Transcript EC827_B2

Economics 827
Module 6
Conditional Forecasting and Macroeconomic
Models
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
Asset Markets

Macroeconomic models historically distinguish two
forms of holding wealth
– Money - easy to measure, controllable
– Non-money assets - hard to measure, harder to
control, rarely considered in 1st world economies
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
Money - Definition

Characteristics of Money (M)
– medium of exchange - generally acceptable in
exchange for goods and services
– unit of account - prices quoted in domestic currency
units
– store of value - an asset form in which purchasing
power can be transferred to future
– results in the final discharge of a debt

Money is whatever people will accept as money...
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
Money - Measurement

M1
– coin
– currency
– deposits in transactions accounts (transferable to third
parties on demand)
» demand deposits
» NOW account
» Negotiable CDs
» Check-writing money market mutual funds, etc.
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
Demand for Money

Demand for Real Money Balances (M/P)
– P = measure of Price Level
– assumption that all else equal, changes in price level
will produce proportional change in holdings of
nominal money balances (M).

What is the real money balance?
– Given the supply of nominal money (M) and the price
level (P), there is some practical (real) level of money
circulating in society. If either the amount of nominal
money rises or the price level falls, the “value” of the
amount of money in circulation will go up.
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
Real Money Balances

Two principle factors affecting demand
– amount of monetary transactions - typically (though
not always) proxied by real GDP.
» The richer or busier you are, the more money you
need to hold for transactions
– opportunity cost of holding money = nominal interest
rate
» The higher the interest rate, the less keen you are
on having “idle” money in the form of cash,
checking accounts etc.
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
Velocity of Money

Definition: Nominal GDP/Money
– Measures the number of times, on average,each dollar
of the money stock changes hands in GDP
transactions per time period

Alternatively = ratio of Real GDP to Real Money
balances

In theory, as interest rates rise, velocity should also rise,
as we want money to pass through our hands as rapidly
as possible, rather than “holding onto it”.
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
Historical Evidence: M1
Velocity
Velocity - Commercial Paper Rate
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
0.0
2.5
5.0
7.5
10.0
12.5
15.0
Real commercial paper rate
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
Asset Market Equilibium

Private Agents holding desired portfolio of money will
necessarily hold desired portfolio of nonmoney assets
– one is mirror image of the other

Macro models concentrate on portfolio equilibrium for
money balances

Portfolio equilibrium condition:
– supply of real balances = demand for real balances.
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
LM Curve: Definition and
Construction

LM Curve: Those values of real output and real interest
rates for which agents are just willing to hold the amount
of real balances supplied to the economy (Portfolio
equilibrium).
– along LM curve nominal money supply, price level
and expected future rate of inflation are held constant.

LM Curve:
– M/P = L(Y, r+tpt+1)
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
LM Curve: Slope

The government (through the Federal Reserve) sets the
supply of real balances. Businesses and individuals
constitute the demand for real balances.

If interest rates go up, we would normally want to hold
less real balances, but the supply of real balances is still
fixed. For us to still be willing to demand all the real
balances the Fed supplies, we must have some other
reason for wanting more real balances than usual:
transactions demand from high income.
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
LM Curve: Slope II

What if interest rates were low and incomes were high?
– Low interest rates would make us not mind holding
large sums of cash. High incomes would make us
want to hold large sums of cash. So, both effects
increase our desire to hold cash.
– The supply of real balances is still fixed, but we’re
demanding more. What happens?
– The price of money (the interest rate) rises, until
we’re back again at a point where the demand and
supply of real balances are equal to one another.
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
LM Curve: Slope II

Thus, the LM curve is a positively sloped relationship
between real output (Y) and the real interest rate (r), for
fixed values of
– nominal money supply (M),
– the price level (P)
– and the expected rate of inflation (tpt+1).
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
LM Curve
r
Along LM curve, an
increase in the real
interest rate must be
accompanied by an
increase in real
output to maintain
portfolio equilibrium
LM
Y
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
Shifts in the LM Curve I

An increase in nominal money supply (M) or a decrease
in price level (P) increases the real money supply in the
economy.

Under these conditions, at original values of Y and r,
demand for real balances would be less than the supply
of real balances.

To restore portfolio equilibrium either Y must increase or
r must fall (or some combination). Implies that LM
curve shifts down (or to right)
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
LM Curve Shifts
r
A decrease in nominal
money supply (M), or
an increase in the price
level (P) reduce the
supply of real balances
and shift the LM curve
up (left)
LM’
LM
Y
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
Shifts in the LM Curve II

Increases in expected future rate of inflation increase
nominal interest rates, for fixed value of real interest
rate.

Higher nominal rate reduces demand for real balances
below the fixed supply of real balances

To restore portfolio equilibrium, either Y must increase
or r must decrease (or combination - LM shifts down
(or to right)
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche
Summary of LM Curve Shifts

M increases (decreases); LM shifts down (up)

P increases (decreases); LM shifts up (down)
 tpt+1
increases (decreases); LM shifts down (up)
Copyright 1998 R.H. Rasche