D83 - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief

• Strategic Uncertainty in Financial Markets: Evidence from a Consensus Pricing Service

  Staff Working Paper 2020-55 Lerby Ergun, Andreas Uthemann

  We look at the informational content of consensus pricing in opaque over-the-counter markets. We show that the availability of price data informs participants mainly about other participants’ valuations, rather than about the value of a financial security.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): C, C5, C58, D, D5, D53, D8, D83, G, G1, G12, G14

• The Determinants of Consumers’ Inflation Expectations: Evidence from the US and Canada

  Staff Working Paper 2020-52 Charles Bellemare, Rolande Kpekou Tossou, Kevin Moran

  We compare the determinants of consumer inflation expectations in the US and Canada by analyzing two current surveys. We find that Canadian consumers rely more on professional forecasts and the history of actual inflation when forming their expectations, while US consumers rely more on their own lagged expectations.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Econometric and statistical methods, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets JEL Code(s): C, C3, C33, D, D8, D83, D84, E, E3, E31

• Forward Guidance and Expectation Formation: A Narrative Approach

  Staff Working Paper 2020-40 Christopher S. Sutherland

  How exactly does forward guidance influence interest rate expectations?

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Monetary policy, Monetary policy communications, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, D84, E, E3, E37, E5, E52, E58

• Ten Isn’t Large! Group Size and Coordination in a Large-Scale Experiment

  Staff Working Paper 2020-30 Jasmina Arifovic, Cars Hommes, Anita Kopányi-Peuker, Isabelle Salle

  Economic activities typically involve coordination among a large number of agents. These agents have to anticipate what other agents think before making their own decisions.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial markets, Financial stability JEL Code(s): C, C9, C92, D, D8, D83, D9, D90, G, G2, G20

• Trading for Bailouts

  Staff Working Paper 2020-23 Toni Ahnert, Caio Machado, Ana Elisa Pereira

  In times of high uncertainty, governments often implement interventions such as bailouts to financial institutions. To use public resources efficiently and to avoid major spillovers to the rest of the economy, policy-makers try to identify which institutions should receive assistance.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Lender of last resort JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, G, G1, G12, G14, G18

• Optimal Taxation in Asset Markets with Adverse Selection

  Staff Working Paper 2020-11 Mohammad Davoodalhosseini

  What is the optimal tax schedule in over-the-counter markets, e.g., those for corporate bonds? I find that an optimal tax schedule is often non-monotonic. For example, trading of some high-price assets should be subsidized, and trading of some low-price assets should be taxed.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Economic models, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): D, D8, D82, D83, E, E2, E24, G, G1, G10, J, J3, J31, J6, J64

• The Effect of Oil Price Shocks on Asset Markets: Evidence from Oil Inventory News

  Staff Working Paper 2020-8 Ron Alquist, Reinhard Ellwanger, Jianjian Jin

  We quantify the reaction of U.S. equity, bond futures, and exchange rate returns to oil price shocks driven by oil inventory news.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial markets, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, E, E4, E44, G, G1, G14, G15, Q, Q4, Q41, Q43

• Identifying Consumer-Welfare Changes when Online Search Platforms Change Their List of Search Results

  Staff Working Paper 2020-5 Ryan Martin

  Online shopping is often guided by search platforms. Consumers type keywords into query boxes, and search platforms deliver a list of products. Consumers' attention is limited, and exhaustive searches are often impractical.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): C, C1, C14, D, D1, D11, D12, D6, D8, D83, L, L4, L40