IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/h/cnb/ocpubc/geo2023-4.html

The inverted yield curve: economic recession on the horizon

In: CNB Global Economic Outlook - April 2023

Author

Listed:
  • Martin Motl

Abstract

Something unusual has been happening on the US bond market since October 2022, something that is attracting a lot of interest and is sparking concerns among many economists and investors worldwide. Shorter maturity US government debt instruments generate higher returns than longer maturity government bonds. The yield curve for fixed-interest US government instruments has thus had a negative slope for several months, which is also rising over time. This phenomenon has reliably predicted all the economic recessions in the USA in the past more than 50 years. The current difference between the yield on 3-month US Treasury bills and the yield on 10-year US government bonds is now the highest since 1981. Can similar developments be expected again this time? This article sets out to identify the phases of the business cycle in the USA using the slope of the yield curve and the level of implied stock market volatility. It also attempts to estimate the timing of the next economic recession in the USA, which would have a major impact on the global economy as well.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Motl, 2023. "The inverted yield curve: economic recession on the horizon," Occasional Publications - Chapters in Edited Volumes, in: CNB Global Economic Outlook - April 2023, pages 13-19, Czech National Bank, Research and Statistics Department.
    • Handle: RePEc:cnb:ocpubc:geo2023/4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cnb.cz/export/sites/cnb/en/monetary-policy/.galleries/geo/geo_2023/gev_2023_04_en.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Menzie Chinn & Kavan Kucko, 2015. "The Predictive Power of the Yield Curve Across Countries and Time," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(2), pages 129-156, June.
    2. Lael Brainard, 2018. "Sustaining Full Employment and Inflation around Target : a speech at the Forecasters Club of New York, New York, New York, May 31, 2018," Speech 1005, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    3. Harvey, Campbell R., 1988. "The real term structure and consumption growth," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 305-333, December.
    4. Jan Bruha & Martin Motl & Jaromir Tonner, 2021. "Assessment of the impacts of the pandemic on the world's major economies: A crisis of supply or demand?," Occasional Publications - Chapters in Edited Volumes, in: CNB Global Economic Outlook - May 2021, pages 12-21, Czech National Bank, Research and Statistics Department.
    5. Estrella, Arturo & Hardouvelis, Gikas A, 1991. "The Term Structure as a Predictor of Real Economic Activity," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(2), pages 555-576, June.
    6. John B. Taylor, 2009. "The Financial Crisis and the Policy Responses: An Empirical Analysis of What Went Wrong," NBER Working Papers 14631, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Robert D. Laurent, 1988. "An interest rate-based indicator of monetary policy," Economic Perspectives, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, vol. 12(Jan), pages 3-14.
    8. Smets, Frank & Tsatsaronis, Kostas, 1997. "Why Does the Yield Curve Predict Economic Activity? Dissecting the Evidence for Germany and the United States," CEPR Discussion Papers 1758, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Martin Motl, 2019. "The inverted yield curve in the USA: How much time is left until a recession?," Occasional Publications - Chapters in Edited Volumes, in: CNB Global Economic Outlook - May 2019, pages 13-19, Czech National Bank, Research and Statistics Department.
    2. David C. Wheelock & Mark E. Wohar, 2009. "Can the term spread predict output growth and recessions? a survey of the literature," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 91(Sep), pages 419-440.
    3. Boukhatem, Jamel & Sekouhi, Hayfa, 2017. "What does the bond yield curve tell us about Tunisian economic activity?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 295-303.
    4. Andrea Nobili, 2005. "Forecasting Output Growth And Inflation In The Euro Area: Are Financial Spreads Useful?," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 544, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    5. Bordo, Michael D. & Haubrich, Joseph G., 2024. "Low interest rates and the predictive content of the yield curve," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    6. Evgenidis, Anastasios & Papadamou, Stephanos & Siriopoulos, Costas, 2020. "The yield spread's ability to forecast economic activity: What have we learned after 30 years of studies?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 221-232.
    7. Evangelos Salachas & Georgios P. Kouretas & Nikiforos T. Laopodis, 2024. "The term structure of interest rates and economic activity: Evidence from the COVID‐19 pandemic," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(4), pages 1018-1041, July.
    8. Nakaota, Hiroshi & Fukuta, Yuichi, 2013. "The leading indicator property of the term spread and the monetary policy factors in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 85-98.
    9. Rendu de Lint, Christel & Stolin, David, 2003. "The predictive power of the yield curve: a theoretical assessment," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(7), pages 1603-1622, October.
    10. Kuosmanen, Petri & Vataja, Juuso, 2011. "The role of stock markets vs. the term spread in forecasting macrovariables in Finland," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 124-132, May.
    11. Leo Krippner & Leif Anders Thorsrud, 2009. "Forecasting New Zealand's economic growth using yield curve information," Reserve Bank of New Zealand Discussion Paper Series DP2009/18, Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
    12. Fabio Moneta, 2005. "Does the Yield Spread Predict Recessions in the Euro Area?," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(2), pages 263-301, August.
    13. Tvedt, Jostein, 2025. "A predictive term-spread model in the age of inflation targeting," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    14. Idilbi-Bayaa, Yasmeen & Qadan, Mahmoud, 2022. "What the current yield curve says, and what the future prices of energy do," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    15. Hasse, Jean-Baptiste & Lajaunie, Quentin, 2022. "Does the yield curve signal recessions? New evidence from an international panel data analysis," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 9-22.
    16. Sumit K. Majumdar & Rabih Moussawi & Ulku Yaylacicegi, 2018. "Capital Structure and Mergers: Retrospective Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 449-472, December.
    17. Ahrens, R., 2002. "Predicting recessions with interest rate spreads: a multicountry regime-switching analysis," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 519-537, August.
    18. Cyrille Lenoel & Garry Young, 2020. "Real-time turning point indicators: Review of current international practices," Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) Discussion Papers ESCoE DP-2020-05, Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE).
    19. Hamilton, James Douglas & Kim, Dong Heon, 2000. "A Re-examination of the Predictability of Economic Activity Using the Yield Spread," University of California at San Diego, Economics Working Paper Series qt69v8p1m9, Department of Economics, UC San Diego.
    20. B. De Backer & M. Deroose & Ch. Van Nieuwenhuyze, 2019. "Is a recession imminent? The signal of the yield curve," Economic Review, National Bank of Belgium, issue i, pages 69-93, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cnb:ocpubc:geo2023/4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tomas Karhanek (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cnbgvcz.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.