Habit Formation and the Persistence of Monetary Shocks

This paper studies the persistent effects of monetary shocks on output. Previous empirical literature documents this persistence, but standard general-equilibrium models with sticky prices fail to generate output responses beyond the duration of nominal contracts. The paper constructs and estimates a general-equilibrium model with price rigidities, habit formation, and costly capital adjustment. The model is estimated by the maximum-likelihood method using U.S. data on output, the real money stock, and the nominal interest rate. Econometric results indicate that habit formation and adjustment costs to capital play an important role in explaining the output effects of monetary policy. In particular, impulse-response analysis indicates that the model generates persistent, hump-shaped output responses to monetary shocks.

Published In:

Journal of Monetary Economics (0304-3932)
September 2005. Vol. 52, Iss. 6, pp. 1073-88