Economic growth and inflation in Mexico, 1993-2018: A linear or non-linear relationship?

Abstract

The paper is aimed at assessing whether the relationship between Mexico's economic growth and inflation has been linear or non-linear over the period 1993-2018. A non-linear dynamic autorregresive distributive lag model is elaborated to test both the null hypothesis of a linear relationship between the involved variables and the alternative hypothesis of a non-linear relationship. An empirical support for the the null hypothesis would imply that: 1) inflation is purely a monetary phenomenon (Friedman, 1968); 2) price stability, as achieved by means of the monetary policy framework of the new macroeconomic consensus, is both a necessary and sufficient condition for output growth acceleration and for overcoming the protracted stagnation of the Mexican economy, and 3) money is neutral. By contrast, if the empirical evidence confirms a non-linear relationship, both the null hypothesis and its ensuing implications would be rejected.