A VAR frame work in analyzing the effects of anticipated and unanticipated monetary shocks on macro aggregates : the case of Turkey

Abstract

This study examines the effects of anticipated and unanticipated monetary policy on macro variables for Turkey, over the period of 1987-1998, using a vector autoregression framework following Cochrane (1998). Monetary policy is analyzed by means of two different shocks; one is the shock on money supply and the other is the shock on the interest rate. Expansionary monetary policy is found to affect output positively but not significantly in all estimations. On the other hand, contractionary monetary policy, measured by a positive interest rate shock, reduces output significantly in all estimations. Although the effect of monetary policy on output is significant, it can only explain a tiny fraction of the changes in real output. Estimation results indicate that there exists 'price puzzle' in Turkey, i.e., prices respond negatively to expansionary monetary policy and positively to contractionary monetary policy. The response of the exchange rate to monetary policy is found to be in the same direction as that of the price index in all estimations. Finally, if we assume that not only unanticipated monetary· policy but both anticipated and unanticipated monetary policies have some effects on macro variables, responses of those variables to monetary shocks die out within a shorter time period.|Keywords: Vector autoregression, monetary transmission mechanisms, anticipatedunanticipated shocks