Three essays on banking frictions, uncertainty and business cycles
Embargo Date
Indefinite
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
This dissertation studies the role of financial frictions and uncertainty on business cycles in the context of a DSGE (Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium) model. In the first chapter, I study the role of the banking sector on business cycles, mainly by focusing on the friction that arises from a bank's portfolio adjustment. Based on empirical evidence, I construct a DSGE model with a banking sector, in which banks adjust the composition of their asset portfolios in response to the economic environment. The quantitative experiment shows that the credit supply-side friction arising from a bank's time-varying portfolio adjustment generates an amplification mechanism and leads to a deeper credit crunch. Furthermore, an economy with an inefficient financial system that requires higher intermediation costs creates a higher level of credit supply-side frictions and that, in turn, leads to the amplification effect of business cycles.
The second chapter studies the role of bank capital requirements on business cycles. To this end, I develop a DSGE model with financial frictions arising from moral hazard problems as in Holmstrom and Tirole (1997) together with regulatory capital requirements on the banking sector. I find that financial deepening as measured by a decrease of a financial intermediary's monitoring costs could contribute to mitigating business cycle fluctuations. In addition, this study finds that imposing and increasing capital requirements on the banking sector could lead to a decrease in bank lending, thereby amplifying business cycles.
The third chapter studies the effect of uncertainty shocks on the housing market with collateral constraints under a DSGE framework. The quantitative experiment shows that with a standard calibration, increasing volatility in structural shock processes negatively affects housing prices and investment, and that leads to a decrease in output. I also find that higher leverage with a large loan-to-value parameter in collateral constraints amplifies business cycles under uncertainty shocks. In addition, a monetary policy experiment shows that flexible monetary policy with a lower interest smoothing parameter helps to mitigate the fluctuation caused by uncertainty shocks.
Description
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University
PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.
PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.