysis of Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Stabilization; Treasury Policy

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