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The Curious Incidence of Monetary Policy Across the Income Distribution

Author

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  • Broer, Tobias

    (Paris School of Economics, IIES, Stockholm University, and CEPR)

  • Kramer, John

    (IIES, Stockholm University)

  • Mitman, Kurt

    (IIES, Stockholm University, CEPR and IZA)

Abstract

We use high-frequency administrative data from Germany to study the effects of monetary policy on income and employment across the earnings distribution. Earnings growth at the bottom of the distribution is substantially more elastic to policy shocks. This unequal incidence is driven by differences in the response of employment risk across the distribution: job loss is more countercyclical for lower-earnings households. Viewed through the lens of a standard incomplete-markets model, the heterogeneous incidence substantially amplifies the equilibrium response of aggregate consumption to shocks.

Suggested Citation

  • Broer, Tobias & Kramer, John & Mitman, Kurt, 2022. "The Curious Incidence of Monetary Policy Across the Income Distribution," Working Paper Series 416, Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden).
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:rbnkwp:0416
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    Cited by:

    1. Hubert, Paul & Savignac, Frederique, 2023. "Monetary Policy and Labor Income Inequality: the Role of Extensive and Intensive Margins," CEPR Discussion Papers 18130, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Ampudia, Miguel & Ehrmann, Michael & Strasser, Georg, 2023. "The effect of monetary policy on inflation heterogeneity along the income distribution," Working Paper Series 2858, European Central Bank.
    3. Gomes, Sandra & Jacquinot, Pascal & Lozej, Matija, 2023. "A single monetary policy for heterogeneous labour markets: the case of the euro area," Research Technical Papers 3/RT/23, Central Bank of Ireland.
    4. Uroš Herman & Matija Lozej, 2023. "Who Gets Jobs Matters: Monetary Policy and the Labour Market in HANK and SAM," Working Papers halshs-04328572, HAL.
    5. Cantore, Cristiano & Ferroni, Filippo & Mumtaz, Hroon & Theophilopoulou, Angeliki, 2022. "A tail of labour supply and a tale of monetary policy," Bank of England working papers 989, Bank of England.
    6. Bertrand Garbinti & Pierre Lamarche & Fredérique Savignac, 2024. "Wealth Heterogeneity and the Marginal Propensity to Consume out of Wealth," Working Papers 2022-02, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    7. Groiss, Martin, 2024. "Equalizing Monetary Policy - the Earnings Heterogeneity Channel in Action," VfS Annual Conference 2024 (Berlin): Upcoming Labor Market Challenges 302346, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inequality; Monetary Policy; Heterogeneous agents;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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