Work in Progress
Waves of Optimism and Pessimism: Evidence from German Firms
(with Zeno Enders)
Fiscal Narratives and Inflation Dynamics: A Heterogeneous Agent New Keynesian Model Approach
Working Papers
Abstract:
I investigate how inflation signals from different types of newspapers influence household inflation expectations in Germany. Using text data and the large language model GPT-3.5-turbo-1106, I construct newspaper-specific indicators and find significant heterogeneity in their informativeness based on the genre—tabloid versus reputable sources. The tabloid’s indicator is more effective for predicting perceived inflation among low-income and lower-education households, while reputable newspapers better predict higher-income and more educated households‘ expectations. Local projections reveal that tabloid sentiment shows an immediate decrease following a monetary policy shock, whereas responses from reputable newspapers are smaller and delayed. Household expectations also vary depending on the type of newspaper affected by the sentiment shock and the socioeconomic background of the household. These findings underscore the differentiated impact of media on inflation expectations across various segments of society, providing valuable insights for policymakers to tailor communication strategies effectively.
Abstract:
We show that the impact of supply and monetary policy shocks on consumer prices is state-dependent. First, we let the data determine two inflation regimes and find that they are characterized by high and low inflation volatility. We then identify upstream supply shocks using instrumental variables based on data outliers in the producer price series. Such shocks exhibit a more substantial and more persistent effect on downstream prices during periods of elevated inflation volatility (State 2) compared to phases of more stable consumer price growth (State 1). Similarly, monetary policy shocks are more effective in State 2. Exogenously differentiating regimes by the level of inflation or the shock size does not reveal state dependency. The evidence supports a model in which producers invest in price flexibility. This model predicts that stricter inflation targeting reduces price flexibility and, consequently, the pass-through of all shocks to inflation, beyond the standard channel that affects demand.
Publications
Innovation types in public sector organizations: a systematic review of the literature. with Laurin Buchheim and Alexnder Krieger, Management Review Quarterly (2020), 70, 509-533.