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BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
DIVISION OF MONETARY AFFAIRS
FOMC SECRETARIAT

Date:

June 3, 2016

To:

Research Directors

From:

Brian F. Madigan

Subject: Supporting Documents for DSGE Models Update

The attached documents support the update on the projections of the DSGE
models.

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System DSGE Project: Research Directors Drafts
June 3, 2016

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The Current Outlook in EDO:
June 2016 FOMC Meeting
Class II – Restricted FR
David Miller∗
June 3, 2016

1

The EDO Forecast from 2016 to 2018

The EDO model forecast conditions on data through 2016:Q1 and a preliminary Tealbook forecast
for the second quarter of 2016. Average real GDP growth is 2.5 percent during the forecast period,
which is below the estimated trend of 3 percent. Inflation passes the Committees 2 percent objective
in the fourth quarter of 2016 and then continues to increase, reaching 2.4 percent in at the end of
2017; it is projected to remain at that level until the third quarter of 2018. The path for the federal
funds rate is upward-sloping over the forecast horizon, reaching 3.2 percent by the third quarter of
2018.
Growth is restrained by the effects of extremely persistent adverse movements in the capitalspecific risk premium, inferred from the lackluster growth of investment, despite low real interest
rates, as well as by the monetary policy shocks. In addition, large negative shocks to technology in
recent quarters also depress growth in 2016 and early 2017. As these headwinds fade, GDP growth
picks up again, reaching 2.7 at the end of 2018.
Largely in reaction to the still-low levels of the employment-population ratio, the model estimates
an output gap of negative 1.7 percent in 2016:Q2.1 . With growth slightly below trend, the output
gap closes very slowly and remains at negative 1.2 percent by the end of 2018. The real natural
rate of interest is projected to increase from its recent lows to 1.3 percent at the end of 2018, 0.8
percent below its steady-state value of 2.1 percent. The natural rate is held down by the capital
risk-premium shocks as well as by an elevated aggregate risk premium.

∗ Sections 2 and 3 contain background material on the EDO model, as in previous rounds. These sections were
co-written with Hess Chung and Jean-Philippe Laforte.
1 The output gap is defined as actual output minus the level of output prevailing in the absence of nominal rigidities
and inefficient markup shocks.

1

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Figure 1: Recent History and Forecasts
Real GDP growth

Core PCE inflation

Percent deviation from steady state, annual rate

Percent deviation from steady state, annual rate

5

4

3

2
0
1

0

−5

−1
−10
−2

Aggregate Risk
Other Risk
Tech
1985

1988

1991

1994

1997

Employment

Mon Pol
Pref/Markups
Other
2000

2003

2006

Aggregate Risk
Other Risk
Tech

−15
2009

2012

2015

2018

1985

1988

1991

1994

1997

Fed funds rate

Deviation from steady state, percentage points

Mon Pol
Pref/Markups
Other
2000

2003

2006

−3

2009

2012

2015

2018

Percent deviation from steady state, annual rate
6

4

3

4

2
2
1
0
0

−1

−2

−2
−4

Aggregate Risk
Other Risk
Tech
1985

1988

1991

1994

1997

−3

Mon Pol
Pref/Markups
Other
2000

2003

2006

Aggregate Risk
Other Risk
Tech

−4
2009

2012

2015

2018

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1985

1988

1991

1994

1997

Mon Pol
Pref/Markups
Other
2000

2003

2006

−6

2009

2012

2015

2018

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Figure 2: Recent History and Forecasts: Latent Variables
Flex−price output gap

Real natural rate

Percent deviation from steady state

Percent deviation from steady state, annual rate

4

15

2

10

5

0

0
−2
−5
−4
−10
−6
−15

Aggregate Risk
Other Risk
Tech
1985

2

1988

1991

1994

1997

Mon Pol
Pref/Markups
Other
2000

2003

2006

Aggregate Risk
Other Risk
Tech

−8

2009

2012

2015

2018

1985

1988

1991

1994

1997

Mon Pol
Pref/Markups
Other
2000

2003

2006

−20

2009

2012

2015

An Overview of Key Model Features

Figure 3 provides a graphical overview of the model. While similar to most related models, EDO
has a more detailed description of production and expenditure than most other models.2
Specifically, the model possesses two final good sectors in order to capture key long-run growth
facts and to differentiate between the cyclical properties of different categories of durable expenditure
(for example, housing, consumer durables, and nonresidential investment). For example, technological progress has been faster in the production of business capital and consumer durables (such as
computers and electronics).
The disaggregation of production (aggregate supply) leads naturally to some disaggregation of
expenditures (aggregate demand). We move beyond the typical model with just two categories of
(private domestic) demand (consumption and investment) and distinguish between four categories
of private demand: consumer nondurable goods and nonhousing services, consumer durable goods,
residential investment, and nonresidential investment. The boxes surrounding the producers in the
figure illustrate how we structure the sources of each demand category. Consumer nondurable goods
and services are sold directly to households; consumer durable goods, residential capital goods, and
nonresidential capital goods are intermediated through capital-goods intermediaries (owned by the
households), who then rent these capital stocks to households. Consumer nondurable goods and
services and residential capital goods are purchased (by households and residential capital goods
owners, respectively) from the first of economy’s two final goods-producing sectors, while consumer
durable goods and nonresidential capital goods are purchased (by consumer durable and residential
capital goods owners, respectively) from the second sector. In addition to consuming the nondurable
2 Chung, Kiley, and Laforte (2011) provide much more detail regarding the model specification, estimated parameters, and model propeties.

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Figure 3: Model Overview

goods and services that they purchase, households supply labor to the intermediate goods-producing
firms in both sectors of the economy.
The remainder of this section provides an overview of the main properties of the model. In
particular, the model has five key features:
• A New-Keynesian structure for price and wage dynamics. Unemployment measures the difference between the amount workers are willing to be employed and firms’ employment demand.
As a result, unemployment is an indicator of wage and, hence, price pressures as in Gali (2010).
• Production of goods and services occurs in two sectors, with differential rates of technological
progress across sectors. In particular, productivity growth in the investment and consumer
durable goods sector exceeds that in the production of other goods and services, helping the
model match facts regarding long-run growth and relative price movements.
• A disaggregated specification of household preferences and firm production processes that
leads to separate modeling of nondurables and services consumption, durables consumption,
residential investment, and business investment.

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• Risk premiums associated with different investment decisions play a central role in the model.
These include, first, an aggregate risk premium, or natural rate of interest, shock driving a
wedge between the short-term policy rate and the interest rate faced by private decisionmakers
(as in Smets and Wouters (2007)) and, second, fluctuations in the discount factor/risk premiums faced by the intermediaries financing household (residential and consumer durable) and
business investment.

2.1

Two-sector production structure

It is well known (for example, Edge, Kiley, and Laforte (2008)) that real outlays for business investment and consumer durables have substantially outpaced those on other goods and services,
while the prices of these goods (relative to others) has fallen. For example, real outlays on consumer
durables have far outpaced those on other consumption while prices for consumer durables have been
flat and those for other consumption have risen substantially; as a result, the ratio of nominal outlays
in the two categories has been much more stable, although consumer durable outlays plummeted in
the Great Recession. Many models fail to account for this fact.
EDO accounts for this development by assuming that business investment and consumer durables
are produced in one sector and other goods and services in another sector. Specifically, production by
firm j in each sector s (where s equals kb for the sector producing business investment and consumer
durables and cbi for the sector producing other goods and services) is governed by a Cobb-Douglas
production function with sector-specific technologies:
1−α

Xts (j) = (Ztm Zts Lst (j))

α

(Ktu,nr,s (j)) , for s = cbi, kb.

(1)

In 1, Z m represents (labor-augmenting) aggregate technology, while Z s represents (labor-augmenting)
sector-specific technology; we assume that sector-specific technological change affects the business
investment and consumer durables sector only. Ls is labor input and K u,nr,s is capital input (that is,
utilized nonresidential business capital (and hence the nr and u terms in the superscript). Growth
in this sector-specific technology accounts for the long-run trends, while high-frequency fluctuations
allow for the possibility that investment-specific technological change is a source of business cycle
fluctuations, as in Fisher (2006).

2.2

The structure of demand

EDO differentiates between several categories of expenditure. Specifically, business investment
spending determines nonresidential capital used in production, and households value consumer nondurables goods and services, consumer durable goods, and residential capital (for example, housing).
Differentiation across these categories is important, as fluctuations in these categories of expenditure
can differ notably, with the cycles in housing and business investment, for example, occurring at
different points over the last three decades.
Valuations of these goods and services, in terms of household utility, is given by the following
utility function:

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E0

∞
X

cnn
β t ς cnn ln(Etcnn (i)−hEt−1
(i))+ς cd ln(Ktcd (i))
t=0

+ς r ln(Ktr (i)) −ΛLpref
ΘH
t
t

X Z
s=cbi,kb

1

ς l,s Lst (i)

1+σN
σN
1+
1+σh

0



di ,


(2)

where E cnn represents expenditures on consumption of nondurable goods and services, K cd and
K r represent the stocks of consumer durables and residential capital (housing), ΛLpref
represents a
t
labor supply shock, Θt is an endogenous preference shifter whose role is to reconcile the existence of
a long-run balance growth path with a small short-term wealth effect3 , Lcbi and Lkb represent the
labor supplied to each productive sector (with hours worked causing disutility), and the remaining
terms represent parameters (such as the discount factor, relative value in utility of each service flow,
and the elasticity of labor supply). Gali, Smets, and Wouters (2011) state that the introduction
of the endogenous preference shifter is key in order to match the joint behavior of the labor force,
consumption, and wages over the business cycle.
By modeling preferences over these disaggregated categories of expenditure, EDO attempts to
account for the disparate forces driving consumption of nondurables and durables, residential investment, and business investment —thereby speaking to issues such as the surge in business investment
in the second half of the 1990s or the housing cycle in the early 2000s recession and the most recent
downturn. Many other models do not distinguish between developments across these categories of
spending.

2.3

Risk premiums, financial shocks, and economic fluctuations

The structure of the EDO model implies that households value durable stocks according to their
expected returns, including any expected service flows, and according to their risk characteristics,
with a premium on assets that have high expected returns in adverse states of the world. However,
the behavior of models such as EDO is conventionally characterized under the assumption that this
second component is negligible. In the absence of risk adjustment, the model would then imply that
households adjust their portfolios until expected returns on all assets are equal.
Empirically, however, this risk adjustment may not be negligible and, moreover, there may be a
variety of factors, not explicitly modeled in EDO, that limit the ability of households to arbitrage
away expected return differentials across different assets. To account for this possibility, EDO
features several exogenous shocks to the rates of return required by the household to hold the assets
in question. Following such a shock —an increase in the premium on a given asset, for example
—households will wish to alter their portfolio composition to favor the affected asset, leading to
changes in the prices of all assets and, ultimately, to changes in the expected path of production
underlying these claims.
3 The

cnn , where Z =
endogenous preference shifter is defined as ΘH
t
t = Zt Λt

1−ν
Zt−1
Λcnn
t

and Λcnn
is the shadow price of
t

nondurable consumption. The importance of the short-term wealth effect is determined by the parameter ν ∈ (0, 1].

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The “sector specific” risk shocks affect the composition of spending more than the path of
GDP itself. This occurs because a shock to these premiums leads to sizable substitution across
residential, consumer durable, and business investment; for example, an increase in the risk premiums
on residential investment leads households to shift away from residential investment and toward
other types of productive investment. Consequently, it is intuitive that a large fraction of the noncyclical, or idiosyncratic, component of investment flows to physical stocks will be accounted for by
movements in the associated premiums.
Shocks to the required rate of return on the nominal risk-free asset play an especially large role
in EDO. Following an increase in the premium, in the absence of nominal rigidities, the households’
desire for higher real holdings of the risk-free asset would be satisfied entirely by a fall in prices,
that is, the premium is a shock to the natural rate of interest. Given nominal rigidities, however,
the desire for higher risk-free savings must be offset, in part, through a fall in real income, a decline
which is distributed across all spending components. Because this response is capable of generating
co-movement across spending categories, the model naturally exploits such shocks to explain the
business cycle. Reflecting this role, we denote this shock as the “aggregate risk-premium.”
Movements in financial markets and economic activity in recent years have made clear the role
that frictions in financial markets play in economic fluctuations. This role was apparent much earlier,
motivating a large body of research (for example, Bernanke, Gertler, and Gilchrist (1999)). While
the range of frameworks used to incorporate such frictions has varied across researchers studying
different questions, a common theme is that imperfections in financial markets —for example, related
to imperfect information on the outlook for investment projects or earnings of borrowers —drives a
wedge between the cost of riskless funds and the cost of funds facing households and firms. Much
of the literature on financial frictions has worked to develop frameworks in which risk premiums
fluctuate for endogenous reasons (for example, because of movements in the net worth of borrowers).
Because the risk-premium shocks induces a wedge between the short-term nominal risk-free rate and
the rate of return on the affected risky rates, these shocks may thus also be interpreted as a reflection
of financial frictions not explicitly modeled in EDO. The sector-specific risk premiums in EDO enter
the model in much the same way as does the exogenous component of risk premiums in models with
some endogenous mechanism (such as the financial accelerator framework used Boivin, Kiley, and
Mishkin (2010)), and the exogenous component is quantitatively the most significant one in that
research.4

2.4

Labor market dynamics in the EDO model

This version of the EDO model assumes that labor input consists of both employment and hours per
worker. Workers differ in the disutility they associate with employment. Moreover, the labor market
is characterized by monopolistic competition. As a result, unemployment arises in equilibrium – some
workers are willing to be employed at the prevailing wage rate, but cannot find employment because
firms are unwilling to hire additional workers at the prevailing wage.
4 Specifically, the risk premiums enter EDO to a first-order (log)linear approximation in the same way as in the
cited research if the parameter on net worth in the equation determining the borrowers cost of funds is set to zero; in
practice, this parameter is often fairly small in financial accelerator models.

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As emphasized by Gali (2010), this framework for unemployment is simple and implies that the
unemployment rate reflects wage pressures: When the unemployment rate is unusually high, the
prevailing wage rate exceeds the marginal rate of substitution between leisure and consumption,
implying that workers would prefer to work more.
The new preference specification and the incorporation of labor force participation in the information set impose discipline in the overall labor market dynamics of the EDO model. The estimated
short-run wealth effect on labor supply is relatively attenuated with respect to previous versions of
the EDO model. Therefore, the dynamics of both labor force participation and employment are
more aligned with the empirical evidence.
In addition, in our environment, nominal wage adjustment is sticky, and this slow adjustment
of wages implies that the economy can experience sizable swings in unemployment with only slow
wage adjustment. Our specific implementation of the wage adjustment process yields a relatively
standard New Keynesian wage Phillips curve. The presence of both price and wage rigidities implies
that stabilization of inflation is not, in general, the best possible policy objective (although a primary
role for price stability in policy objectives remains).
While the specific model on the labor market is suitable for discussion of the links between
employment and wage/price inflation, it leaves out many features of labor market dynamics. Most
notably, it does not consider separations, hires, and vacancies, and is hence not amenable to analysis
of issues related to the Beveridge curve.
The decline in employment during the Great Recession primarily reflected, according to the
EDO model, the weak demand that arose from elevated risk premiums that depressed spending,
as illustrated by the light blue and red bars in figure 1. The role played by these demand factors
in explaining the cyclical movements in employment is only determinant during the 1980s and
during the Great Recession. As apparent in figure 1, the most relevant drivers of employment in the
remaining of the sample are labor supply (preference) and markup shocks as shown by the blue bars.
Specifically, favorable supply developments in the labor market are estimated to have placed upward
pressure on employment until 2010; these developments have reversed, and some of the currently
low level for employment growth is, according to EDO, attributable to adverse labor market supply
developments. As discussed previously, these developments are simply exogenous within EDO and
are not informed by data on a range of labor market developments (such as gross worker flows and
vacancies).

2.5

New Keynesian price and wage Phillips curves

As in most of the related literature, nominal prices and wages are both “sticky” in EDO. This
friction implies that nominal disturbances —that is, changes in monetary policy —have effects on
real economic activity. In addition, the presence of both price and wage rigidities implies that
stabilization of inflation is not, in general, the best possible policy objective (although a primary
role for price stability in policy objectives remains).
Given the widespread use of the New Keynesian Phillips curve, it is perhaps easiest to consider
the form of the price and wage Phillips curves in EDO at the estimated parameters. The price

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Phillips curve (governing price adjustment in both productive sectors) has the form

p,s
p,s
πtp,s = 0.22πt−1
+ 0.76Et πt+1
+ .017mcst + θts

(3)

where mc is marginal cost and θ is a markup shock. As the parameters indicate, inflation is
primarily forward looking in EDO.
The wage (w) Phillips curve for each sector has the form



s
s
s
w
4wts = 0.014wt−1
+ 0.95Et 4wt+1
+ .012 mrsc,l
−
w
t
t + θt + adj. costs.

(4)

where mrs represents the marginal rate of substitution between consumption and leisure. Wages
are primarily forward looking and relatively insensitive to the gap between households’ valuation of
time spent working and the wage.
The middle panel of figure 1 presents the decomposition of inflation fluctuations into the exogenous disturbances that enter the EDO model. As can be seen, aggregate demand fluctuations,
including aggregate risk premiums and monetary policy surprises, contribute little to the fluctuations
in inflation according to the model. This is not surprising: In modern DSGE models, transitory
demand disturbances do not lead to an unmooring of inflation (so long as monetary policy responds
systematically to inflation and remains committed to price stability). In the short run, inflation
fluctuations primarily reflect transitory price and wage shocks, or markup shocks in the language of
EDO. Technological developments can also exert persistent pressure on costs, most notably during
and following the strong productivity performance of the second half of the 1990s, which is estimated
to have lowered marginal costs and inflation through the early 2000s. More recently, disappointing
labor productivity readings over the course of 2011 have led the model to infer sizable negative
technology shocks in both sectors, contributing noticeably to inflationary pressure over that period
(as illustrated by the blue bars in figure 1).

2.6

Monetary authority and a long-term interest rate

We now turn to the last agent in our model, the monetary authority. It sets monetary policy in
accordance with an Taylor-type interest rate feedback rule. Policymakers smoothly adjust the actual
interest rate Rt to its target level R̄t
ρr

Rt = (Rt−1 )

R̄t

1−ρr

exp [rt ] ,

(5)

where the parameter ρr reflects the degree of interest rate smoothing, while rt represents a monetary
policy shock. The central bank’s target nominal interest rate, R̄t depends the deviation of output
from the level consistent with current technologies and “normal” (steady-state) utilization of capital
and labor (X̃ pf , the “production function” output gap). Consumer price inflation also enters the
target. The target equation is

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R̄t = X̃t

pf

ry  Πc rπ
t

Πc∗

R∗ .

(6)

In equation (6), R∗ denotes the economy’s steady-state nominal interest rate, and φy and φπ denote
the weights in the feedback rule. Consumer price inflation, Πct , is the weighted average of inflation
in the nominal prices of the goods produced in each sector, Πp,cbi
and Πp,kb
:
t
t
Πct = (Πp,cbi
)1−wcd (Πp,kb
)wcd .
t
t

(7)

The parameter wcd is the share of the durable goods in nominal consumption expenditures.
The model also includes a long-term interest rate (RLt ), which is governed by the expectations
hypothesis subject to an exogenous term premiums shock:


RLt = Et ΠN
τ =0 Rτ · Υt .

(8)

where Υ is the exogenous term premium, governed by

Ln (Υt ) = 1 − ρΥ Ln (Υ∗ ) + ρΥ Ln (Υt−1 ) + Υ
t .

(9)

In this version of EDO, the long-term interest rate plays no allocative role; nonetheless, the term
structure contains information on economic developments useful for forecasting (for example, Edge,
Kiley, and Laforte (2010)), and hence RL is included in the model and its estimation.

2.7

Summary of model specification

Our brief presentation of the model highlights several points. First, although our model considers
production and expenditure decisions in a bit more detail, it shares many similar features with other
DSGE models in the literature, such as imperfect competition, nominal price and wage rigidities, and
real frictions like adjustment costs and habit-persistence. The rich specification of structural shocks
(to aggregate and investment-specific productivity, aggregate and sector-specific risk premiums, and
markups) and adjustment costs allows our model to be brought to the data with some chance of
finding empirical validation.
Within EDO, fluctuations in all economic variables are driven by 13 structural shocks. It is most
convenient to summarize these shocks into five broad categories:
• Permanent technology shocks: This category consists of shocks to aggregate and investmentspecific (or fast-growing sector) technology.
• A labor supply shock: This shock affects the willingness to supply labor. As was apparent in our
earlier description of labor market dynamics and in the presentation of the structural drivers
below, this shock captures the dynamics of the labor force participation rate in the sample and
those of employment. While EDO labels such movements labor supply shocks, an alternative
interpretation would describe these as movements in the labor force and employment that
reflect structural features not otherwise captured by the model.
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• Financial, or intertemporal, shocks: This category consists of shocks to risk premiums. In
EDO, variation in risk premiums —both the premium households receive relative to the federal
funds rate on nominal bond holdings and the additional variation in discount rates applied
to the investment decisions of capital intermediaries —are purely exogenous. Nonetheless,
the specification captures aspects of related models with more explicit financial sectors (for
example, Bernanke, Gertler, and Gilchrist (1999)), as we discuss in our presentation of the
model’s properties below.
• Markup shocks: This category includes the price and wage markup shocks.
• Other demand shocks: This category includes the shock to autonomous demand and a monetary policy shock.

3

Estimation: Data and Properties

3.1

Data

The empirical implementation of the model takes a log-linear approximation to the first-order conditions and constraints that describe the economy’s equilibrium, casts this resulting system in its
state-space representation for the set of (in our case, 13) observable variables, uses the Kalman
filter to evaluate the likelihood of the observed variables, and forms the posterior distribution of the
parameters of interest by combining the likelihood function with a joint density characterizing some
prior beliefs. Since we do not have a closed-form solution of the posterior, we rely on Markov-Chain
Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods.
The model is estimated using 13 data series over the sample period from 1984:Q4 to 2015:Q3.
The series are the following:
1. The growth rate of real gross domestic product (∆GDP );
2. The growth rate of real consumption expenditure on nondurables and services (∆C);
3. The growth rate of real consumption expenditure on durables (∆CD);
4. The growth rate of real residential investment expenditure (∆Res);
5. The growth rate of real business investment expenditure (∆I);
6. Consumer price inflation, as measured by the growth rate of the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index (∆PC,total );
7. Consumer price inflation, as measured by the growth rate of the PCE price index excluding
food and energy prices (∆PC,core );
8. Inflation for consumer durable goods, as measured by the growth rate of the PCE price index
for durable goods (∆Pcd );
9. Hours, which equals hours of all persons in the nonfarm business sector from the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (H);
10. Civilian employment-population ratio, defined as civilian employment from the Current Population Survey (household survey) divided by the noninstitutional population, age 16 and over
(N );
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11. Labor force participation rate;
12. The growth rate of real wages, as given by compensation per hour in the non-farm business
sector from the Bureau of Labor Statistics divided by the GDP price index (∆RW ); and
13. The federal funds rate (R).
Our implementation adds measurement error processes to the likelihood implied by the model
for all of the observed series used in estimation except the short-term nominal interest rate series.

3.2

Estimates of latent variable paths

Figures 4, 5, and 6 report estimates of the model’s persistent exogenous fundamentals (for example,
risk premiums and autonomous demand). These series have recognizable patterns for those familiar
with U.S. economic fluctuations. For example, the risk premiums jump at the end of 2008, reflecting
the financial crisis and the model’s identification of risk premiums, both economy-wide and for
housing, as key drivers.
Of course, these stories from a glance at the exogenous drivers, yield applications for alternative
versions of the EDO model and future model enhancements. For example, the exogenous risk
premiums can easily be made to have an endogenous component, following the approach of Bernanke,
Gertler, and Gilchrist (1999) (and, indeed, we have considered models of that type). At this point,
we view incorporation of such mechanisms in our baseline approach as premature, pending ongoing
research on financial frictions, banking, and intermediation in dynamic general equilibrium models.
Nonetheless, the EDO model captured the key financial disturbances during the last several years
in its current specification, and examining the endogenous factors that explain these developments
will be a topic of further study.

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Figure 4: Model Estimates of Risk Premiums
Aggregate Risk

Capital Risk

4

2
1.5

2

1

0

0.5

−2

0
−4
−0.5
−6

−1
1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

−8
1985

1990

1995

Housing Risk

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

2010

2015

2020

Durables Risk

6
40

4

20

2

0

0

−20

−2

−40

−4
−6
1985

−60
1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

Black line: modal parameters. Red line: posterior median. Dark blue intervals: 68 percent credible
set. Light blue intervals: 95 percent credible set.

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Figure 5: Model Estimates of Key Supply-side Variables
Aggregate Tech

Capital Tech

3

2

2
1
1
0
0
−1
−1
−2

−2

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

2010

2015

2020

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

Labor Pref

60
40
20
0
−20
−40
1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

Black line: modal parameters. Red line: posterior median. Dark blue intervals: 68 percent credible
set. Light blue intervals: 95 percent credible set.

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Figure 6: Model Estimates of Selected Other Exogenous Drivers
Wage Markup

Exog Spending

50
10
5
0

0

−5
−10
−15
1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

−50
1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

Black line: modal parameters. Red line: posterior median. Dark blue intervals: 68 percent credible
set. Light blue intervals: 95 percent credible set.

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References
[Bernanke, Gertler, and Gilchrist (1999)] Bernanke, B., M. Gertler, and S. Gilchrist. 1999. The financial accelerator in a quantitative business cycle framework, in: John B. Taylor and Michael
Woodford, Editor(s), Handbook of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, 1999, volume 1, part 3, pages 13411393.
[Beveridge and Nelson (1981)] Beveridge, S. and C.R. Nelson. 1981. A new approach to the decomposition of economic time series into permanent and transitory components with particular
attention to measurement of the business cycle, Journal of Monetary Economics, vol. 7, pages
151-174.
[Boivin et al. (2010)] Boivin, J., M. Kiley, and F.S. Mishkin. 2010. How Has the Monetary Transmission Mechanism Evolved Over Time? In B. Friedman and M. Woodford, eds., The Handbook
of Monetary Economics, Elsevier.
[Carlstrom et al. (2015)] Carlstrom, Charles T., Timothy S. Fuerst and Matthias Paustian. 2015.
Inflation and Output in New Keynesian Models with a Transient Interest Rate Peg, Journal of
Monetary Economics, vol. 76, pages 230-243.
[Chung et al. (2011)] Chung, Hess, J.P. Laforte, David L. Reifschneider, and John
C. Williams. 2010. Have We Underestimated the Likelihood and Severity of Zero
Lower Bound Events. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Working Paper 2011-01
http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/papers/2011/wp11-01bk.pdf
[Edge, Kiley, and Laforte (2008)] Edge, R., Kiley, M., Laforte, J.P. 2008. Natural rate measures in
an estimated DSGE model of the U.S. economy. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, vol.
32(8), pages 2512-2535.
[Edge, Kiley, and Laforte (2010)] Edge, R., Kiley, M., Laforte, J.P. 2010. A comparison of forecast
performance between Federal Reserve staff forecasts, simple reduced-form models, and a DSGE
model. Journal of Applied Econometrics vol. 25(4), pages 720-754.
[Fisher (2006)] Fisher, Jonas D. M. 2006. The Dynamic Effects of Neutral and Investment-Specific
Technology Shocks. Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 114(3), pages
413-451.
[Gali (2011)] Gali, Jordi. 2011. The Return Of The Wage Phillips Curve. Journal of the European
Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 436-461.
[Gali, Smets, and Wouters (2011)] Gali, J., Smets, F., Wouters, R., 2011. Unemployment in an
Estimated New Keynesian Model. NBER Macroeconomics Annual vol. 26(1), pages 329-360.
[Hall (2010)] Hall, Robert E., 2010. Why Does the Economy Fall to Pieces after
a Financial Crisis?
Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 24(4), pages 3-20.
http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jep.24.4.3

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[Kiley (2007)] Kiley, M., 2007. A Quantitative Comparison of Sticky-Price and Sticky-Information
Models of Price Setting. Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, 39, pages 101-125.
[Kiley (2010a)] Kiley, M., 2010a. Habit Persistence, Non-separability between Consumption and
Leisure, or Rule-of-Thumb Consumers: Which Accounts for the Predictability of Consumption
Growth? The Review of Economics and Statistics, vol. 92(3), pages 679-683.
[Kiley (2010b)] Kiley, M., 2010b. Output Gaps. Federal Reserve Board Finance and Economics
Discussion Series (FEDS), 2010-27.
[Kydland and Prescott (1982)] Kydland, Finn and Prescott, Edward. 1982. Time-to-build and Aggregate Fluctuations, Econometrica, vol. 50(6), pages 1345-1370.
[Laforte (2007)] Laforte, J., 2007. Pricing Models: A Bayesian DSGE Approach to the U.S. Economy. Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, vol. 39, pages 127-54.
[Smets and Wouters (2007)] Smets, F., Wouters, R., 2007. Shocks and Frictions in the US Busines
Cycles: A Bayesian DSGE Approach. American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(3), pages 586-606.
[Wieland and Wouters (2010)] Wieland, Volker and Wolters, Maik H, 2010. The Diversity of Forecasts from Macroeconomic Models of the U.S. Economy. CEPR Discussion Papers 7870, C.E.P.R.
Discussion Papers.

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Summary of the Forecasts
The FRBNY model forecasts are obtained using data released through 2016Q1, augmented
for 2016Q2 with the FRBNY staff forecasts (as of May 27) for real GDP growth and core
PCE inflation, and with values of the federal funds rate, the 10-year Treasury yield and the
spread between Baa corporate bonds and 10-year Treasury yields based on 2016Q2 averages
up to May 27.
The model projects real GDP growth of 1.6 percent in 2016 (Q4/Q4), slightly lower than
the 1.8 percent forecast in March, and of 2.2 percent in 2017, the same as in March and
December. The growth outlook is revised slightly upward from 2.4 percent to 2.5 percent
in 2018 and is expected to move to a more robust 2.6 percent in 2019. By contrast, the
projections of inflation for 2016 (Q4/Q4) are revised upward to 1.6 percent from 1.3 percent
in March, while forecasts for the years 2017-2019 remain unchanged at 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4
percent, respectively, on a Q4/Q4 basis.
The near term revisions in the forecasts partly reflect surprises in the data releases for
2016Q1 relative to the March FRBNY staff forecast for that quarter: GDP growth was about
0.6 percentage point lower, while inflation was 0.5 percentage points higher. In addition to
these changes, the conditioning on 2016Q2 May FRBNY staff forecasts has a substantial impact on the current growth forecast. In fact, without conditioning, the forecast for 2016 real
GDP growth is 2.2 percent (Q4/Q4), and therefore above the March projection. Conversely,
the unconditional inflation forecast is roughly the same as the conditional forecast.
These near term changes in output growth and inflation are interpreted by the model as
temporary. A slowdown in productivity and the abating of negative mark-up shocks, possibly
capturing the reversal in energy prices, are the primary temporary factors behind the growth
slowdown in the near term and the uptick in inflation. Overall, the model forecasts remain
in line with the narrative that we have been describing for quite some time. The headwinds
that slowed down the economy in the aftermath of the financial crisis were finally abating,
but the swings in financial markets experienced in the first few months of 2016, and the
associated widening of credit spreads have slowed the normalization process. Despite this
setback, the model expects a rebound in growth in the second part of the year, so that the
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medium term forecast remains, as in March, one of steady, gradual expansion. At the same
time, financial conditions remain tight compared to historical standards, preventing a more
rapid recovery in economic activity. As a result, the output gap – the difference between
output and natural output – continues to be negative throughout the forecasting period.
Relative to March, however, the output gap is smaller (partly because of the lower than
expected productivity) and is expected to gradually shrink to reach -1.7 percent in 2019Q4;
there is however a considerable degree of uncertainty surrounding the forecast, as outlined
below. The real natural rate of interest is currently expected to reach 0.1 percent by the end
of 2016 and is projected to increase slowly over the next few years, reaching 0.3, 0.7 and 0.9
percent at the end of 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Given how close the March and June forecasts are, it is not surprising that the projected
path for the federal funds rate is roughly unchanged. In the model projections the federal
funds rate reaches 0.6 percent in 2016Q4, and little over 2 percent towards the end of 2018.
Despite this subdued path, the projected FFR implies a path for the ex-ante real interest
rate that is somewhat below the natural rate of interest in the short run (-0.6 versus 0.1
percent in 2016Q4, respectively) but close to it by the end of 2017 (in 2018Q4 the two rates
are 0.8 and 0.7 percent respectively).
The projections are surrounded by notable uncertainty. The width of the 68 percent
probability interval for GDP growth is 2.8 percentage points in 2016, ranging from 0.0
to +2.8 percent, and widens to 5.5 percentage points in 2018, from -0.3 to +5.2 percent.
Uncertainty for the real natural rate and the output gap is also extremely large. For 2018,
the 68 percent bands for the natural rate range from -1.2 to +2.5 percent, while those for
the output gap range from -5.9 to +0.7 percent. The 68 percent probability intervals for
inflation range from 1.2 to 1.9 percent in 2016 and from 0.2 to 2.4 percent in 2018. Of
notice, uncertainty about medium term inflation has increased somewhat relative to March
(it ranged from 0.4 to 2.1 in 2018).

1

The Model and Its Transmission Mechanism

General Features of the Model
The FRBNY DSGE model is a medium scale, one-sector dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model which is based on the New Keynesian model with financial frictions used in Del
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Negro et al. (2015). The core of the model is based on the work of Smets and Wouters (2007)
and Christiano et al. (2005): It builds on the neo-classical growth model by adding nominal wage and price rigidities, variable capital utilization, costs of adjusting investment, and
habit formation in consumption. The model also includes credit frictions as in the financial
accelerator model developed by Bernanke et al. (1999), where the actual implementation of
the credit frictions follows closely Christiano et al. (2014); and it allows for a time-varying
inflation target following Del Negro and Schorfheide (2012). In contrast to these papers,
the model features both a deterministic and a stochastic trend in productivity. Finally, it
accounts for forward guidance in monetary policy by including anticipated policy shocks as
in Laseen and Svensson (2011). More details on the model are in the FRBNY DSGE Model
Documentation, available upon request.
In this section, we briefly describe the microfoundations of the model, including the optimization problem of the economic agents and the nature of the exogenous processes. The
innovations to these processes, which we refer to as “shocks,” are the drivers of macroeconomic fluctuations. The model identifies these shocks by matching the model dynamics with
numerous quarterly data series: real GDP and GDI growth, real consumption growth, real
investment growth, real wage growth, hours worked, inflation as measured by the personal
consumption expenditures deflator and the GDP deflator, the federal funds rate (FFR),
the 10-year nominal Treasury bond yield, 10-year survey-based inflation expectations, the
Baa/10-year Treasury bond yield spread, and data on total factor productivity. In addition,
from 2008Q4 to 2015Q2, we use market expectations of future federal funds rates. Model
parameters are estimated from 1960Q1 to the present using Bayesian methods.
The economic units in the model are households, firms, banks, entrepreneurs, and the
government. (Figure 1 describes the interactions among the various agents, the frictions and
the shocks that affect the dynamics of this economy.)
Households derive utility from leisure, supply labor services to firms, and set wages in
a monopolistically competitive fashion. The labor market is subject to frictions because of
nominal wage rigidities. In addition, we allow for exogenous disturbances to wage markups, labeled “wage mark-up” shocks, which capture exogenous changes in the degree of
competitiveness in the labor market, or other exogenous movements in the labor supply.
Households, who discount future utility streams, also have to choose how much to consume and save. Their savings take the form of deposits to banks and purchases of government bills. Household preferences feature habit persistence, a characteristic that affects their
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consumption smoothing decisions. In addition, “discount factor” shocks drive an exogenous
wedge between the change in the marginal utility of consumption and the riskless real return.
These shocks possibly capture phenomena like deleveraging, or increased risk aversion.
Monopolistically competitive firms produce intermediate goods, which a competitive firm
aggregates into the single final good that is used for both consumption and investment. The
production function of intermediate producers is subject to “total factor productivity” (TFP)
shocks, which affect both the temporary and the permanent component of the level of total
factor productivity. Intermediate goods markets are subject to price rigidities. Together with
wage rigidities, this friction is quite important in allowing demand shocks to be a source of
business cycle fluctuations, as countercyclical mark-ups induce firms to produce less when
demand is low. Inflation evolves in the model according to a standard, forward-looking
New Keynesian Phillips curve with indexing, which determines inflation as a function of
marginal costs, expected future inflation, past inflation, and “price mark-up” shocks. The
latter capture exogenous changes in the degree of competitiveness in the intermediate goods
market. In practice, these shocks capture unmodeled inflation pressures, such as those arising
from fluctuations in commodity prices.
Financial intermediation involves two actors, banks and entrepreneurs, whose interaction
captures imperfections in financial markets. These actors should not be interpreted in a
literal sense, but rather as a device for modeling credit frictions. Banks take deposits from
households and lend to entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs use their own wealth and the loans from
banks to acquire capital. They then choose the utilization level of capital and rent the capital
to intermediate good producers. Entrepreneurs are subject to idiosyncratic disturbances in
their ability to manage the capital. Consequently, entrepreneurs’ revenue may not be enough
to repay their loans, in which case they default. Banks protect against default risk by pooling
loans to all entrepreneurs and charging a spread over the deposit rate. Such spreads vary
endogenously as a function of the entrepreneurs’ leverage, but also exogenously depending
on the entrepreneurs’ riskiness. Specifically, mean-preserving changes in the volatility of
entrepreneurs’ idiosyncratic shocks lead to variations in the spread (to compensate banks for
changes in expected losses from individual defaults). We refer to these exogenous movements
as “spread” shocks. Spread shocks capture financial intermediation disturbances that affect
entrepreneurs’ borrowing costs. Faced with higher borrowing costs, entrepreneurs reduce
their demand for capital, and investment drops. With lower aggregate demand, there is
a contraction in hours worked and real wages. Wage rigidities imply that hours worked
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fall even more (because nominal wages do not fall enough). Price rigidities mitigate price
contraction, further depressing aggregate demand.
Capital producers transform general output into capital goods, which they sell to the entrepreneurs. Their production function is subject to investment adjustment costs: producing
capital goods is more costly in periods of rapid investment growth. It is also subject to exogenous changes in the “marginal efficiency of investment” (MEI). These MEI shocks capture
exogenous movements in the productivity of new investments in generating new capital. A
positive MEI shock implies that fewer resources are needed to build new capital, leading to
higher real activity and inflation, with an effect that persists over time. Such MEI shocks
reflect both changes in the relative price of investment versus that of consumption goods
(although the literature has shown the effect of these relative price changes to be small), and
most importantly financial market imperfections that are not reflected in movements of the
spread.
Finally, the government sector comprises a monetary authority that sets short-term interest rates according to a Taylor-type rule and a fiscal authority that sets public spending and
collects lump-sum taxes to balance the budget. Exogenous changes in government spending
are called “government” shocks; more generally, these shocks capture exogenous movements
in aggregate demand. All exogenous processes are assumed to follow independent AR(1)
processes with different degrees of persistence, except for mark-up shocks which have also a
moving-average component, disturbances to government spending which are allowed to be
correlated with total factor productivity disturbances, and exogenous disturbances to the
monetary policy rule, or “policy” shocks, which are assumed to be i.i.d.

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Figure 1: Model Structure
productivity shocks

Firms
wage
rigidities

utilization
capital

wage mark-up
shocks

intermediate goods
price
rigidities
mark-up
shocks

labor

MEI
shocks
Capital
Producers
investment
adjustment
costs

Final Goods
Producers

investment

Entrepreneurs
consumption
disc. factor
shocks

Banks

loans

credit
frictions
spread shocks

deposits

Households
bills
habit
persistence

Government
interest rate
policy
policy
shocks

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gov’t spending
shocks

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The Model’s Transmission Mechanism
In this section, we illustrate some of the key economic mechanisms at work in the model’s
equilibrium. We do so with the aid of the impulse response functions to the main shocks
hitting the economy, which we report in Figures 6 to 11.
We start with the shocks most closely associated with the Great Recession and the
severe financial crisis that characterized it: the discount factor shock and the spread shock.
The discount factor shock reflects the sudden desire by households to cut down on their
consumption and save more. This may capture the fact that households want to reduce their
debt level, or their increased pessimism about future economic conditions. Figure 6 shows
the impulse responses of the variables used in the estimation to a one-standard-deviation
innovation in the discount factor shock. Such a shock results in a decline in consumption
(fourth panel in left column), and hence in aggregate demand, which leads to a decrease
in output growth (top left panel), hours worked (top right panel), and real wage growth.
The implied reduction in marginal costs induces measures of inflation to fall (see inflation
of GDP and PCE deflators, in second and third rows). In addition, the discount factor
shock implies an increase in credit spread (fifth panel in left row) which causes investment
growth to contract. Monetary policy typically attempts to mitigate the decline in activity
and inflation by lowering the FFR, but is unable to fully offset the shock.
The other key shock, the spread shock, stems from an increase in the perceived riskiness
of borrowers, which induces banks to charge higher interest rates for loans, thereby widening
credit spreads. As a result of this increase in the expected cost of capital, entrepreneurs’
borrowing falls, hindering their ability to channel resources to the productive sector via
capital accumulation. The model identifies this shock by matching the behavior of the ratio of
the Baa corporate bond rate to the 10-year Treasury yield, and the spread’s comovement with
output growth, inflation, and the other observables. Figure 7 shows the impulse responses to
a one-standard-deviation innovation in the spread shock. An innovation of this size increases
the observed spread by roughly 25 basis points (fifth panel in left column). This leads to a
reduction in investment and consequently to a reduction in output growth (top left panel)
and hours worked (top right panel). The fall in the level of hours is fairly sharp in the first
year and persists for many quarters afterwards, leaving the labor input barely higher than
at the trough four years after the impulse. Of course, the effects of this same shock on GDP
growth, which roughly mirrors the change in the level of hours, are much more short-lived.
Output growth returns to its steady state level less than three years after the shock hits,
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but it barely moves above it after that, implying no catch up of the level of GDP towards
its previous trend (bottom left panel). The persistent drop in the level of economic activity
due to the spread shock also leads to a prolonged decline in real marginal costs, and, via the
New Keynesian Phillips curve, in inflation. Finally, policymakers endogenously respond to
the change in the inflation and real activity outlook by cutting the federal funds rate (right
panel on the third row).
Similar considerations hold for the MEI shock, which represents a direct hit to the ‘technological’ ability of entrepreneurs to transform investment goods into productive capital,
rather than an increase in their funding cost. The impulse responses to MEI shocks, shown
in Figure 8, also feature a decrease in investment, output and hours worked, as well as in
real wages, although these are less persistent than in the case of spread shocks. Inflation
responds little however, as marginal costs are expected revert back to steady state relatively
quickly. One key difference between the responses to spread and MEI shocks which allows
us to tell them apart empirically, is that the MEI shock leaves spreads virtually unchanged
(bottom right panel).
Another shock that plays an important role in the model is the stationary TFP shock
(the model features shocks to both the level and the growth rate of productivity – we discuss
here the former). As shown in Figure 9, a positive TFP shock has a large and persistent
effect on output growth, even if the response of hours is muted in the first few quarters (and
slightly negative on impact). This muted response of hours is due to the presence of nominal
rigidities, which prevent an expansion of aggregate demand sufficient to absorb the increased
ability of the economy to supply output. With higher productivity, marginal costs and thus
the labor share fall, leading to lower inflation. The policy rule specification implies that this
negative correlation between inflation and real activity, which is typical of supply shocks,
produces offsetting forces on the interest rate, which as a result moves little. These dynamics
make the TFP shock particularly suitable to account for the first phase of the recovery, in
which GDP growth was above trend, but hours and inflation remained weak.
The last shock that plays a relevant role in the current economic environment is the price
mark-up shock, whose impulse response is depicted in Figure 10. This shock is an exogenous
source of inflationary pressures, stemming from changes in the market power of intermediate
goods producers. As such, it leads to higher inflation and lower real activity, as producers
reduce supply to increase their desired markup. Compared to those of the other prominent
supply shock in the model, the TFP shock, the effects of markup-shocks feature significantly
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less persistence. GDP growth falls on impact after mark-ups increase, but returns above
average after about one year, and the effect on the level of output is absorbed in a little
over four years. Inflation is sharply higher, but only for a couple of quarters, leading to
a temporary spike in the nominal interest rate, as monetary policy tries to limit the passthrough of the shock to inflation. Unlike in the case of TFP shocks, however, hours fall
immediately, mirroring the behavior of output.

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Forecasts
2016
Core PCE
Inflation (Q4/Q4)
Real GDP
Growth (Q4/Q4)
Real Natural
Rate (Q4)
Output
Gap (Q4)

Jun.
1.5
(1.1,2.0)
2.2
(0.3,3.6)
0.1
(-1.4,1.6)
-1.5
(-3.2,-0.3)

Mar.
1.0
(0.4,1.5)
1.8
(-0.7,3.5)
-0.0
(-1.4,1.3)
-2.5
(-4.7,-1.1)

2016
Core PCE
Inflation (Q4/Q4)
Real GDP
Growth (Q4/Q4)
Real Natural
Rate (Q4)
Output
Gap (Q4)

Jun.
1.6
(1.2,1.9)
1.6
(-0.0,2.8)
0.1
(-1.5,1.6)
-1.8
(-3.5,0.6)

Mar.
1.3
(0.8,1.8)
1.8
(-0.5,3.2)
-0.1
(-1.4,1.3)
-2.5
(-4.7,-1.1)

Unconditional Forecast
2017
2018
Jun.
Mar.
Jun.
Mar.
1.2
1.1
1.3
1.2
(0.3,2.1)
(0.2,1.8)
(0.2,2.4)
(0.3,2.1)
2.3
2.3
2.4
2.5
(-0.8,4.6)
(-0.7,4.5) (-0.3,5.1) (-0.3,5.0)
0.3
0.3
0.7
0.6
(-1.4,2.1)
(-1.2,1.8) (-1.1,2.6) (-1.1,2.2)
-1.7
-2.5
-1.7
-2.3
(-4.9,0.2) (-6.5,-0.2) (-5.6,0.9) (-7.0,0.5)

2019
Jun.
Mar.
1.4
1.4
(0.2,2.7)
(0.4,2.3)
2.6
2.6
(-0.1,5.5) (-0.1,5.4)
1.0
0.9
(-0.9,2.9) (-0.8,2.5)
-1.5
-2.0
(-5.7,1.6) (-6.9,1.0)

Conditional
2017
Jun.
Mar.
1.2
1.2
(0.3,2.1)
(0.3,1.9)
2.2
2.2
(-0.9,4.6)
(-0.7,4.5)
0.3
0.3
(-1.4,2.1)
(-1.2,1.8)
-2.0
-2.6
(-5.2,-0.0) (-6.4,-0.3)

2019
Jun.
Mar.
1.4
1.4
(0.2,2.7)
(0.5,2.4)
2.6
2.6
(-0.0,5.6) (-0.1,5.4)
0.9
0.8
(-1.0,2.9) (-0.8,2.5)
-1.7
-2.1
(-5.9,1.4) (-6.9,1.1)

Forecast*
2018
Jun.
Mar.
1.3
1.3
(0.2,2.4)
(0.4,2.1)
2.5
2.4
(-0.3,5.2) (-0.3,5.0)
0.7
0.6
(-1.2,2.5) (-1.0,2.2)
-1.9
-2.4
(-5.9,0.7) (-6.9,0.5)

*The

unconditional forecasts use data up to 2015Q4, the quarter for which we have the most recent GDP release, as well as
the federal funds rate, 10-year Treasury yield, and spreads data for 2016Q1. In the conditional forecasts, we further include
the 2016Q1 FRBNY projections for GDP growth and core PCE inflation as additional data points. Numbers in parentheses
indicate 68 percent probability intervals.

The table above presents Q4/Q4 forecasts for real GDP growth, core PCE inflation, the
real natural rate, and the output gap for 2016-2019, with 68 percent probability intervals.
We include two sets of forecasts. The unconditional forecasts use data up to 2016Q1, the
quarter for which we have the most recent GDP release. These forecasts also use federal funds
rate, 10-year Treasury yield, and spreads data for 2016Q2 by taking the average realizations
for the quarter up to the forecast date. In the conditional forecasts, we further include the
2016Q2 FRBNY staff projections for GDP growth and core PCE inflation as additional data
points (as of May 27, quarterly annualized projections for 2016Q2 are 1.9 percent for output
growth and 1.5 percent for core PCE inflation). Treating the 2016Q2 staff forecasts as data
allows us to incorporate information about the current quarter into the DSGE forecasts for
the subsequent quarters. In addition to providing the current forecasts, the table reports
the forecasts included in the DSGE memo forwarded to the FOMC in advance of its March
2015 meeting.
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Figure 2 presents quarterly forecasts, both unconditional (left panels) and conditional
(right panels). In the graphs, the black line represents data, the red line indicates the mean
forecast, and the shaded areas mark the uncertainty associated with our forecast at 50, 60, 70,
80 and 90 percent probability intervals. Output growth and inflation are expressed in terms
of percent annualized rates, quarter to quarter. The interest rate is the annualized quarterly
average of the daily series. The bands reflect both parameter and shock uncertainty. Figure
3 compares the current forecasts with the March forecasts. Our discussion will mainly focus
on the conditional forecasts, which are those reported in the memo to the FOMC.
Relative to March, the FRBNY DSGE model predicts slightly lower output growth in
the near term, but similar growth for the rest of the forecast horizon. The near term change
reflects a realized GDP growth in 2016Q1 lower than the FRBNY staff forecast. The inclusion
of the current nowcast for 2016Q2 plays also a role in dampening the current forecast. In
fact, the forecast without conditioning predicts a growth rate for output in 2016 that is
higher than the March projection. In more detail, the path of output growth in 2016 is now
lower than in March, especially in the first and last quarter, and the Q4/Q4 growth rate is
1.6 percent, down from 1.8 percent in March. Despite lower growth in the short term, the
model continues to expect a rebound in growth in 2017-2019, with a small uptick in growth
relative to March, from 2.4 to 2.5 percent. In 2019 the output growth forecast stands at 2.6
percent, as in March. Inflation data for 2016Q1 came in higher than the Staff forecast, and
this boosted inflation forecasts in the short term. The model now projects Q4/Q4 inflation
of 1.6 percent in 2016 (up from 1.3 percent in March), while the forecasts for the period
2017-2019 remain at 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 percent respectively.
Uncertainty around the forecast, as measured by the 68 percent probability bands, remains high for output and inflation. For GDP growth, the 68 percent probability interval
spans 2.8 percentage points (from -0.0 to 2.8 percent) in 2016, and widens to 5.5 percentage
points (from -0.3 to 5.2 percent) in 2018. In March, the ranges were 3.7 and 5.5 percentage
points, respectively. For inflation, the 68 percent probability intervals range from 1.2 to
1.9 percent in 2016 and from 0.2 to 2.4 percent in 2018, somewhat higher than the March
forecast. Uncertainty is also significant for the real natural rate and the output gap. For
2018, the 68 percent bands for the natural rate range from -1.2 to 2.5 percent, while those
for the output gap range from -5.9 to 0.7 percent.

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Conditional

Output Growth

Output Growth

0

0

−5

−5

2007

2012

2017

Core PCE Inflation
3

3

2

2

1

1

0

0

2007

2012

2017

5

5

0

0

−5

−5

Percent Q−to−Q Annualized

5

Percent Q−to−Q Annualized

Unconditional

5

Percent Q−to−Q Annualized

Percent Q−to−Q Annualized

Figure 2: Forecasts

2007

3

3

2

2

1

1

0

0

2007

6

4

4

2

2

2017

0

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

2012

2017

Interest Rate

6

2012

2017

Core PCE Inflation

Interest Rate

0
2007

2012

6

6

4

4

2

2

0
2007

2012

2017

0

Black lines indicate data, red lines indicate mean forecasts, and shaded areas mark the uncertainty associated with our forecast
as 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 percent probability intervals.

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Conditional

Output Growth

Output Growth

0

0

−5

−5

2007

2012

2017

Core PCE Inflation
3

3

2

2

1

1

0

0

2007

2012

2017

5

5

0

0

−5

−5

Percent Q−to−Q Annualized

5

Percent Q−to−Q Annualized

Unconditional

5

Percent Q−to−Q Annualized

Percent Q−to−Q Annualized

Figure 3: Change in Forecasts

2007

3

3

2

2

1

1

0

0

2007

6

4

4

2

2

2017

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

2012

2017

Interest Rate

6

2012

2017

Core PCE Inflation

Interest Rate

2007

2012

6

6

4

4

2

2

2007

2012

2017

Solid (dashed) red and blue lines represent the mean and the 90 percent probability intervals of the current (previous) forecast.

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Interpreting the Forecasts
We use the shock decomposition shown in Figure 4 to interpret the forecasts. This figure
quantifies the relevance of the most important shocks for output growth, core PCE inflation,
and the federal funds rate (FFR) from 2007 onwards, by showing the extent to which each
of the disturbances contributes to keeping the variables from reaching their long-run values.
Specifically, in each of the three panels the solid line (black for realized data, red for mean
forecast) shows the variable in deviation from its steady state (for output, the numbers are
per capita, as the model takes population growth as exogenous; for both output and inflation,
the numbers are expressed in quarter-to-quarter annualized terms). The bars represent the
contribution of each shock to the deviation of the variable from steady state, that is, the
counterfactual values of output growth, inflation, and the federal funds rate (in deviations
from the mean) obtained by setting all other shocks to zero. We should note that the impacts
of some shocks have been aggregated. For example, the “financial” shock (purple) captures
both shocks to the spread as well as shocks to the discount factor.
The dynamics behind the current FRBNY DSGE forecast can be described as follows.
While the headwinds from the financial crisis, which are captured in the model by the contribution of the financial (purple) and MEI (azure) shocks, appeared to be finally abating in
our projections until mid-2015, a renewed tightening in financial conditions since the summer
2015 has reignited some of these headwinds. A further tightening in financial conditions in
late 2015 and early 2016 is largely responsible for a reduction in the near-term forecasts of
GDP growth and of the natural rate of interest. Despite this set-back, however, the effect of
both financial and MEI shocks is expected to subside. On the level of output, the impact of
financial shocks remains negative throughout the forecast horizon, as can be inferred from
their negative contribution to inflation. In fact, Figure 4 shows that financial shocks are
mostly responsible for the slow return of inflation to the 2 percent target. As the effect of
these adverse shocks dissipates, they have an overall positive contribution on output growth
in the medium term. Financial shocks are also the main driver of the shallow path of the
interest rate.
Figure 5 shows the output gap – the difference between output and its “natural” level
(the counterfactual level of output in absence of nominal rigidities and mark-up shocks) –
and the corresponding natural rate of interest through history. The natural rate of interest’s
path is slightly above the March projections. Its gradual increase over time reflects financial
headwinds and lower productivity growth. The output gap chart in the figure suggests that
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there is still slack – that is, underutilized capacity– in the economy, although less than in
the March projections. The slack also reflects low marginal costs of production for firms, a
key driver of the inflation projections. The models estimate of firms marginal costs suggests
that these have not recovered much over the last few years, owing to the weakness in real
wage growth. The output gap thus closes only gradually, which explains the slow return of
inflation to target.
Total factor productivity shocks, which contributed negatively to economic activity in
late 2007 and 2008, have instead pushed GDP up significantly in 2009 and 2010. In 2015Q1,
as was the case in 2014Q1, the sharp drop in real GDP growth is mainly attributable to a
temporary drop in total factor productivity. Similarly, a temporary negative productivity
shock appears to impact output growth in the first quarter of 2016. Over the past several
years, the negative impact of the headwinds mentioned above has been partly compensated
by expansionary monetary policy. In particular, forward guidance about the future path of
the federal funds rate (captured by anticipated policy shocks) played an important role in
counteracting these headwinds, and lifting both output and inflation. However, the positive
effect of this policy accommodation on the level of output has been negligible over the most
recent quarters. Since monetary policy is neutral in the long run in this model, the impact
of policy accommodation on the level of output will eventually wane, and has indeed done
so at least since mid-2014, implying a negative effect on growth.
The projected path of the federal funds rate, which follows the estimated historical rule,
is in line with that projected in March. The comparison between the estimated real natural
rate of interest and the actual real rate of interest, shown in Figure 5, helps to assess the
stance of policy. The natural rate of interest has been well below the actual real rate during
and after the crisis, indicating that the zero lower bound imposed a constraint on interestrate policy. In the current projections the federal funds rate remains below 2 percent through
the end of 2018Q3, as in our March forecast, reflecting in part an endogenous response of
policy to weaker economic conditions. Despite this subdued path, the projected FFR implies
a path for the ex-ante real interest rate that is close to the estimated natural rate of interest
in the medium term. In the short-term, however, the natural rate is somewhat above.
The shock decomposition for inflation also shows that mark-up shocks (green bars),
which capture the effect of exogenous changes in marginal costs such as those connected
with fluctuations in commodity prices, play an important role. These shocks tend to have
a fairly persistent impact on inflation. Recent negative mark-up shocks, likely reflecting
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declines in oil prices, contribute to pushing inflation down relative to target by at least half
of a percentage point during the current year and the next one. As noted, the rise in inflation
in 2016 and 2017(Q4/Q4) is partly explained by a temporary reversal of these shocks.

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Output Growth
(deviations from mean)

0

0

−5

−5

−10
2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013 2014 2015
Core PCE Inflation
(deviations from mean)

2016

2017

2018

2019

0.5

0

−0.5

−0.5

−1
−1.5
2007

−10
2020

0.5

0

Percent Q−to−Q Annualized

Percent Q−to−Q Annualized

Percent Q−to−Q Annualized

Figure 4: Shock Decomposition

−1

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013 2014 2015
Interest Rate
(deviations from mean)

2016

2017

2018

2019

−1.5
2020

5

5

0

0

−5
2007

2008

2009

2010

Gov’t

2011

2012

Financial

2013

2014

TFP

2015

Mark−Up

2016

Policy

2017

2018

2019

−5
2020

MEI

The shock decomposition is presented for the conditional forecast. The solid lines (black for realized data, red for mean forecast)
show each variable in deviation from its steady state. The bars represent the shock contributions; specifically, the bars for each
shock represent the counterfactual values for the observables (in deviations from the mean) obtained by setting all other shocks
to zero.

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Figure 5: Output Gap and the Natural Interest Rate
Output Gap
15

10

5

0

−5

−10
1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2020

2030

2040

Natural Rate & Ex-Ante Real Rate

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Figure 6: Responses to a Discount Factor Shock
Aggregate Hours Growth
Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

Output Growth
0.5

0

−0.5

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

1

0.5

0

36

0

4

8

12

0.02
0
−0.02

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

0

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized
8

12

16

20

24

28

32

0

4

8

12

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized
8

12

16

20

24

28

0

0

4

8

12

32

36

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

−0.05

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

−0.5

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

0.02
8

12

16

20

16

20

24

28

32

36

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

24

28

32

36

0.01

0

0

24

4

8

12

16

20

Total Factor Productivity, Util.Unadjusted

0.04

4

36

0.02

36

0.06

0

32

0

Long Rate

0

28

Long Inf

0

0

24

0.5

Spread

−0.1

20

Investment Growth

0

4

16

0.1

Consumption Growth

0

36

0.2

36

0.5

−0.5

32

Interest Rate

0.02

4

28

0.02

Core PCE Inflation

0

24

0.04

36

0.04

0

20

GDP Deflator

0.04

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

Real Wage Growth

16

28

32

36

28

32

36

0.04
0.02
0
−0.02

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

Percent Annualized

Income Growth
0.5

0

−0.5

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

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Figure 7: Responses to a Spread Shock
Aggregate Hours Growth
Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

Output Growth
0.04
0.02
0
−0.02

0

4

8

10

20

24

28

32

36

0
0

4

8

16

20

24

28

32

0

4

4

8

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

−2

0

4

8

Percent Annualized

−0.04
8

12

5

20

24

28

−0.01

32

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

24

28

32

36

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

0

−0.5

36

0

−5

20

0.5

1

0

4

8

12

28

32

36

28

32

36

16

20

24

28

32

36

24

28

32

36

Long Inf

x 10

0
−1
−2

Long Rate

x 10

16

0

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

−3

16

36

0.01

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

−0.02

4

12

−3

0

0

32

0

Spread

−0.06

28

0.02

Percent Annualized
8

24

Investment Growth

0

4

20

GDP Deflator

x 10

Consumption Growth

0

16

Interest Rate

0.05

−0.05

12

Core PCE Inflation

x 10

0

−2

2

36

Percent Annualized

2

12

0

−3

5

−5

−0.2

Real Wage Growth

x 10

−3

Percent Annualized

16

0

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

−3

12

0.2

5

0

4

8

12

16

20

−3
Total
Factor Productivity, Util.Unadjusted
x 10

0

−5

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

Percent Annualized

Income Growth
0.04
0.02
0
−0.02

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

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Figure 8: Responses to an MEI Shock
Aggregate Hours Growth
Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

Output Growth
0.5

0

−0.5

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

1
0.5
0
−0.5

0

4

8

12

0.01
0
−0.01

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

−0.01

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized
8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

0

4

8

12

8

12

16

20

24

28

−0.1

32

36

0

4

8

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

0
−0.01
4

8

12

16

20

24

32

36

16

20

24

28

32

36

0
−1

0

4

8

12

0

16

20

24

28

32

36

24

28

32

36

Long Inf

x 10

−2
−4
−6

0

4

8

12

16

20

Total Factor Productivity, Util.Unadjusted

0.01

0

28

1

Long Rate

−0.02

12

−3

0.05

0

24

2

Spread

−0.05

20

0

Percent Annualized
4

16

Investment Growth

0

0

36

0.1

Consumption Growth
0.1

−0.1

32

Interest Rate

−0.005

4

28

−0.005

Core PCE Inflation

0

24

0

36

0

−0.01

20

GDP Deflator

0.02

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

Real Wage Growth

16

28

32

36

28

32

36

0.04
0.02
0
−0.02

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

Percent Annualized

Income Growth
0.5

0

−0.5

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

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Figure 9: Responses to a TFP Shock
Aggregate Hours Growth
Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

Output Growth
0.5

0

−0.5

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

0.5

0

−0.5

0

4

8

12

0
−0.02
−0.04

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized
8

12

16

20

24

28

32

0

0

4

8

12

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized
8

12

5

20

24

28

32

36

0

0

4

8

x 10

−5
0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

0.01
8

12

16

20

36

16

20

24

28

32

36

0

−0.5

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

24

28

32

36

0.02
0.01
0
−0.01

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

0.02

4

32

0

24

4

8

12

16

20

Total Factor Productivity, Util.Unadjusted

0.03

0

28

0.5

Long Rate

0

24

Long Inf

0

−10

12

Spread
Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

−3

16

20

Investment Growth

0

4

16

0.05

Consumption Growth

0

36

0.1

36

0.5

−0.5

32

Interest Rate

0.02

4

28

0.02

Core PCE Inflation

0

24

0.04

36

0.04

0

20

GDP Deflator

0.02

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

Real Wage Growth

16

28

32

36

28

32

36

0.5
0
−0.5
−1

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

Percent Annualized

Income Growth
0.5

0

−0.5

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

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Figure 10: Responses to a Price Mark-up Shock
Aggregate Hours Growth
Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

Output Growth
0.2

0

−0.2

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

0.5

0

−0.5

0

4

8

12

0

−0.2

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized
4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized
4

8

12

−0.2

0

4

8

12

5

20

24

28

32

36

−0.1

0

4

8

−5
0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

0
8

12

16

20

24

32

36

16

20

24

28

32

36

−0.5

0

4

8

12

10

16

20

24

28

32

36

24

28

32

36

Long Inf

x 10

5
0
−5

0

4

8

12

16

20

Total Factor Productivity, Util.Unadjusted

0.01

4

28

0

36

0.02

0

24

0.5

Long Rate

−0.01

12

−3

0

−10

20

0

Spread

x 10

16

0.1

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

−3

16

36

Investment Growth

0

0

32

0

Consumption Growth
0.2

−0.2

28

Interest Rate

0

0

24

0.2

Core PCE Inflation
0.2

−0.2

20

GDP Deflator

0.2

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

Real Wage Growth

16

28

32

36

28

32

36

0.02
0
−0.02
−0.04

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

Percent Annualized

Income Growth
0.2

0

−0.2

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

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Figure 11: Responses to a Monetary Policy Shock
Aggregate Hours Growth
Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

Output Growth
0.5

0

−0.5

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

0.5
0
−0.5
−1

36

0
−0.01
4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

−5

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized
8

12

16

20

24

28

32

0

0

4

8

8

12

16

20

24

28

0

32

−1

36

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

0.01

8

12

16

20

24

24

28

32

36

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

0

4

8

12

1

16

20

24

28

32

36

24

28

32

36

Long Inf

x 10

0

−1

0

4

8

12

16

20

Total Factor Productivity, Util.Unadjusted

0.02

4

20

−0.5

Long Rate

0

16

0

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

0

0

12

−3

0.01

4

36

0.5

36

0.02

0

32

0.1

Spread

−0.01

28

Investment Growth

0

4

24

GDP Deflator

x 10

Consumption Growth

0

20

0.2

36

0.5

−0.5

16

Interest Rate

−2
0

12

Core PCE Inflation

x 10

0

−4

8

0

36

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

−3

2

5

Percent Annualized

Percent Annualized

Real Wage Growth

0

4
−3

0.01

−0.02

0

28

32

36

28

32

36

0.05

0

−0.05

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

32

36

Percent Annualized

Income Growth
0.5

0

−0.5

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

FRBNY DSGE Team, Research and Statistics

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FRBNY DSGE Model: Research Directors Draft

June 3, 2016

Figure 12: Shock Histories

2

b

2

0

0

−2
−2
2007200820092010201120122013201420152016

Standard Deviations

Standard Deviations

g

2

2

0

0

−2

−2

−4

−4

2007200820092010201120122013201420152016
z

1

1

0

0

−1

−1

Standard Deviations

Standard Deviations

µ

2007200820092010201120122013201420152016

0

0

−2
−2
2007200820092010201120122013201420152016

1

0

0

−1
−1
2007200820092010201120122013201420152016

2

1

1

0

0

−1

−1

2

2

0

0

−2

−2

−4
−4
2007200820092010201120122013201420152016
σw

Standard Deviations

Standard Deviations

rm

1

2

λw

Standard Deviations

Standard Deviations

2

3

2007200820092010201120122013201420152016

λf

2

3

2

2

0

0

−2

−2

2007200820092010201120122013201420152016

FRBNY DSGE Team, Research and Statistics

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FRBNY DSGE Model: Research Directors Draft

June 3, 2016

Figure 13: Anticipated Shock Histories
Ant 2

0.1

0.1

0

0

−0.1

Percent

Percent

Ant 1
0.1

0.1

0

0

−0.1
−0.1

−0.1

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Ant 3

Ant 4

0.1

0.1

0

0

Percent

Percent

0.05

0.05

0

0

−0.05
−0.1

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

−0.1
−0.1
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Ant 5

Ant 6

0

0.1

0.1

0

0

0.05
0

−0.05

−0.05

−0.1

−0.1

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Percent

0.05
Percent

−0.1

−0.05

−0.1

−0.1

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

FRBNY DSGE Team, Research and Statistics

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FRBNY DSGE Model: Research Directors Draft

June 3, 2016

References
Bernanke, B. S., M. Gertler, and S. Gilchrist (1999): “The Financial Accelerator
in a Quantitative Business Cycle Framework,” in Handbook of Macroeconomics, ed. by
J. B. Taylor and M. Woodford, Amsterdam: North-Holland, vol. 1C, chap. 21, 1341–93.
Christiano, L. J., M. Eichenbaum, and C. L. Evans (2005): “Nominal Rigidities and
the Dynamic Effects of a Shock to Monetary Policy,” Journal of Political Economy, 113,
1–45.
Christiano, L. J., R. Motto, and M. Rostagno (2014): “Risk Shocks,” American
Economic Review, 104, 27–65.
Del Negro, M., M. P. Giannoni, and F. Schorfheide (2015): “Inflation in the Great
Recession and New Keynesian Models,” American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics,
7, 168–196.
Del Negro, M. and F. Schorfheide (2012): “DSGE Model-Based Forecasting,”
FRBNY Working Paper.
Laseen, S. and L. E. Svensson (2011): “Anticipated Alternative Policy-Rate Paths in
Policy Simulations,” International Journal of Central Banking, 7, 1–35.
Smets, F. and R. Wouters (2007): “Shocks and Frictions in US Business Cycles: A
Bayesian DSGE Approach,” American Economic Review, 97, 586 – 606.

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Detailed Philadelphia (PRISM) Forecast Overview
June 2016
Keith Sill

Forecast Summary
The FRB Philadelphia DSGE model denoted PRISM, projects that real GDP growth will
run at a fairly strong pace over the forecast horizon with real output growth peaking at about 3.4
percent in early 2018. Core PCE inflation edges up to run at about a 2 percent pace in 2017 and
2018. The funds rate rises to 1.6 percent in 2016Q4 and reaches 3.6 percent at the end of 2018.
The current gap between output and its trend level remains substantial in the estimated model
and, absent any shocks, the model predicts a rapid recovery to the trend level. The relatively
slow pace of growth and low inflation that have characterized U.S. economic performance over
the past few years require the presence of shocks to offset the strength of the model’s internal
propagation channels.
The Current Forecast and Shock Identification
The PRISM model is an estimated New Keynesian DSGE model with sticky wages,
sticky prices, investment adjustment costs, and habit persistence. The model is similar to the
Smets & Wouters 2007 model and is described more fully in Schorfheide, Sill, and Kryshko
2010. Unlike in that paper though, we estimate PRISM directly on core PCE inflation rather
than projecting core inflation as a non-modeled variable. Details on the model and its estimation
are available in a Technical Appendix that was distributed for the June 2011 FOMC meeting or
is available on request.
The current forecasts for real GDP growth, core PCE inflation, and the federal funds rate
are shown in Figures 1a-1c along with the 68 percent probability coverage intervals. The
forecast uses data through 2016Q1 supplemented by a 2016Q2 nowcast based on the latest
Macroeconomic Advisers forecast. The model takes the 2016Q2 nowcast for output growth of
2.5 percent as given and the projection begins with 2016Q3. PRISM anticipates that output
growth rises to 2.7 percent in 2017Q1, and then edges up gradually to about 3.4 percent in
2018Q2. Overall, the growth forecast for this round is a bit weaker over the next three years
compared with the March projection. This is largely due to the modest growth in the economy
over the last two quarters. While output growth is fairly robust going forward, core PCE inflation
stays contained and runs at about a 2 percent pace over the next three years. Based on the 68
percent coverage interval, the model sees a minimal chance of deflation or recession (measured
as negative quarters of real GDP growth) over the next 3 years. The federal funds rate is
determined solely by model dynamics for this forecast round and the funds rate rises to 1.6

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percent in 2016Q4, 3 percent in 2017Q4, and 3.6 percent in 2018Q4. This path is about the same
as in the March projection.
The key factors driving the projection are shown in the forecast shock decompositions
(Figures 2a-2e) and the smoothed estimates of the model’s primary shocks (shown in Figure 3,
where they are normalized by standard deviation). Over the course of 2015, negative shocks to
TFP and monetary policy have been the primary factors holding back real output growth. As
these shocks unwind, output growth rises with additional contributions from the unwinding of
investment and labor supply shocks. Over the course of the recession and recovery PRISM
estimated a sequence of large positive shocks to leisure (negative shocks to labor supply) that
have a persistent effect on hours worked and so pushed hours well below steady state. As these
shocks unwind hours worked rebounds strongly over the forecast horizon and so leads to higher
output growth.
As seen in Figure 3, the model estimates a number of large negative discount factor
shocks since 2008. All else equal, these shocks push down consumption and push up investment,
with the effect being very persistent. Consequently, the de-trended level of consumption
(nondurables + services) still remains somewhat below the model’s estimated steady state at this
point. As these shocks unwind over the projection period, consumption growth gradually
accelerates from about 2 percent in mid-2016 to 2.6 percent in the second half of 2018. The
model is now forecasting a relatively weak path for investment growth (gross private domestic +
durable goods consumption) as the gradual unwinding of a history of negative MEI shocks since
the start of the recession (see Figures 2e and 3) are offset by the lingering effects of financial
shocks: the unwinding of the discount factor shocks leads to a downward pull on investment
growth over the next three years. Investment growth rises from about 1.2 percent at the end of
2016 to 4.3 percent at the end of the forecast horizon.
The forecast for core PCE inflation is largely a story of upward pressure from the
unwinding of negative labor supply shocks and MEI shocks being offset by downward pressure
from the waning of discount factor shocks. Negative discount factor shocks have a strong and
persistent negative effect on marginal cost and inflation in the estimated model. But labor supply
shocks that push down aggregate hours also serve to put upward pressure on the real wage and
hence marginal cost. The effect is persistent -- as the labor supply shocks unwind over the
forecast horizon they exert a waning upward push to inflation. On balance the effect of these
opposing forces keep inflation near 2 percent target over the next 3 years.
The federal funds rate is projected to rise fairly quickly over the forecast horizon. The
model attributes the low level of the funds rate to a combination of monetary policy, discount
factor and MEI shock dynamics. Looking ahead, the positive contribution from labor supply
shocks is more than offset by discount factor shock dynamics, but as these shocks wane the
funds rate rises to 3.6 percent by the end of 2018.
References
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Schorfheide, Frank, Keith Sill, and Maxym Kryshko. 2010. “DSGE model-based forecasting of
non-modelled variables.” International Journal of Forecasting, 26(2): 348-373.
Smets, Frank, and Rafael Wouters. 2007. “Shocks and Frictions in U.S. Business Cycles: A
Bayesian DSGE Approach.” American Economic Review, 97(3): 586-606.

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Figure 1a
Real GDP Growth

10
8
6
4
2
0
-2
-4
-6
-8
-10
2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

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2018

2019

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Figure 1b
Core PCE Inflation

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

-1
2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

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Figure 1c
Fed Funds Rate

8

6

4

2

0

-2

-4
2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

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2018

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Figure 2a
Shock Decompositions
Real GDP Growth

percent

8

8

6

6

4

4

2

2

0

0

-2

-2

-4

-4

-6
2010

-6
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Date
tech

gov

mei

mrkp

shocks:
TFP:
Gov:
MEI:
MrkUp:
Labor:
Fin:
Mpol:

Total factor productivity growth shock
Government spending shock
Marginal efficiency of investment shock
Price markup shock
Labor supply shock
Discount factor shock
Monetary policy shock

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Figure 2b
Shock Decompositions

Core PCE Inflation

percent

4

4

3

3

2

2

1

1

0

0

-1

-1

-2

-2

-3
2010

-3
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Date
tech

gov

mei

mrkp

shocks:
TFP:
Gov:
MEI:
MrkUp:
Labor:
Fin:
Mpol:

Total factor productivity growth shock
Government spending shock
Marginal efficiency of investment shock
Price markup shock
Labor supply shock
Discount factor shock
Monetary policy shock

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Figure 2c
Shock Decompositions
Fed Funds Rate

percent

6

6

4

4

2

2

0

0

-2

-2

-4

-4

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Date
tech

gov

mei

mrkp

shocks:
TFP:
Gov:
MEI:
MrkUp:
Labor:
Fin:
Mpol:

Total factor productivity growth shock
Government spending shock
Marginal efficiency of investment shock
Price markup shock
Labor supply shock
Discount factor shock
Monetary policy shock

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Figure 2d
Shock Decompositions

Real Consumption Growth

percent

6

6

4

4

2

2

0

0

-2

-2

-4

-4

-6
2010

-6
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Date
tech

gov

mei

mrkp

shocks:
TFP:
Gov:
MEI:
MrkUp:
Labor:
Fin:
Mpol:

Total factor productivity growth shock
Government spending shock
Marginal efficiency of investment shock
Price markup shock
Labor supply shock
Discount factor shock
Monetary policy shock

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Figure 2e
Shock Decompositions
Real Investment Growth

percent

30

30

20

20

10

10

0

0

-10

-20
2010

-10

-20
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Date
tech

gov

mei

mrkp

shocks:
TFP:
Gov:
MEI:
MrkUp:
Labor:
Fin:
Mpol:

Total factor productivity growth shock
Government spending shock
Marginal efficiency of investment shock
Price markup shock
Labor supply shock
Discount factor shock
Monetary policy shock

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Figure 3
Smoothed Shock Estimates for Conditional Forecast Model
(normalized by standard deviation)

4

labor shock

5

discount factor shock

2
0
0

-2
2005
4

2010

2015

2020

-5
2005

TFP shock

2010

2015

2020

mei shock
2

2
0
0
-2
-2
2005

2010

2015

2020

2005

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Impulse Responses to TFP shock

output growth

consumption growth

1

1

0.5

0.5

0

0

5

10

15

0

0

investment growth
0.5

0

0

0

5

10

15

-0.5

0

inflation
0.05

0

0

0

5

15

5

10

15

nominal rate

0.05

-0.05

10

aggregate hours

2

-2

5

10

15

-0.05

0

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Impulse Response to Leisure Shock

output growth

consumption growth

2

2

0

0

-2

0

5

10

15

-2

0

investment growth
0

0

-1

0

5

10

15

-2

0

inflation
0.4

0.2

0.2

0

5

15

5

10

15

nominal rate

0.4

0

10

aggregate hours

5

-5

5

10

15

0

0

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Impulse Responses to MEI Shock

output growth

consumption growth

2

0.2

0

0

-2

0

5

10

15

-0.2

0

investment growth
10

1

0

0.5

-10

0

5

10

15

0

0

inflation
0.4

0

0.2

0

5

10

15

5

10

15

nominal rate

0.1

-0.1

5

aggregate hours

10

15

0

0

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Impulse Responses to Financial Shock

output growth

consumption growth

1

2

0

0

-1

0

5

10

15

-2

0

investment growth
0.5

0

0

0

5

10

15

-0.5

0

inflation
1

0.2

0.5

0

5

15

5

10

15

nominal rate

0.4

0

10

aggregate hours

5

-5

5

10

15

0

0

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Impulse Responses to Price Markup Shock

output growth

consumption growth

0.5

0.5

0

0

-0.5

0

5

10

15

-0.5

0

investment growth
0

0

-0.1

0

5

10

15

-0.2

0

inflation
0.5

0

0

0

5

15

5

10

15

nominal rate

1

-1

10

aggregate hours

1

-1

5

10

15

-0.5

0

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Impulse Responses to Unanticipated Monetary Policy Shock

output growth

consumption growth

0.5

0.5

0

0

-0.5

0

5

10

15

-0.5

0

investment growth
0.2

0

0

0

5

10

15

-0.2

0

inflation
1

0

0

0

5

15

5

10

15

nominal rate

0.1

-0.1

10

aggregate hours

1

-1

5

10

15

-1

0

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Impulse Responses to Govt Spending Shock

output growth

consumption growth

2

0.5

0

0

-2

0

5

10

15

-0.5

0

investment growth
0.4

0

0.2

0

5

10

15

0

0

inflation
0.04

0.01

0.02

0

5

15

5

10

15

nominal rate

0.02

0

10

aggregate hours

0.2

-0.2

5

10

15

0

0

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10

15