Fisher Hypothesis Revisited: A Fractional Cointegration Analysis

This paper investigates the validity of the Fisher hypothesis using data from 33 developed and developing countries. Conventional cointegration tests do not provide strong evidence on the relationship between nominal interest rates and inflation. Therefore, we use fractional cointegration analysis to test the long-run relationship between the two variables. The results indicate that the long-run relationship between nominal interest rates and inflation do not exist for most countries in the sample when conventional cointegration test is employed. However, fractional cointegration between the two variables is found for a large majority of countries, implying the validity of the Fisher hypothesis. The results also indicate that the equilibrium errors display long memory.