The effects of monetary policy surprises and fiscal sustainability regimes in the Euro Area

• Autor(a) principal: Afonso, António
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Alves, José, Ionta, Serena
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/27979
• topic: monetary surprises; fiscal sustainability; local-projection models; fiscal-monetary policy mix; Euro area; Germany; Italy; Portugal

We study the effect of monetary surprise shocks on real output and the price level, conditioned on different fiscal sustainability regimes in the period 2001Q4-2021Q4. First, we estimate time-varying fiscal sustainability coefficients based on Bohn’s (1998) approach through Schlicht’s (2003) method. Then, by taking these sustainability coefficients in a nonlinear local projection model for the Euro Area (aggregate data), Germany, Italy, and Portugal, we analyze the interaction between both policies under (un)sustainable fiscal regimes. Our results show that in a Ricardian regime, output and prices respond to monetary tightening by contracting, while in a non-Ricardian regime the effect on output and price levels is negligible (or even positive). The dependence of the effectiveness of monetary policy on fiscal solvency is valid for Euro-Area and all the countries assessed, and does not depend on whether a country is “core” or “periphery”, but on the policy conduct over time.