Mind the Output Gap: The Disconnect of Growth and Inflation during Recessions and Convex Phillips Curves in the Euro Area

B-Tier
Journal: Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics
Year: 2019
Volume: 81
Issue: 4
Pages: 817-848

Authors (2)

Marco Gross (not in RePEc) Willi Semmler (The New School)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We develop a theoretical model that features a business cycle‐dependent relation between output, price inflation and inflation expectations, augmenting the model by Svensson (1997) with a nonlinear Phillips curve that reflects the rationale underlying the capacity constraint theory (Macklem, 1997). The theoretical model motivates our empirical assessment, based on a regime‐switching Phillips curve and a regime‐switching monetary structural VAR, employing different filter‐based, semi‐structural model‐based and Bayesian factor model‐implied output gaps. The analysis confirms the presence of a convex relationship between inflation and the output gap, meaning that the coefficient in the Phillips curve on the output gap recurringly increases during times of expansion and abates during recessions. Sign‐restricted monetary policy shocks based on a regime‐switching monetary SVAR reveal that expansionary monetary policy induces less pressure on inflation at times of weak as opposed to strong growth; thereby rationalizing relatively stronger expansionary policy, including unconventional volume‐based policy, during times of deep recession. A further augmented model shows that an effective euro exchange rate shock, too, implies business cycle state‐dependent responses, with more upward pressure on prices arising from unexpected currency depreciation at times of expansion than during recession phases.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:obuest:v:81:y:2019:i:4:p:817-848
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-29