Author

Reed Bourdon

Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Khemraj, Tarron

Keywords

Economics, Taylor Rule, Models, Inflation

Area of Concentration

Economics

Abstract

This study seeks to determine how the variables of the classic Taylor Rule, the inflation gap and the output gap, perform from 1970 to 2014 by estimating an ARDL model for each Federal Reserve chairman over this period. The findings revealed that the variables are poor indicators of monetary policy after the ending of the Volcker period. During the Greenspan and Bernanke periods, the study found that the long-run equilibrium relationship present between the federal funds rate, the output gap, and the inflation gap dissipates. Further, the model faces misspecification as a byproduct of omitted variables during the Bernanke period. This displays the inability of the Taylor Rule variables to mirror modern policy making.

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