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The High Correlations of Prices and Interest Rates across Nations

Author

Listed:
  • Roman Sustek

    (Bank of England)

  • Finn Kydland

    (University of California--Santa Barbara)

  • Espen Henriksen

    (University of Oslo)

Abstract

We document that at business cycle frequency, nominal variables, such as aggregate price levels and nominal interest rates, are more correlated across countries than real output. Since national central banks control the domestic money supply and their objective has been to keep the nominal environment stable this might seem puzzling. We ask whether a simple, transparent standard international business cycle model can account for these nominal as well as the real aspects of international business cycles. It can. Due to spillovers of technology shocks across countries, responses of national central banks to fluctuations in domestic output and inflation generate responses of prices and interest rates that are synchronized across countries even when output is not. Even modest spillovers produce correlations like those in the data.

Suggested Citation

  • Roman Sustek & Finn Kydland & Espen Henriksen, 2008. "The High Correlations of Prices and Interest Rates across Nations," 2008 Meeting Papers 773, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:sed008:773
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zimmermann, Christian, 1997. "International real business cycles among heterogeneous countries," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 319-356, February.
    2. Mumtaz, Haroon & Surico, Paolo, 2008. "Evolving International Inflation Dynamics: Evidence from a Time-varying Dynamic Factor Model," CEPR Discussion Papers 6767, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
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    Cited by:

    1. Le, Vo Phuong Mai & Minford, Patrick & Wickens, Michael, 2010. "The 'Puzzles' methodology: En route to Indirect Inference?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 1417-1428, November.
    2. Auer, Raphael A. & Mehrotra, Aaron, 2014. "Trade linkages and the globalisation of inflation in Asia and the Pacific," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(PA), pages 129-151.
    3. Kateryna Onishchenko, 2012. "Can a pure real business cycle model explain the real exchange rate: the case of Ukraine," International Journal of Sustainable Economy, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 4(2), pages 111-135.
    4. Saverio Simonelli & Haroon Mumtaz & Paolo Surico, 2009. "A Historical Perspective on International Co-movements: 1821-2007," 2009 Meeting Papers 523, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    5. M. Y. Çakır & A. Kabundi, 2013. "Business cycle co-movements between South Africa and the BRIC countries," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(33), pages 4698-4718, November.
    6. Byrne, Joseph P. & Fazio, Giorgio & Fiess, Norbert, 2012. "Interest rate co-movements, global factors and the long end of the term spread," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 183-192.
    7. Haroon Mumtaz & Saverio Simonelli & Paolo Surico, 2011. "International Comovements, Business Cycle and Inflation: a Historical Perspective," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 14(1), pages 176-198, January.
    8. Roman Sustek, 2011. "Monetary Business Cycle Accounting," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 14(4), pages 592-612, October.
    9. Le, Vo Phuong Mai & Minford, Patrick & Wickens, Michael, 2009. "Some problems in the testing of DSGE models," Cardiff Economics Working Papers E2009/31, Cardiff University, Cardiff Business School, Economics Section.
    10. Aviral Tiwari & Niyati Bhanja & Arif Dar & Olaolu Olayeni, 2015. "Analyzing Time–Frequency Based Co-movement in Inflation: Evidence from G-7 Countries," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 45(1), pages 91-109, January.
    11. Lindenberg, Nannette & Westermann, Frank, 2012. "Common trends and common cycles among interest rates of the G7-countries," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 1125-1140.
    12. Neely, Christopher J. & Rapach, David E., 2011. "International comovements in inflation rates and country characteristics," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(7), pages 1471-1490.
    13. Raphael Auer & Aaron Mehrotra, 2014. "Real globalisation and price spillovers in Asia and the Pacific," BIS Papers chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), Globalisation, inflation and monetary policy in Asia and the Pacific, volume 77, pages 81-89, Bank for International Settlements.
    14. Sustek, Roman, 2010. "Monetary aggregates and the business cycle," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(4), pages 451-465, May.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E43 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects
    • F42 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - International Policy Coordination and Transmission
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation

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