Two DSGE models are calibrated and simulated to investigate how the role of monetarypolicy differs between a closed and an open economy. The central bank conducts monetary policy according to a Taylor (1993) rule, reacting to inflation- and output deviations. Prices are sticky and there are habit components which slow down adjustment of consumption and exports. The models are subjected to shocks in the interest rate, inflation, technology and consumption. In most of the cases the shocks have a bigger and quicker affect on output and employment in the open economy. In connection with positive consumption- and interest rate shocks inflation is big and negative at first but gets positive already two quarters after the shock, due to effects in the exchange rate channel. In closed and open economies, a stronger reaction to output, than in the standard Taylor (1993) rule, decreases welfare losses dramatically.

External economic shocks cause domestic macroeconomic aggregates to fluctuate. This may call for a macroeconomic policy intervention. Since the early 1990s an increasing number of countries have adopted an inflation targeting framework. In reality, inflation targeters do not have perfect information when determining the interest rate in order to maintain their goal of price stability and stable economic growth. Therefore it is relevant to understand how shocks affect the domestic macroeconomic aggregates theoretically and investigate whether the theoretical predictions hold empirically. I use the New Keynesian model by Clarida, Galí and Gertler from 1999 and investigate explicitly the theoretical effects of expected and unexpected supply and demand-side shocks on the monetary policy instrument and the two monetary policy target variables – the interest rate, output gap and inflation rate. By analysing the impulse-response functions of a structural VAR model applied to quarterly Swedish and British data from 1994 to 2011, I test empirically the theoretical predictions according to the New Keynesian model. I find that the empirical results are in line with the theoretical predictions.

Post Keynesian Economics (PKE) is at a cross road. The academic climate at universities has become more hostile to survival and the mainstream has become more diverse internally. Moreover, a heterodox camp of diverse groups of non-mainstream economists is forming. The debate on the future of PKE has so far focussed on the relation to the mainstream. This paper argues that this is not an important issue for the future of PKE. The debate has overlooked the dialectics between academic hegemony and economic (and social) stability. The important question is, whether PKE offers useful explanations of the ongoing socio-economic transformation. PKE has generated valuable insights but it offers little on important real world phenomena such as supply-side phenomena like the increasing use of ICT and the globalisation of production, social issues like precarisation and the polarization of income distribution or ecological challenges like climate change. It is these issues that will decide the future of PKE. (author´s abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

The paper investigates the relation between effective demand, income distribution and unemployment empirically. Its aim is to evaluate Keynesian, Kaldorian and neoclassical hypotheses about the determination of labor market variables. To do so, a vector autoregression model consisting of capital accumulation, capacity utilization, the profit share, unemployment and the growth of labor productivity is estimated. A general post-Keynesian model following the lines of Kalecki and Kaldor is presented and provides the specification for a structural VAR. The model is estimated for the USA, UK and France. (authors' abstract) / Series: Working Papers Series "Growth and Employment in Europe: Sustainability and Competitiveness"

<p>This dissertation asks whether frequency misspecification of a New Keynesian model</p><p>results in temporal aggregation bias of the Calvo parameter. First, when a</p><p>New Keynesian model is estimated at a quarterly frequency while the true</p><p>data generating process is the same but at a monthly frequency, the Calvo</p><p>parameter is upward biased and hence implies longer average price duration.</p><p>This suggests estimating a New Keynesian model at a monthly frequency may</p><p>yield different results. However, due to mixed frequency datasets in macro</p><p>time series recorded at quarterly and monthly intervals, an estimation</p><p>methodology is not straightforward. To accommodate mixed frequency datasets,</p><p>this paper proposes a data augmentation method borrowed from Bayesian</p><p>estimation literature by extending MCMC algorithm with</p><p>"Rao-Blackwellization" of the posterior density. Compared to two alternative</p><p>estimation methods in context of Bayesian estimation of DSGE models, this</p><p>augmentation method delivers lower root mean squared errors for parameters</p><p>of interest in New Keynesian model. Lastly, a medium scale New Keynesian</p><p>model is brought to the actual data, and the benchmark estimation, i.e. the</p><p>data augmentation method, finds that the average price duration implied by</p><p>the monthly model is 5 months while that by the quarterly model is 20.7</p><p>months.</p> / Dissertation

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.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed October 3, 2007). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-64).

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Economic and Financial Studies, Dept. of Economics, 1999. / Bibliography: p. 232-255.

A presente dissertação tem por objetivo discutir diferentes aspectos de um método de modelagem econômica conhecido por Modelos Stock-Flow Consistent (SFC). Essa classe de modelos tem como principais características a presença de matrizes que representam os balanços patrimoniais dos setores modelados, bem como os fluxos de transações e de fundos financeiros. A primeira etapa do trabalho consiste em analisar as origens dos modelos SFC, apresentando os trabalhos que precederam as primeiras formulações. Em seguida, é feito um survey completo da literatura SFC corrente. Essas duas etapas são realizadas através de uma revisão bibliográfica de artigos, working papers, teses e dissertações. A terceira etapa do trabalho consiste em discutir aspectos metodológicos da modelagem SFC, em especial a modelagem de equações comportamentais de expectativas. Por fim, um modelo SFC é elaborado com o objetivo de analisar o comportamento de uma economia sob quatro regimes fiscais diferentes: (i) balanço equilibrado; (ii) meta de gastos do governo como proporção do PIB; (iii) meta de déficit do governo como proporção do PIB; (iv) meta de dívida pública como proporção do PIB. O comportamento em estado estacionário desses regimes é analisado, bem como sua resiliência a choques. Entre as conclusões, percebeu-se que o segundo regime apresenta a maior taxa de crescimento no steady state, além de ser mais resiliente a choques negativos. / The general goal of this dissertation is to discuss different dimensions of a class of Post-Keynesian models known as Stock-Flow Consistent Models. The main features of these models are: (i) the presence of balance sheets matrices of the sectors to be modeled, guaranteeing the consistency in the economic stocks; (ii) the flow of funds matrix, that records the real and financial transactions of the economy. The first step of the work is to analyze the origins of the SFC models, presenting the works that preceded the first elaborations. Next to it, the current SFC literature is surveyed. These two steps are accomplished by means of a survey of the literature in academic journals, working papers, dissertations and thesis. The third step of the work is a discussion of methodological issues such as the role of expectations in the behavioral functions for consumption. Finally, the fourth step consists of elaborating a SFC model in order to analyze four fiscal policy regimes: (i) balanced budget, (ii) a target for government’s expenditures , (iii) a target for government deficit, and (iv) a target for government debt. The steady state behavior of each regime is analyzed, as well as its resilience to adverse shocks. The second regime is the one with the higher steady state growth rate and also is the more resilient to negative shocks.

Piketty's main theoretical prediction is that a small elite will own all wealth if capitalism is left to its own devices. We formulate and calibrate a Post-Keynesian model with an endogenous distribution of wealth between workers and capitalists. The model permits Piketty's Corner solution of all wealth held by capitalists; however, it also shows that interior solutions with a stable, non-zero wealth share of workers, a stable wealth-to-income ratio, and a stable and positive gap between the profit and the growth rate determined by the Cambridge equation. Furthermore, simulations show that the model confirms to Piketty's empirical findings in a transitional phase, in which the wealth share of capitalists rises to over 60%, the wealth-toincome ratio increases, and income inequality rises. Finally, we show that the introduction of a wealth tax as suggested by Piketty could neutralize the rise in wealth concentration. / Series: INEQ Working Paper Series