Lower bound uncertainty and long-term interest rates
Summary
Nominal interest rates are constrained by an effective lower bound, but the level of the lower bound is uncertain. This paper uses a simple shadow rate term structure model to study how lower bound uncertainty affects long-term interest rates. The main result is that a decline in lower bound uncertainty, in the sense of a mean-preserving contraction of the lower bound distribution, is associated with a drop in expected future short rates. The effect on the variance of future short rates, and hence the term premium, is ambiguous. A calibration to Canadian data suggests that a decline in lower bound uncertainty is associated with a modest drop in long-term interest rates.
- Issue:
- 14
- Pages:
- 23
- JEL classification:
- E43, E52
- Keywords:
- Monetary policy, negative interest rates, lower bound, uncertainty, term structure
- Year:
- 2020