Cycles of demand and distribution and monetary policy in the U.S. economy

Abstract

The role of monetary policy in the cyclical behavior of the labor share and capacity utilization in the U.S. economy is studied empirically. Previous estimation results remain robust; the inclusion of the rate of interest does not alter the underlying specification of the distributive demand regime. The role of monetary policy in net borrowing flows for four institutional sectors is analyzed. Interest rate effects appear most important for households. Based on this finding, implications for countercyclical stabilization policy are spelled out.

Keywords:

• effective demand
• income distribution
• monetary policy
• structuralist macroeconomics