Research
After the ACA: Freeing the market for health care
In The Future of Healthcare Reform in the United States Edited by Anup Malani and Michael H. Schill, p 161-201, University of Chicago Press. An essay on health care, first presented at the conference, The Future of Health Care Reform in the United States, at the University of Chicago Law School. Most of the policy discussion is focused on health insurance. But the health care market is dysfuctional, and needs to be fixed as well. Where are the Southwest Airlines, Walmart and Apple of health care, bringing cost saving, efficiency, and innovation? I argue that we need a big freeing up of health care markets. I also focus more than usual on supply restrictions. It doesn't do much good for people to pay with their own money if suppliers cannot respond to that demand. Last manuscript in case of copyright problems with the published version above.
In The Future of Healthcare Reform in the United States Edited by Anup Malani and Michael H. Schill, p 161-201, University of Chicago Press. An essay on health care, first presented at the conference, The Future of Health Care Reform in the United States, at the University of Chicago Law School. Most of the policy discussion is focused on health insurance. But the health care market is dysfuctional, and needs to be fixed as well. Where are the Southwest Airlines, Walmart and Apple of health care, bringing cost saving, efficiency, and innovation? I argue that we need a big freeing up of health care markets. I also focus more than usual on supply restrictions. It doesn't do much good for people to pay with their own money if suppliers cannot respond to that demand. Last manuscript in case of copyright problems with the published version above.
The Fragile Benefits of Endowment Destruction
November 2015. Journal of Political Economy 123(5) 1214-1226. With John Y. Campbell. (JSTOR / JPE Link.) A rejoinder to Ljungqvist and Uhlig "Comment on the Campbell-Cochrane Habit Model" (formerly titled "Optimal Endowment Destruction under Campbell-Cochrane Habit Formation"). The benefits of endowment destruction depend sensitively on how you discretize the model. Lesson: It's better to use the the continuous time version and make sure discretizations make sense. There is a nice lesson on how to extend diffusion models to jumps too. Computer program.
November 2015. Journal of Political Economy 123(5) 1214-1226. With John Y. Campbell. (JSTOR / JPE Link.) A rejoinder to Ljungqvist and Uhlig "Comment on the Campbell-Cochrane Habit Model" (formerly titled "Optimal Endowment Destruction under Campbell-Cochrane Habit Formation"). The benefits of endowment destruction depend sensitively on how you discretize the model. Lesson: It's better to use the the continuous time version and make sure discretizations make sense. There is a nice lesson on how to extend diffusion models to jumps too. Computer program.
Comments on "How Can Central Banks Deliver Credible Commitment and be 'Emergency Institutions'"
By Paul Tucker. In John H. Cochrane and John B. Taylor, Eds., Central Bank Governance and Oversight Reform, Hoover Institution Press May 2016, p. 31-36. (Chapter pdfs available here) Comments presented at the Hoover conference by the same name, May 21, 2015. Tucker's paper here. Tucker wisely advocates rules for mop ups, lender of last resort, bailouts, etc. I agree, but wouldn't lots more equity so you don't have to mop up be simpler?
By Paul Tucker. In John H. Cochrane and John B. Taylor, Eds., Central Bank Governance and Oversight Reform, Hoover Institution Press May 2016, p. 31-36. (Chapter pdfs available here) Comments presented at the Hoover conference by the same name, May 21, 2015. Tucker's paper here. Tucker wisely advocates rules for mop ups, lender of last resort, bailouts, etc. I agree, but wouldn't lots more equity so you don't have to mop up be simpler?
Comments on "Neoclassical Models of Aggregate Economies"
Comments on Gary Hansen and Lee Ohanian, "Neoclassical Models of Aggregate Economies" at the Conference on the Handbook of Macroeconomics, Volume 2, Hoover Institution, April 11 2015.
Comments on Gary Hansen and Lee Ohanian, "Neoclassical Models of Aggregate Economies" at the Conference on the Handbook of Macroeconomics, Volume 2, Hoover Institution, April 11 2015.
Continuous time
Note covering dz, dt, stochastic integrals, and how to do all of Asset Pricing Chapter 1 in continuous time.
Note covering dz, dt, stochastic integrals, and how to do all of Asset Pricing Chapter 1 in continuous time.
A Response to Sims (2013)
January 2015. Chris Sims' (2013) "Paper Money" seems to include a criticism of my "Determinacy and Identification with Taylor Rules." In fact, there is no fundamental disagreement between the two papers.
January 2015. Chris Sims' (2013) "Paper Money" seems to include a criticism of my "Determinacy and Identification with Taylor Rules." In fact, there is no fundamental disagreement between the two papers.
Toward a run-free financial system
November 4 2014. In Martin Neil Baily, John B. Taylor, eds., Across the Great Divide: New Perspectives on the Financial Crisis, Hoover Press. This is an essay about what I think we should do in place of current financial regulation. We had a run, so get rid of run-prone liabilities. Technology and financial innovation means we can overcome the standard objections to "narrow banking." Some fun ideas include a tax on debt rather than capital ratios, the Fed and Treasury should issue reserves to everyone and take over short-term debt markets just as they took over the banknote market in the 19th century, and downstream fallible vechicles can tranche up bank equity.
November 4 2014. In Martin Neil Baily, John B. Taylor, eds., Across the Great Divide: New Perspectives on the Financial Crisis, Hoover Press. This is an essay about what I think we should do in place of current financial regulation. We had a run, so get rid of run-prone liabilities. Technology and financial innovation means we can overcome the standard objections to "narrow banking." Some fun ideas include a tax on debt rather than capital ratios, the Fed and Treasury should issue reserves to everyone and take over short-term debt markets just as they took over the banknote market in the 19th century, and downstream fallible vechicles can tranche up bank equity.
Challenges for Cost-Benefit Analysis of Financial Regulation.
Journal of Legal Studies 43 S63-S105 (November 2014). Is cost benefit analysis a good idea for financial regulation? I survey the nature of costs and benefits of financial regulation and conclude that the legal process of current health, safety and environmental regulation can't be simply extended to financial regulation. I opine about how a successful cost-benefit process might work. My costs and benefits expanded to a rather critical survey of current financial regulation. It's based on a presentation I gave at a conference on this topic at the University of Chicago law school Fall 2013, with many interesting papers. JSTOR link with HTML and nicer pdf. The JLS issue with all conference papers.
Journal of Legal Studies 43 S63-S105 (November 2014). Is cost benefit analysis a good idea for financial regulation? I survey the nature of costs and benefits of financial regulation and conclude that the legal process of current health, safety and environmental regulation can't be simply extended to financial regulation. I opine about how a successful cost-benefit process might work. My costs and benefits expanded to a rather critical survey of current financial regulation. It's based on a presentation I gave at a conference on this topic at the University of Chicago law school Fall 2013, with many interesting papers. JSTOR link with HTML and nicer pdf. The JLS issue with all conference papers.
Monetary Policy with Interest on Reserves
Journal of Economic Dynamics & Control 49 (2014), 74-108. ( ScienceDirect link to published version, html and pdf) I analyze monetary policy with interest on reserves and a large balance sheet. I argue for the desirability of this regime on financial stability grounds. I show that conventional theories do not determine inflation in this regime, so I base the analysis on the fiscal theory of the price level. I find that monetary policy -- buying and selling government debt with no effect on surpluses -- can peg the nominal rate, and determine expected inflation. With sticky prices, monetary policy can also affect real interest rates and output, though not with the usual signs in this model. Figures 2 and 3 are the best part -- the effects of monetary policy with and without fiscal coordination. I address theoretical controversies, and how the fiscal backing of monetary policy was important for the 1980s disinflation. A concluding section reviews the role of central banks. Matlab program.
Journal of Economic Dynamics & Control 49 (2014), 74-108. ( ScienceDirect link to published version, html and pdf) I analyze monetary policy with interest on reserves and a large balance sheet. I argue for the desirability of this regime on financial stability grounds. I show that conventional theories do not determine inflation in this regime, so I base the analysis on the fiscal theory of the price level. I find that monetary policy -- buying and selling government debt with no effect on surpluses -- can peg the nominal rate, and determine expected inflation. With sticky prices, monetary policy can also affect real interest rates and output, though not with the usual signs in this model. Figures 2 and 3 are the best part -- the effects of monetary policy with and without fiscal coordination. I address theoretical controversies, and how the fiscal backing of monetary policy was important for the 1980s disinflation. A concluding section reviews the role of central banks. Matlab program.
Comments on "Mortgage Risk and the Yield Curve"
Comments on Aytek Malkhozov, Philippe Mueller, Andrea Vedolin, and Gyuri Venter, "Mortgage Risk and the Yield Curve," slides presented at the NBER AP meeting, July 2014.
Comments on Aytek Malkhozov, Philippe Mueller, Andrea Vedolin, and Gyuri Venter, "Mortgage Risk and the Yield Curve," slides presented at the NBER AP meeting, July 2014.
Comments on "A Model of Secular Stagnation"
Comments on Gauti Eggertsson and Neil Mehrotra, "A Model of Secular Stagnation," slides presented at the NBER EFG meeting, July 2014.
Comments on Gauti Eggertsson and Neil Mehrotra, "A Model of Secular Stagnation," slides presented at the NBER EFG meeting, July 2014.
A mean-variance benchmark for intertemporal portfolio theory
Journal of Finance, 69: 1–49. doi: 10.1111/jofi.12099 (February 2014) (link to JF) (Manuscript) Applies good old fashioned mean-variance portfolio analysis to the entire stream of dividends rather than to one-period returns. Long-Run Mean-Variance Analysis in a Diffusion Environment is a set of notes, detailing all the trouble you get in to if you try to apply long-run ideas to the standard iid lognormal environment, and also discusses shifting bliss points a bit.
Journal of Finance, 69: 1–49. doi: 10.1111/jofi.12099 (February 2014) (link to JF) (Manuscript) Applies good old fashioned mean-variance portfolio analysis to the entire stream of dividends rather than to one-period returns. Long-Run Mean-Variance Analysis in a Diffusion Environment is a set of notes, detailing all the trouble you get in to if you try to apply long-run ideas to the standard iid lognormal environment, and also discusses shifting bliss points a bit.
Finance: Function Matters, not Size
May 2013 Journal of Economic Perspectives 27, 29–50 JEP link (Previous title "Is Finance Too big?" December 2012.) Is finance "too big?" Is this the right question? .
May 2013 Journal of Economic Perspectives 27, 29–50 JEP link (Previous title "Is Finance Too big?" December 2012.) Is finance "too big?" Is this the right question? .
Having your cake and eating it too: The maturity structure of US debt
November 12 2012 How the US Treasury can both lengthen and shorten its debt at the same time, to buy insurance against interest rate rises and provide "liquidity." A short paper diguised as comments on Greenwood, Hanson, and Stein “A Comparative Advantage Approach to Government Debt Maturity” at the Second Annual Roundtable on Treasury Markets and Debt Management , US Treasury, Nov. 15 2012
November 12 2012 How the US Treasury can both lengthen and shorten its debt at the same time, to buy insurance against interest rate rises and provide "liquidity." A short paper diguised as comments on Greenwood, Hanson, and Stein “A Comparative Advantage Approach to Government Debt Maturity” at the Second Annual Roundtable on Treasury Markets and Debt Management , US Treasury, Nov. 15 2012
Financial Markets and the Real Economy
In Rajnish Mehra, Ed. Handbook of the Equity Premium Elsevier 2007, 237-325. Everything you wanted to know, about the equity premium, consumption-based models, investment-based models, general equilibrium in asset pricing, labor income and idiosyncratic risk. Click the title for more information.
In Rajnish Mehra, Ed. Handbook of the Equity Premium Elsevier 2007, 237-325. Everything you wanted to know, but didn’t have time to read, about equity premium, consumption-based models, investment-based models, general equilibrium in asset pricing, labor income and idiosyncratic risk.
This article appeared four times, getting better each time. (Why waste a good article by only publishing it once?) The link above is the last and the best. The previous versions were NBER Working paper 11193, Financial Markets and the Real Economy Volume 18 of the International Library of Critical Writings in Financial Economics, John H. Cochrane Ed., London: Edward Elgar. March 2006, and in Foundations and Trends in Finance 1, 1-101, 2005.
Comments on "Volatility, the Macroeconomy and Asset Prices
Comments on "Volatility, the Macroeconomy and Asset Prices, by Ravi Bansal, Dana Kiku, Ivan Shaliastovich, and Amir Yaron, and “An Intertemporal CAPM with Stochastic Volatility” by John Y. Campbell, Stefano Giglio, Christopher Polk, and Robert Turley. Also slides. April 13 2012 Comments presented at the spring NBER asset pricing meeting. I took the opportunity to offer a sceptical apparisal of long-run risks, and whether stochastic volatilty really works as a state variable, especially in the long run.
Comments on "Volatility, the Macroeconomy and Asset Prices, by Ravi Bansal, Dana Kiku, Ivan Shaliastovich, and Amir Yaron, and “An Intertemporal CAPM with Stochastic Volatility” by John Y. Campbell, Stefano Giglio, Christopher Polk, and Robert Turley. Also slides. April 13 2012 Comments presented at the spring NBER asset pricing meeting. I took the opportunity to offer a sceptical apparisal of long-run risks, and whether stochastic volatilty really works as a state variable, especially in the long run.
A Brief Parable of Overdifferencing
This is a short note, showing how money demand estimation works very well in levels or long (4 year) differences, but not when you first-difference the data. It shows why we often want to run OLS with corrected standard errors rather than GLS or ML, and it cautions against the massive differencing, fixed effects and controls used in micro data. It's from a PhD class, but I thought the reminder worth a little standalone note.
This is a short note, showing how money demand estimation works very well in levels or long (4 year) differences, but not when you first-difference the data. It shows why we often want to run OLS with corrected standard errors rather than GLS or ML, and it cautions against the massive differencing, fixed effects and controls used in micro data. It's from a PhD class, but I thought the reminder worth a little standalone note.
The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level and its Implications for Current Policy in the United States and Europe
The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level and its Implications for Current Policy in the United States and Europe November 19, 2011 This is the text of my presentation at the concluding panel of the conference, “Fiscal Policy under Fiscal Imbalance,†hosted by the Becker-Friedman Institute and Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level and its Implications for Current Policy in the United States and Europe November 19, 2011 This is the text of my presentation at the concluding panel of the conference, “Fiscal Policy under Fiscal Imbalance,†hosted by the Becker-Friedman Institute and Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Continuous-time linear models
Foundations and Trends in Finance 6 (2011), 165-219. How to do ARMA models, opreator tricks, and Hansen-Sargent prediction formulas in continuous time.
Foundations and Trends in Finance 6 (2011), 165-219. How to do ARMA models, opreator tricks, and Hansen-Sargent prediction formulas in continuous time.
Inflation and Debt
National Affairs 9 (Fall 2011). html An essay summarizing the threat of inflation from large debt and deficits. The danger is best described as a "run on the dollar." Future deficits can lead to inflation today, which the Fed cannot control. I also talk about the conventional Keynesian (Fed) and monetarist views of inflation, and why they are not equipped to deal with the threat of deficits. This essay complements the academic (equations) "Understanding Policy" article (see below) and the Why the 2025 budget matters today WSJ oped (on oped page).
National Affairs 9 (Fall 2011). html An essay summarizing the threat of inflation from large debt and deficits. The danger is best described as a "run on the dollar." Future deficits can lead to inflation today, which the Fed cannot control. I also talk about the conventional Keynesian (Fed) and monetarist views of inflation, and why they are not equipped to deal with the threat of deficits. This essay complements the academic (equations) "Understanding Policy" article (see below) and the Why the 2025 budget matters today WSJ oped (on oped page).