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Monetary Policy Shifts and the Forward Discount Puzzle

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Listed author(s):
  • Michael Jetter

    ()

  • Alex Nikolsko-Rzhevskyy

    ()

Abstract

This paper argues that considerable switches in monetary policy are able to explain a major part of the forward discount puzzle. We build a theoretical model suggesting that violations of the uncovered interest rate parity are owed to shifts in monetary policy from a destabilizing (when the Taylor principle is violated) to a stabilizing regime (when a central bank follows a Taylor-type rule). Following the switch is an adjustment period" during which forecasters gradually update their expectations, eventually restoring the parity. It is in this adjustment period, when the forward discount puzzle arises. In the second part of the paper we test the model on the Canadian dollar, German mark, and British pound, all against the US dollar. Results indicate that the forward discount puzzle loses signi cance after allowing for an adjustment period of about 1 - 2 years. Our results are robust to various di erent speci cations, such as the use of di erent maturities or base currencies. Further, it seems unlikely that our results coincide with contemporaneous events.

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File URL: http://repository.eafit.edu.co/bitstream/10784/746/1/2013_9_Michael_Jetter.pdf
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Paper provided by UNIVERSIDAD EAFIT in its series DOCUMENTOS DE TRABAJO CIEF with number 010729.

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Length: 22
Date of creation: 13 Apr 2013
Handle: RePEc:col:000122:010729
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Keywords: expectations errors; excess returns; forward discount puzzle; Taylor rule; monetary policy;

Find related papers by JEL classification:

  • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
  • F31 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Exchange
  • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading

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  1. Fernando Alvarez & Andrew Atkeson & Patrick J. Kehoe, 2009. "Time-Varying Risk, Interest Rates, and Exchange Rates in General Equilibrium," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 76(3), pages 851-878.
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  9. Kenneth A. Froot & Jeffrey A. Frankel, 1989. "Forward Discount Bias: Is it an Exchange Risk Premium?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 104(1), pages 139-161.
  10. Clarida, Richard & Gali, Jordi & Gertler, Mark, 1998. "Monetary policy rules in practice Some international evidence," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(6), pages 1033-1067, June.
  11. Engel, Charles, 1996. "The forward discount anomaly and the risk premium: A survey of recent evidence," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 123-192, June.
  12. Sarantis, Nicholas, 2006. "Testing the uncovered interest parity using traded volatility, a time-varying risk premium and heterogeneous expectations," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(7), pages 1168-1186, November.
  13. Lothian, James R. & Wu, Liuren, 2011. "Uncovered interest-rate parity over the past two centuries," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 448-473, April.
  14. Sakoulis, Georgios & Zivot, Eric & Choi, Kyongwook, 2010. "Structural change in the forward discount: Implications for the forward rate unbiasedness hypothesis," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 957-966, December.
  15. Molodtsova, Tanya & Nikolsko-Rzhevskyy, Alex & Papell, David H., 2008. "Taylor rules with real-time data: A tale of two countries and one exchange rate," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(Supplemen), pages 63-79, October.
  16. Gourinchas, Pierre-Olivier & Tornell, Aaron, 2004. "Exchange rate puzzles and distorted beliefs," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 303-333, December.
  17. Alex Nikolsko‐Rzhevskyy, 2011. "Monetary Policy Estimation in Real Time: Forward‐Looking Taylor Rules without Forward‐Looking Data," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(5), pages 871-897, 08.
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