The Fisher effect on long-term U.K. interest rates in alternative monetary regimes: 1844-2018

Abstract

The Fisher Effect is one of the most widely studied relationships in monetary economics. Previous studies have found little evidence of a Fisher effect in pre-World War I data for the United Kingdom. An explanation for this is the near white noise property of the inflation rate under the Classical Gold Standard. There is more evidence of a Fisher effect in the post-World War II years when the inflation rate showed more persistence. This paper studies the evidence on the Fisher effect over the time period 1844-2018. This period covers several distinct monetary regimes. The monetary regime is an important factor determining the time series behavior of the inflation rate which, in turn, has been shown to be crucial to the strength of the Fisher effect. Distinctive features of the study are the focus on the long-term interest rate and coverage of the current inflation targeting regime in the United Kingdom.