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The Taylor Rule and 'Opportunistic' Monetary Policy

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  • Bunzel, Helle
  • Enders, Walter

Abstract

We investigate the possibility that the Taylor rule should be formulated as a threshold process such that the Federal Reserve acts more aggressively in some circumstances than in others. It seems reasonable that the Federal Reserve would act more aggressively when inflation is high than when it is low. Similarly, it might be expected that the Federal Reserve responds more to a negative than a positive output gap. Although these specifications receive some empirical support, we find that a modified threshold model that is consistent with "opportunistic" monetary policy makes significant progress towards explaining Federal Reserve behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Bunzel, Helle & Enders, Walter, 2005. "The Taylor Rule and 'Opportunistic' Monetary Policy," Staff General Research Papers Archive 12301, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:isu:genres:12301
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    taylor rule; cointegration; structural break;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy

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