Are State and Time Dependent Models Really Different

Yes, state- and time-dependent models are really different, but only for large monetary shocks. In particular, we show that in a broad class of models where shocks have continuous paths, the propagation of a monetary impulse is independent of the nature of the sticky price friction when shocks are small. The propagation of large shocks instead depends on the nature of the friction: the impulse response of inflation to monetary shocks is independent of the shock size in time-dependent models, while it is nonlinear in state-dependent models. We use data on exchange rate devaluations and inflation for a panel of countries from 1974 to 2014 to test for the presence of state-dependent decision rules. We present some evidence of a nonlinear effect of exchange rate changes on prices in a sample of flexible exchange rate countries with low inflation. We discuss the dimensions in which this finding is robust and the ones in which it is not.