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Money, Interest Rate Spreads, and Economic Activity

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  • Christine Sauer
  • Joachim Scheide

Abstract

Numerous empirical studies for industrial countries have shown that the term structure of interest rates is a good indicator for future output growth. This paper addresses the question whether the interest rate spread contains any additional predictive power if information on the money stock is already included in the model. A multivariate error-correction framework is applied to three large European economies - France, Germany, and ltaly. The importance of various (real) monetary aggregates and the term structure is investigated with Granger causality tests. The models also include the terms of trade as an indicator of real disturbances. The evidence concerning the marginal information content of the interest rate spread is mixed. For France and ltaly, the variable does not improve the results of the basic model whereas it plays a significant role in the case of Germany. We conclude that policy makers and market participants should check carefully whether the term structure can improve business cycle forecasts. Regardless of its indicator qualities, however, the variable should not be viewed as a possible intermediate target for monetary policy. The term structure does not provide an anchor for the price level and. thus, is not an alternative to monetary targeting.

Suggested Citation

  • Christine Sauer & Joachim Scheide, 1995. "Money, Interest Rate Spreads, and Economic Activity," CESifo Working Paper Series 83, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_83
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    1. Nikolaos Mylonidis, 2003. "Financial variables as leading indicators in Greece," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 9(4), pages 268-278, November.
    2. van Bergeijk, Peter A. G. & Berk, Jan Marc, 2000. "Is the yield curve a useful Information variable for the Eurosystem?," Working Paper Series 0011, European Central Bank.
    3. Noor Ghazali & Soo-Wah Low, 2002. "The expectation hypothesis in emerging financial markets: the case of Malaysia," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(9), pages 1147-1156.
    4. Brand, Claus & Reimers, Hans-Eggert & Seitz, Franz, 2003. "Forecasting real GDP: what role for narrow money?," Working Paper Series 254, European Central Bank.
    5. Jens Boysen‐Hogrefe, 2015. "Monetary Aggregates to Improve Early Output Gap Estimates in the Euro Area: An Empirical Assessment," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(7), pages 533-542, November.
    6. Drechsel, Katja & Scheufele, Rolf, 2011. "The Financial Crisis from a Forecaster’s Perspective," IWH Discussion Papers 5/2011, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    7. Gebhardt Kirschgässner & Marcel Savioz, 2001. "Monetary Policy and Forecasts for Real GDP Growth: An Empirical Investigation for the Federal Republic of Germany," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 2(4), pages 339-365, November.
    8. Jens Boysen-Hogrefe, 2012. "A note on predicting recessions in the euro area using real M1," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(2), pages 1291-1301.
    9. van Bergeijk, Peter A. G. & Berk, Jan Marc, 2000. "Is the yield curve a useful Information variable for the Eurosystem?," Working Paper Series 11, European Central Bank.
    10. Claus Brand & Hans-Eggert Reimers & Franz Seitz, 2003. "Narrow Money and the Business Cycle: Theoretical aspects and euro area evdence," Macroeconomics 0303012, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Ivanova, Detelina & Lahiri, Kajal & Seitz, Franz, 2000. "Interest rate spreads as predictors of German inflation and business cycles," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 39-58.
    12. Abad, Pilar & Novales, Alfonso, 2005. "An error correction factor model of term structure slopes in international swap markets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 229-254, July.
    13. Fritsche Ulrich & Stephan Sabine, 2002. "Leading Indicators of German Business Cycles. An Assessment of Properties / Frühindikatoren der deutschen Konjunktur. Eine Beurteilung ihrer Eigenschaften," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 222(3), pages 289-315, June.
    14. Döpke, Jörg, 1999. "Predicting Germany's recessions with leading indicators: Evidence from probit models," Kiel Working Papers 944, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).

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