Are there asymmetries in euro area monetary policy? (Michael Pfarrhofer, Anna Stelzer)

We assess asymmetries, nonlinearities and state dependencies in dynamic responses of the euro area to monetary policy shocks. The dataset includes macroeconomic, financial, and survey-based variables measuring credit conditions and bank lending transmission channels. These data are observed at different frequencies. We propose a multivariate nonparametric mixed-frequency model, and discuss how to compute dynamic causal effects in a nonlinear context. The results suggest limited effects of expansionary policy shocks whereas contractionary shocks yield responses in line with theory. There is little variation over the business cycle and in distinct periods such as at the effective lower bound.