The author explicitly specifies a New Keynesian style model embodying a financial constraint on the availability of equity and a financial market imperfection with regard to the existence of state-contingent assets based upon the published papers of Greenwald and Stiglitz (1988, 1990, and 1993). Using computer based numerical simulation, the author validates the three unproven Propositions found in the Greenwald and Stiglitz 1993 article with regard to the model's comparative static behaviour. Through the inclusion of a parameter for technology into the production function, the author shows that observations made by Greenwald and Stiglitz with regard to the effect of equity infusions is subject to qualification. Investigation of the model's inter-temporal behaviour reveals that the claims made by Greenwald and Stiglitz with regard to multiple periodicity are again subject to many qualifications. Linearization around the steady-state equilibrium as suggested by Greenwald and Stiglitz is shown to offer limited insight because of the implied non-linearity of the model's first order difference equation. Calibrated numerical simulation of the nonlinear difference equation reveals the potential for both single and multiple periodicity, period doubling bifurcations, and chaotic trajectories displaying sensitivity to initial conditions. In addition it was shown that the model's implied random attractor was key to understanding its inter-temporal behavior. In the Greenwald and Stiglitz articles the existence of derivative markets such as futures or options to manage risk are assumed away. The author, in order to investigate the effects of futures or options markets upon business cycles, modifies the explicitly specified model to include the use of state-contingent assets. Introducing the use of derivative financial products to manage risk, using numerical simulation, produces the surprising result that in the aggregate they may lead to slightly greater output instability. In addition to the model's structure, several intuitive reasons for these results are discussed in depth. The Greenwald and Stiglitz model also assumed that the cost of capital was not risk adjusted. The author modifies the explicitly specified model and using numerical simulation shows that like other unrealistic assumptions concerning dividend distribution, leads to alternative laws of motion. The research is concluded with discussion of possible policy and regulatory implications.

The topic of fiscal policy has been long neglected in terms of fiscal policy's interdependence with other main macroeconomic variables. Presented thesis therefore analyses the validity of different fiscal policy models for the case of Czech Republic. Dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) framework is used throughout the thesis. Different fiscal policy rules are put into otherwise identical - benchmark - model and the models are compared to each other and to the benchmark model. The analysed fiscal policy models are an acyclical, counter- cyclical, two pro-cyclical and dichotomous spending models. We find that the most plausible fiscal policy rule is of pro-cyclical type and closely follows the model of Alesina et al. (2008). The model assumes that interest groups can steal part of government income through corruption and voters cannot observe it, so they demand maximum fiscal spending in the good times. The logic of this model is in accordance with the current state of fiscal and economic behaviour in Czech Republic.

Recently, single equation approaches for estimating structural models have become popular in the monetary economics literature. In particular, single-equation Generalized Method Moments estimators have been used for estimating forward-looking models with rational expectations. Two important examples are found in Clarida, Gali, and Gertler (1998) for the estimation of forward- looking Taylor rules and in Gali and Gertler (1999) for the estimation of a forward-looking model for inflation dynamics. In this thesis, we address the issues of identification which have been overlooked due to the incompleteness of the single-equation formulations. We provide extensions to existing results on the properties of GMM estimators and inference under weak identification, pertaining to situations in which only functions of the parameters of interest are identified, and structural residuals exhibit negative autocorrelation. We also characterize the power of the Hansen test to detect mis specification, and address the issues arising from using too many irrelevant instruments as well as from general corrections for residual autocorrelation, beyond what is implied by the maintained model. In general, we show that the non-modelled variables cannot be weakly exogenous for the parameters of interest, and that they are informative about the identification and mis-specification of the model. Modelling the reduced form helps identify pathological situations in which the structural parameters are weakly identified and the GMM estimators are inconsistent and biased in the direction of OLS.We also ¯nd the OLS bias to be increasing in the number of over-identifying instruments, even when the latter are irrelevant, thus demonstrating the dangers of using too many potentially irrelevant instruments. Finally, with regards to the "New Phillips curve", we conclude that, for the US economy, this model is either un-identified or mis-specified, casting doubts on its utility as a model of in°ation dynamics.

O objetivo desse trabalho é, a partir de um modelo estrutural de economia aberta novokeynesiano, determinar se as flutuações econômicas no Brasil são resultados de algumas poucas fontes principais de choques ou de muitas fontes diferentes de choques bem como as respostas dinâmicas que estes geram nas flutuações econômicas, utilizando-se da análise de decomposição de erros de Cholesky. Para isso, a analise feita nesse trabalho inicia-se com a abordagem teórica do regime de metas de inflação, situando o regime dentro do novo consenso macroeconômico. Então, a abordagem empírica para o caso brasileiro é realizada estimando-se um modelo de vetores autorregressivos (VAR) contemplando proxies que melhor representam as principais variáveis macroeconômicas brasileiras, sendo essas escolhidas a partir do estudo dos trabalhos empíricos que trataram da política monetária no Brasil em período recente. A análise dos efeitos dos choques é realizada por meio das funções de resposta ao impulso e da decomposição do erro de previsão. Os principais resultados empíricos obtidos por esse trabalho sugerem que: i) a taxa de juros se mostra como um importante instrumento para a política monetária, sendo utilizada pelo Banco Central para conter pressões sobre o hiato do produto e da inflação; ii) surpresas inflacionárias não trazem ganhos temporários em termos de um produto maior do que o nível natural; iii) a taxa de inflação mostra uma razoável persistência; iv) a taxa de inflação mostrou-se sensível a variações no câmbio. / The mean goal of this dissertation is to determine if the Brazilian output fluctuation is due to few mean sources of shocks or to several sources of shocks, using Cholesky error decomposition analysis. In order to do it, the analysis starts with a theoric approach for the inflation targeting regime, placing it into the new macroeconomic consensus. After that, the empirical approach for the Brazilian case is done by estimating an autoregressive model using proxies that best represent the mean Brazilian macroeconomic variables. These variables were chosen after a careful study of the empirical Brazilian monetary policy working papers done recently. The analysis of the shocks effects is done through both impulse-response functions and error forecast decomposition. The mean results suggest that: i) the interest rate is an important monetary policy tool and its being used by the Brazilian Central Bank in order to avoid pressures on both inflation and output gap; ii) inflation shocks does not bring gains in terms of higher product in the sort run; iii) the inflation rate has a reasonable degree of persistence; iv) the inflation rate is sensitive to exchange rate changes.

O objetivo desse trabalho é, a partir de um modelo estrutural de economia aberta novokeynesiano, determinar se as flutuações econômicas no Brasil são resultados de algumas poucas fontes principais de choques ou de muitas fontes diferentes de choques bem como as respostas dinâmicas que estes geram nas flutuações econômicas, utilizando-se da análise de decomposição de erros de Cholesky. Para isso, a analise feita nesse trabalho inicia-se com a abordagem teórica do regime de metas de inflação, situando o regime dentro do novo consenso macroeconômico. Então, a abordagem empírica para o caso brasileiro é realizada estimando-se um modelo de vetores autorregressivos (VAR) contemplando proxies que melhor representam as principais variáveis macroeconômicas brasileiras, sendo essas escolhidas a partir do estudo dos trabalhos empíricos que trataram da política monetária no Brasil em período recente. A análise dos efeitos dos choques é realizada por meio das funções de resposta ao impulso e da decomposição do erro de previsão. Os principais resultados empíricos obtidos por esse trabalho sugerem que: i) a taxa de juros se mostra como um importante instrumento para a política monetária, sendo utilizada pelo Banco Central para conter pressões sobre o hiato do produto e da inflação; ii) surpresas inflacionárias não trazem ganhos temporários em termos de um produto maior do que o nível natural; iii) a taxa de inflação mostra uma razoável persistência; iv) a taxa de inflação mostrou-se sensível a variações no câmbio. / The mean goal of this dissertation is to determine if the Brazilian output fluctuation is due to few mean sources of shocks or to several sources of shocks, using Cholesky error decomposition analysis. In order to do it, the analysis starts with a theoric approach for the inflation targeting regime, placing it into the new macroeconomic consensus. After that, the empirical approach for the Brazilian case is done by estimating an autoregressive model using proxies that best represent the mean Brazilian macroeconomic variables. These variables were chosen after a careful study of the empirical Brazilian monetary policy working papers done recently. The analysis of the shocks effects is done through both impulse-response functions and error forecast decomposition. The mean results suggest that: i) the interest rate is an important monetary policy tool and its being used by the Brazilian Central Bank in order to avoid pressures on both inflation and output gap; ii) inflation shocks does not bring gains in terms of higher product in the sort run; iii) the inflation rate has a reasonable degree of persistence; iv) the inflation rate is sensitive to exchange rate changes.

Submitted by Rafael Vasconcellos (rvasconcellos@opportunity.com.br) on 2014-05-20T02:03:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Rafael_Vasconcelos_final.pdf: 20892429 bytes, checksum: 5c4ce751f72e8fcbf37fceb2d33608fb (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Vitor Souza (vitor.souza@fgv.br) on 2014-05-20T12:30:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Rafael_Vasconcelos_final.pdf: 20892429 bytes, checksum: 5c4ce751f72e8fcbf37fceb2d33608fb (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-26T20:29:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rafael_Vasconcelos_final.pdf: 20892429 bytes, checksum: 5c4ce751f72e8fcbf37fceb2d33608fb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-05-23 / Muitos trabalhos têm sido elaborados a respeito da curva de demanda agregada brasileira, a curva IS, desde a implementação do Plano Real e, principalmente, após a adoção do regime de câmbio flutuante. Este trabalho tem como objetivo estimar algumas especificações para a curva IS brasileira, para o período após a implementação do câmbio flutuante, do regime de metas de inflação e da Lei de Responsabilidade Fiscal, i.e. após o ano 2000. As especificações para as curvas estimadas tiveram como base o modelo novo-keynesiano, tendo sido incluídas algumas variáveis explicativas buscando captar o efeito na demanda agregada da maior intermediação financeira na potência da política monetária e o efeito do esforço fiscal feito pelo governo brasileiro. O trabalho utiliza o Método dos Momentos Generalizados (MMG) para estimar a curva IS em sua especificação foward-looking e o Método dos Mínimos Quadrados Ordinários (MQO) para estimar a curva IS em sua versão backward-looking. Os resultados mostram forte significância para o hiato do produto em todas as especificações. As especificações foward-looking mostram coeficientes significantes, porém com sinais opostos ao esperado para os juros e superávit primário. Nas regressões backward-looking o sinal dos coeficientes encontrados são os esperados, porém, mostram-se não significantes. / Several works have been done regarding the Brazilian aggregate demand curve, the IS curve, since the implementation of the Real Plan and, especially, since the introduction of the floating exchange rate mechanism. This work aims to estimate some specifications of the Brazilian IS curve, for the period since the adoption of the floating exchange rate, the inflation target regime and the Law of Fiscal Responsibility, i.e. since 2000. The specifications of the estimated curve were based on the New Keynesian model and some explanatory variables were added to capture the effect of the deeper financial intermediation on potency of monetary policy and the effect of the fiscal effort done by de Brazilian Government on the aggregate demand. This paper uses the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to estimate the IS curve on a forward-looking specification, while the Ordinary Least Square method (OLS) is used to estimate the IS curve on its backward-looking specification. The results show strong significance for the output gap in all the specification. The forward looking specifications have significant coefficients but with opposite signs for what were expected for the interest rates and the Government primary surplus. On the backward-looking regressions the coefficients signs were as expected but weren’t significant.

Die vorliegende Dissertation zu makroökonomischen Themen beinhaltet einen einleitenden Literaturüberblick, drei eigenständige und voneinander unabhängige Kapitel sowie einen technischen Anhang. In Kapitel zwei wird ein Zwei-Länder Modell einer Währungsunion betrachtet, in dem die gemeinsame Zentralbank die Wohlfahrt der gesamten Währungsunion maximieren will, während die zwei fiskalpolitischen Akteure vergleichbare, aber minimal abweichende länderspezifische Verlustfunktionen zu minimieren suchen. Das Konkurrenzverhalten dieser drei Institutionen wird in sieben spieltheoretischen Szenarien analysiert. Beim Vergleich einer homogenen mit einer heterogenen Währungsunion lassen sich für letztere deutlich höhere Wohlfahrtsverluste relativ zum sozialen Optimum feststellen. Die Szenarien mit den geringsten Wohlfahrtsverlusten sind Kooperation aller drei Institutionen und eine Stackelberg-Führerschaft der Zentralbank. Kapitel drei untersucht, inwieweit das Verhältnis von Immobilienpreise zum Bruttoinlandsprodukt als langfristig konstant und nur auf Grund von Produktivitätsschocks von seinem Mittelwert abweichend angesehen werden kann. Hierzu wird ein Zwei-Sektoren RBC-Modell für den Immobiliensektor und einen Konsumgütersektor erstellt. Es wird gezeigt, dass ein antizipierter, zukünftiger Schock auf das Produktivitätswachstum im Konsumgütersektor eine sofortige, deutliche Erhöhung der Immobilienpreise relativ zum Bruttoinlandsprodukt zur Folge hat. In Kapitel vier wird gefragt, ob ein typisches Neukeynesianisches Modell "sechs große Rätsel der internationalen Makroökonomie" erklären kann. Die sechs Rätsel werden in Bedingungen für erste und zweite Momente übersetzt und fünf wesentliche Modellparameter geschätzt. Das Ergebnis ist erstaunlich gut: unter anderem können die empirischen Beobachtungen zur Heimatpräferenz wiedergegeben und die Schwankungsbreite des realen Wechselkurses deutlich erhöht werden. Handelskosten sind für dieses Ergebnis ein wesentlicher Faktor. / This dissertation consists of an introductory chapter with an extended literature review, three chapters on individual and independent research topics, and an appendix. Chapter 2 uses a two-country model with a central bank maximizing union-wide welfare and two fiscal authorities minimizing comparable, but slightly different country-wide losses. The rivalry between the three authorities is analyzed in seven static games. Comparing a homogeneous with a heterogeneous monetary union, welfare losses relative to the social optimum are found to be significantly larger in a heterogeneous union. The best-performing scenarios are cooperation between all authorities and monetary leadership. The goal of Chapter 3 is to investigate whether or not it is possible to explain the house price to GDP ratio and the house price to stock price ratio as being generally constant, deviating from its respective mean only because of shocks to productivity? Building a two-sector RBC model for residential and non-residential capital, it is shown that an anticipated future shock to productivity growth in the non-residential sector leads to an immediate large increase in house prices relative to GDP. In Chapter 4, it is asked whether a typical New Keynesian Open Economy Model is able to explain "Six Major Puzzles in International Macroeconomics". After translating the six puzzles into moment conditions for the model, I estimate five parameters to fit the moment conditions implied by the data. Given the simplicity of the model, its fit is surprisingly good: among other things, the home bias puzzles can easily be replicated, the exchange rate volatility is formidably increased and the exchange rate correlation pattern is relatively close to realistic values. Trade costs are one important ingredient for this finding.