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Wicksell's Classical Dichotomy: Is the natural rate of interest independent of the money rate of interest?

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  • Beenstock, Michael
  • Ilek, Alex

Abstract

According to Wicksell's Classical Dichotomy the money rate of interest depends on the natural rate of interest, but the latter does not depend on the former. If this Classical Dichotomy is false monetary policy may induce hysteresis because the natural rate of interest would depend upon the money rate of interest. We use data for Israel to test Wicksell's Classical Dichotomy. We proxy the natural rate of interest by the forward yield to maturity on indexed-linked treasury bonds. If the null hypothesis is false it is difficult to suggest persuasive instruments that would identify the causal effect of the money rate on the natural rate of interest. Our identification strategy is therefore built around quasi-experimentation and event analysis. Large and seemingly orthogonal shocks to the natural rate of interest have no measurable effect on the natural rate of interest according to non-parametric and parametric tests. Therefore, Wicksell's Classical Dichotomy is empirically valid.

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  • Beenstock, Michael & Ilek, Alex, 2010. "Wicksell's Classical Dichotomy: Is the natural rate of interest independent of the money rate of interest?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 366-377, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jmacro:v:32:y:2010:i:1:p:366-377
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    Cited by:

    1. Eyal Argov & Emanuel Barnea & Alon Binyamini & Eliezer Borenstein & David Elkayam & Irit Rozenshtrom, 2012. "MOISE: A DSGE Model for the Israeli Economy," Bank of Israel Working Papers 2012.06, Bank of Israel.
    2. Romain Bouis & Łukasz Rawdanowicz & Jean-Paul Renne & Shingo Watanabe & Ane Kathrine Christensen, 2013. "The Effectiveness of Monetary Policy since the Onset of the Financial Crisis," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1081, OECD Publishing.
    3. Alex Ilek & Guy Segal, 2022. "A Simple Theory-Based Estimate of the Real Natural Rate of Interest in Open Economies," Bank of Israel Working Papers 2022.06, Bank of Israel.
    4. Philip Arestis & Georgios Chortareas, 2007. "Natural equilibrium real interest rate estimates and monetary policy design," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 621-643.
    5. Ronny Mazzocchi, 2013. "Monetary Policy when the NAIRI is unknown: The Fed and the Great Deviation," DEM Discussion Papers 2013/16, Department of Economics and Management.
    6. Ilek, Alex, 2021. "Are monetary surprises effective? The view of professional forecasters in Israel," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 516-530.
    7. David Elkayam & Guy Segal, 2018. "Estimated Natural Rate of Interest in an Open Economy: The Case of Israel," Bank of Israel Working Papers 2018.05, Bank of Israel.
    8. Alex Ilek, 2007. "Aggregation versus Disaggregation - What can we learn from it?," Bank of Israel Working Papers 2007.02b, Bank of Israel.

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    Keywords

    Natural rate of interest Monetary policy Event analysis Indexed bonds Neutrality of monetary policy Identification;

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