The impact of uncertainty and certainty shocks

No 14/2020, Discussion Papers from Deutsche Bundesbank

Abstract: I propose a Bayesian quantile VAR to identify and assess the impact of uncertainty and certainty shocks, unifying Bloom's (2009) two identification steps into one. I find that an uncertainty shock widens the conditional distribution of future real economic activity growth, in line with a risk shock. Conversely, a certainty shock (a shock strongly decreasing uncertainty) narrows the conditional distribution of future real activity growth. In addition to the difference in signs, I show that the two shocks are different shocks. Each shock impacts the real economy uniquely. I support this with the underlying events: For instance, uncertainty shocks relate to events such as Black Monday and 9/11, but also to fears about future negative economic outcomes. In contrast, certainty shocks often link to phases of irrational exuberance. Commonly, no distinction is made between uncertainty and certainty shocks. I show that uncertainty shocks become more important if distinguished from certainty shocks.

Keywords: Bayesian quantile VAR; uncertainty shocks; tail risks; irrational exuberance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C32 E44 G01 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-fdg and nep-mac
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:bubdps:142020

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