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Macroeconomic Surprises and the Demand for Information about Monetary Policy

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  • Tillmann, Peter

Abstract

This paper studies the demand for information about monetary policy, while the literature on central bank transparency and communication typically studies the supply of information by the central bank or the reception of the information provided. We use a new data set on the number of views of the Federal Reserve's website to measure the demand for information. We show that exogenous news about the state of the economy as re ected in U.S. macroeconomic news surprises raise the demand for information about monetary policy. Surprises trigger an increase in the number of views of the policy-relevant sections of the website, but not the other sections. Hence, market participants do not only revise their policy expectations after a surprise, but actively acquire new information. We also show that attention to the Fed matters: a high number of views on the day before the news release weakens the high-frequency response of interest rates to macroeconomic surprises.

Suggested Citation

  • Tillmann, Peter, 2020. "Macroeconomic Surprises and the Demand for Information about Monetary Policy," VfS Annual Conference 2020 (Virtual Conference): Gender Economics 224545, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc20:224545
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alan S. Blinder & Michael Ehrmann & Marcel Fratzscher & Jakob De Haan & David-Jan Jansen, 2008. "Central Bank Communication and Monetary Policy: A Survey of Theory and Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(4), pages 910-945, December.
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    6. Gilbert, Thomas & Scotti, Chiara & Strasser, Georg & Vega, Clara, 2017. "Is the intrinsic value of a macroeconomic news announcement related to its asset price impact?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 78-95.
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    8. repec:pri:cepsud:161blinder is not listed on IDEAS
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    15. Brenner, Menachem & Pasquariello, Paolo & Subrahmanyam, Marti, 2009. "On the Volatility and Comovement of U.S. Financial Markets around Macroeconomic News Announcements," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(6), pages 1265-1289, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexander Jung & Patrick Kuehl, 2021. "Can central bank communication help to stabilise inflation expectations?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(3), pages 298-321, July.
    2. Massimiliano Marcellino & Dalibor Stevanovic, 2022. "The demand and supply of information about inflation," CIRANO Working Papers 2022s-27, CIRANO.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    website traffic; nonfarm payroll; attention; event study; central bank communication;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E5 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit

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