Stock Market Fluctuations and Money Demand in Italy, 1913-2003
55 Pages Posted: 10 Apr 2006
Date Written: February 2006
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of stock market fluctuations on money demand in Italy taking a long-run perspective. The empirical findings suggest that stock market fluctuations contribute to explain temporary movements in the liquidity preference, rather than its secular patterns. Overall, a positive association emerges between an index of stock market prices that includes dividends and real money balances; however, the estimated long-run relationship is unstable. In a dynamic, short-term specification of money demand the estimated coefficient on deflated stock prices is positive, thus compatible with a wealth effect, in the years 1913-1980, while in the last two decades a substitution effect prevailed and the correlation between money and share prices has been negative. This is likely to reflect a change in financial structure and the increasing role of opportunity costs defined over a wider range of assets. These results are confirmed by data on stock market capitalisation. Moreover, in the recent period stock market turnover and money growth are positively correlated.
Keywords: long-run money demand function, asset prices volatility
JEL Classification: E41, E44, N14, N24
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