bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Monetary Policy on Residential and Structures Investment Under Differential Project Planning and Completion Times
Authors: Edge Rochelle M.
Published: August 2019

This paper analyzes an empirical puzzle regarding the effect of monetary policy on fixed investment, specifically, why residential investment exhibits a strong and rapid response to changes in monetary policy while structures investment manifests a substantially weaker response. The paper proposes an explanation for these contrasting responses that is based on the differential planning and completion times of these two categories of investment as well as inflexibilities in changing the planned pattern of investment spending once the project has begun. Empirical support for the explanation is established by contrasting the responses of U.S. residential and structures building project starts and work undertaken to a monetary policy shock. The paper then shows that a calibrated sticky-price monetary business cycle model with multistage investment projects is capable of generating responses to monetary policy that are broadly consistent with those observed empirically.
Time-to-Build, Time-to-Plan, Habit-Persistence, and the Liquidity Effect
Authors: Edge Rochelle M.
Published: August 2019

The general inability of sticky-price monetary business cycle models to generate liquidity effects has been noted in the recent literature by authors such as Christiano (1991), Christiano and Eichenbaum (1992a, 1995), King and Watson (1996), and Bernanke and Mihov (1998b). This paper develops a sticky-price monetary business cycle model that is capable of generating an empirically plausible liquidity effect. Time-to-build and time-to-plan in investment together with habit-persistence in consumption are the features of the model that allow it to produce this result.
The Expectations Trap Hypothesis
Authors: Christiano Lawrence J. , Gust Christopher J.
Published: August 2019

We explore a hypothesis about the take-off in inflation that occurred in the early 1970s. According to the expectations trap hypothesis, the Fed was pushed into producing the high inflation out of a fear of violating the public's inflation expectations. We compare this hypothesis with the Phillips curve hypothesis, according to which the Fed produced the high inflation as an unfortunate by-product of a conscious decision to jump-start a weak economy. Which hypothesis is more plausible has important implications for what needs to be done to prevent other inflation flare-ups.
The Declining Volatility of U.S. Employment: Was Arthur Burns Right?
Authors: Warnock Francis E. , Warnock Veronica C.
Published: August 2019

This paper attempts to add to the understanding of changes in the magnitude of business cycle fluctuations by examining disaggregated employment data. Specifically, we use a stochastic variance approach on monthly employment data for the 1946-1996 period to highlight two stylized facts of aggregate U.S. employment - greater volatility in recessions than expansions and reduced volatility since the early 1980s. These patterns are not, however, apparent in each sector of the economy. Asymmetric volatility is only evident in manufacturing and trade; other sectors, such as construction or the narrowly defined services sector, are just as likely to exhibit high volatility in expansions. A general reduction in volatility is evident only in goods-producing sectors; some industries in the broad service-producing sector have become more volatile over time. Our results highlight the close relationship between aggregate and manufacturing volatility, and suggest that to understand why the U.S. business cycle has become more muted, researchers should strive to understand the forces at work that are reducing volatility in the manufacturing sector.
Exact Confidence Intervals for Impulse Responses in a Gaussian Vector Autoregression
Authors: Wright Jonathan H.
Published: August 2019

Many techniques have been proposed for forming confidence intervals for the impulse responses in a vector autoregression. However, numerous Monte-Carlo simulations have shown that all of these methods often have coverage well below the nominal level. This paper proposes a new approach to constructing confidence intervals for impulse responses in a vector autoregression, making the additional assumption of Gaussianity. These confidence intervals are conservative in all sample sizes; by construction they have coverage that must be greater than or equal to the nominal level.
On the Effect of the Internet on International Trade
Authors: Freund Caroline L. , Weinhold Diana
Published: August 2019

The Internet stimulates trade. Using a gravity equation of trade among 56 countries, we find no evidence of an effect of the Internet on total trade flows in 1995 and only weak evidence of an effect in 1996. However, we find an increasing and significant impact from 1997 to 1999. Specifically, our results imply that a 10 percent increase in the relative number of web hosts in one country would have led to about 1 percent greater trade in 1998 and 1999. Surprisingly, we find that the effect of the Internet on trade has been stronger for poor countries than for rich countries, and that there is little evidence that the Internet has reduced the impact of distance on trade. The evidence is consistent with a model in which the Internet creates a global exchange for goods, thereby reducing market-specific sunk costs of exporting.
Predictable Uncertainty in Economic Forecasting
Authors: Ericsson Neil R.
Published: August 2019

This paper provides an introduction to predictable forecast uncertainty in empirical economic modelling. The sources of both predictable and unpredictable forecast uncertainty are categorized. Key features of predictable forecast uncertainty are illustrated by several analytical models, including static and dynamic models, and single-equation and multiple-equation models. Empirical models of the U.S. trade account, U.K. inflation, and U.K. real national income help clarify the issues involved.
Forecast Uncertainty in Economic Modeling
Authors: Ericsson Neil R.
Published: August 2019

This paper provides an introduction to forecast uncertainty in empirical economic modeling. Forecast uncertainty is defined, various measures of forecast uncertainty are examined, and some sources and consequences of forecast uncertainty are analyzed. Empirical illustrations with the U.S. trade balance, U.K. inflation and real national income, and the U.S./U.K. exchange rate help clarify the issues involved.
A Retrospective on J. Denis Sargan and His Contributions to Econometrics
Authors: Ericsson Neil R. , Maasoumi Esfandiar , Mizon Grayham E.
Published: August 2019

This retrospective provides a biographical history of Denis Sargan&amp;#x27;s career and reviews his contributions to econometrics, emphasizing the breadth of his work in both theoretical and applied econometrics. We include a complete bibliography for Denis and a list of PhD theses that he supervised--students were a substantive facet of his professional life. Finally, two of Denis&amp;#x27;s previously unpublished manuscripts on model building now appear in print.
Monetary Policy and Exchange Rate Pass-Through
Authors: Gagnon Joseph E. , Ihrig Jane
Published: August 2019

The pass-through of exchange rate changes into domestic inflation appears to have declined in many countries since the 1980s. We develop a theoretical model that attributes the change in the rate of pass-through to increased emphasis on inflation stabilization by many central banks. This hypothesis is tested on twenty industrial countries between 1971 and 2003. We find widespread evidence of a robust and statistically significant link between estimated rates of pass-through and inflation variability. We also find evidence that observed monetary policy behavior may be a factor in the declining rate of pass-through.
Inflation Dynamics
Authors: Guerrieri Luca
Published: August 2019

Gali and Gertler (1999) are the first to find that the baseline sticky price model fits the U.S. data well. I examine the robustness of their estimates along two dimensions. First, I show that their IV estimates are not robust to an alternative normalization of the moment condition being estimated. However, when using a Monte Carlo study to investigate small-sample properties, I show that the normalization chosen by Gali and Gertler (1999) yields a superior estimator. Second, I check whether or not the proportion of backward-looking firms augmenting the baseline model to fit the data is dependent on the type of contracting assumed. I find that using Taylor-style contracts, rather than Calvo-style contracts, this proportion jumps to 50 percent.
Preventing Deflation: Lessons from Japan's Experience in the 1990s
Authors: Ahearne Alan G. , Gagnon Joseph E. , Haltmaier Jane , Kamin Steven
Published: August 2019

This paper examines Japanâ s experience in the first half of the 1990s to shed some light on several issues that arise as inflation declines toward zero. Is it possible to recognize when an economy is moving into a phase of sustained deflation? How quickly should monetary policy respond to sharp declines in inflation? Are there factors that inhibit the monetary transmission mechanism as interest rates approach zero? What is the role for fiscal policy in warding off a deflationary episode? We conclude that Japanâ s sustained deflationary slump was very much unanticipated by Japanese policymakers and observers alike, and that this was a key factor in the authorities' failure to provide sufficient stimulus to maintain growth and positive inflation. Once inflation turned negative and short-term interest rates approached the zero-lower-bound, it became much more difficult for monetary policy to reactivate the economy. We found little compelling evidence that in the lead up to deflation in the first half of the 1990s, the ability of either monetary or fiscal policy to help support the economy fell off significantly. Based on all these considerations, we draw the general lesson from Japanâ s experience that when inflation and interest rates have fallen close to zero, and the risk of deflation is high, stimulus, both monetary and fiscal, should go beyond the levels conventionally implied by baseline forecasts of future inflation and economic activity.
The Inflation Persistence of Staggered Contracts
Authors: Guerrieri Luca
Published: August 2019

One of the criticisms routinely advanced against models of the business cycle with staggered contracts is their inability to generate inflation persistence. This paper finds that staggered Taylor contracts are, in fact, capable of reproducing the inflation persistence implied by U.S. data. Following Fuhrer and Moore, I capture the moments that the contract specification needs to replicate by using the correlograms from a small vector autoregression (VAR) that includes inflation among the endogenous variables. A simple structural model substitutes the inflation equation from the VAR with the contract specification. I estimate the contract parameters in the structural model by maximum likelihood. The correlogram for the endogenous variables from the estimated structural model, including that for inflation, are very close to the correlograms from the VAR (and are contained within their 90% confidence intervals). By the same metric, where Taylor contracts do not fare well is in reproducing
Identifying the Effects of Monetary Policy Shocks on Exchange Rates Using Figh Frequency Data
Authors: Faust Jon , Rogers John Harold , Swanson Eric T. , Wright Jonathan H.
Published: August 2019

This paper proposes a new approach to identifying the effects of monetary policy shocks in an international vector autoregression. Using high-frequency data on the prices of Fed Funds futures contracts, we measure the impact of the surprise component of the FOMC-day Federal Reserve policy decision on financial variables, such as the exchange rate and the foreign interest rate. We show how this information can be used to achieve identification without having to make the usual strong assumption of a recursive ordering.
A Theory of the Currency Denomination of International Trade
Authors: Bacchetta Philippe , Van Wincoop Eric
Published: August 2019

Nominal rigidities due to menu costs have become a standard element in closed economy macroeconomic modeling. The "New Open Economy Macroeconomics" literature has investigated the implications of nominal rigidities in an open economy context and found that the currency in which prices are set has significant macroeconomic and policy implications. In this paper we solve for the optimal invoicing choice by integrating this microeconomic decision at the firm level into a general equilibrium open economy model. Strategic interactions between firms play a critical role in the analysis. We find that the less competition firms face in foreign markets, as reflected in market share and product differentiation, the more likely they will price in their own currency. We also show that when a set of countries forms a monetary union, the new currency is likely to be used more extensively in trade than the sum of the currencies it replaces.
Foreign Portfolio Investment, Foreign Bank Lending, and Economic Growth
Authors: Durham J. B.
Published: August 2019

In contrast to the empirical literature's focus on foreign direct investment (FDI), this study examines the effects of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) and "other" foreign investment (OFI) on economic growth using data on 88 countries from 1977 through 2000. Most measures suggest that FPI has no effect, and some results indicate that OFI has a negative impact on growth that is somewhat mitigated by initial financial and/or legal development. However, these results are questionable due to possible simultaneity bias. The empirical analyses also examine whether non-FDI foreign investment affects growth indirectly. FPI does not correlate positively with macroeconomic volatility, but the results indicate that the negative indirect effect of OFI through macroeconomic volatility comprises a substantial portion of the gross negative effect of OFI on growth.
Transmission of Information Across International Equity Markets
Authors: Wongswan Jon
Published: August 2019

This paper provides evidence of transmission of information from the U.S. and Japan to Korean and Thai equity markets during the period from 1995 through 2000. Information is defined as important macroeconomic announcements in the U.S., Japan, Korea, and Thailand. Using high-frequency intraday data, I focus the study on return volatility and trading volume because the implications of new information are much clearer than for returns. I find a large and significant association between emerging-economy equity volatility and trading volume and developed-economy macroeconomic announcements at short-time horizons. This is the first strong evidence of this sort of international information transmission. Previous studies' findings of at most weak evidence may be due to their use of lower frequency data and their focus on developed-economy financial market innovations as the measure of information.
Cross-Border Listings, Capital Controls, and Equity Flows to Emerging Markets
Authors: Edison Hali J. , Warnock Francis E.
Published: August 2019

We analyze capital flows to emerging markets in a framework that incorporates two quantitative measures of financial integration, the intensity of capital controls and the extent of cross-border listings, while controlling for traditional global (push) and country-specific (pull) factors. Two important results emerge. First, the cross-listing of an emerging market firm on a U.S. exchange is an important but short-lived capital flows event, suggesting that the cross-listed stock is in effect a new security that U.S. investors quickly bring into their portfolios. Second, the effect of financial liberalization on capital flows is more nuanced than is suggested by event studies: A reduction in capital controls results in increased inflows only when the controls were binding. Among the standard push and pull factors, global factors are important---slack U.S. economic activity is associated with increased flows to emerging markets---and U.S. investors appear to chase expected, but not past, returns.
The Effect of Exchange Rates on Prices, Wages, and Profits: A Case Study of the United Kingdom in the 1990s
Authors: Gagnon Joseph E.
Published: August 2019

During the 1990s the United Kingdom experienced large and sudden exchange rate movements that had no apparent impact on overall consumer prices. This paper shows that the stability of U.K. consumer prices was made possible in part by offsetting movements in the price-cost margins of foreign exporters and in part by offsetting price-cost margins in the U.K. distribution sector. At the same time, U.K. manufacturers experienced margin swings in the opposite direction, largely due to their role as exporters. Thus, sterling depreciation boosted the profits of U.K. manufacturers and squeezed the profits of U.K. distributors, while sterling appreciation had the opposite effects.
Contagion: An Empirical Test
Authors: Wongswan Jon
Published: August 2019

Using the conditional Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), this paper tests for the existence and pattern of contagion and capital market integration in global equity markets. Contagion is defined as significant excess conditional correlation among different countries' asset returns above what could be explained by economic fundamentals (systematic risks). Capital market integration is defined as the situation in which only systematic risks are priced. The paper uses a panel of sixteen countries, divided into three blocs: Asia, Latin America, and Germany-U.K.-U.S., for the period from 1990 through 1999. The results show evidence of contagion and capital market integration. In addition, contagion is found to be a regional phenomenon.
The High-Frequency Response of Exchange Rates and Interest Rates to Macroeconomic Announcements
Authors: Faust Jon , Rogers John Harold , Wang Shing-Yi , Wright Jonathan H.
Published: August 2019

Many recent papers have studied movements in stock, bond, and currency prices over short windows of time around macro announcements. This paper adds to the announcement effects literature in two ways. First, we study the joint announcement effects across a broad range of assets--exchange rates and U.S. and foreign term structures. In order to evaluate whether the joint effects can be reconciled with conventional theory, we interpret the joint movements in light of uncovered interest rate parity or changes in risk premia. For several real macro announcements, we find that a stronger than expected release appreciates the dollar today, but that it must either (i) lower the relative risk premium for holding foreign currency rather than dollars, or (ii) imply considerable future expected dollar depreciation. The latter implies an overshooting behavior akin to that described by Dornbusch (1976). Second, we use a longer span of high frequency data than has been common in announcement work. A longer span of high frequency data contributes to the precision of our estimates and allows us to explore the possibility that the effects of macro surprises on asset prices have varied over time. We find evidence, for example, that PPI releases had a larger effect on U.S. interest rates before about 1992 than subsequently.
The Response of Hours to a Technology Shock: Evidence Based on Direct Measures of Technology
Authors: Christiano Lawrence J. , Eichenbaum Martin S. , Vigfusson Robert J.
Published: August 2019

We investigate what happens to hours worked after a positive shock to technology, using the aggregate technology series computed in Basu, Fernald and Kimball (1999). We conclude that hours worked rise after such a shock.
Can Long-Run Restrictions Identify Technology Shocks?
Authors: Erceg Christopher J. , Guerrieri Luca , Gust Christopher J.
Published: August 2019

Galí’s innovative approach of imposing long-run restrictions on a vector autoregression (VAR) to identify the effects of a technology shock has become widely utilized. In this paper, we investigate its reliability through Monte Carlo simulations of several relatively standard business cycle models. We find it encouraging that the impulse responses derived from applying the Galí’s methodology to the artificial data generally have the same sign and qualitative pattern as the true responses. However, we highlight the importance of small-sample bias in the estimated impulse responses and show that the magnitude and sign of this bias depend on the model structure. Accordingly, we caution against interpreting responses derived from this approach as "model-independent" stylized facts. Moreover, we find considerable estimation uncertainty about the quantitative impact of a technology shock on macroeconomic variables, and a corresponding level of uncertainty about the contribution of technology shocks to the business cycle.
Is Inflation Targeting Best-Practice Monetary Policy?
Authors: Faust Jon , Henderson Dale W.
Published: August 2019

We describe the inflation targeting framework (ITF) and compare it against hypothetical best-practice based on optimization. The core requirements of the ITF are an explicit long-run inflation goal and a commitment to transparency in policymaking. Advocates and practitioners of the ITF have made many contributions to clear goal setting and communication by central banks. However, we contend that ITF communication policies both as advocated and practiced often have some elements that either obfuscate or, in some cases, explicitly contradict the dictates of optimization in a stabilization-policy paradigm. In this paradigm, the central bank has an objective function that places weight on both inflation and output-gap stabilization and faces a conventional (exploitable) Phillips-curve trade-off. We point out some problems that the ITF communication policy may generate in this setting. Our analysis leads us to make four suggestions for communication policy intended to help central banks avoid these problems.
Good News Is No News? The Impact of Credit Rating Changes on the Pricing of Asset-Backed Securities
Authors: Ammer John , Clinton Nathanael
Published: August 2019

We assess the impact of credit ratings on the pricing of structured financial products, using a sample of more than 1300 changes in Moody's or Standard and Poor's (S&amp;P;) ratings of U.S. asset-backed securities (ABS). We find that rating downgrades tend to be accompanied by negative returns and widening spreads, with the average effects stronger than those that have been reported in prior research on corporate and sovereign bond ratings. A portion of the negative implications of ABS downgrades are anticipated by price movements ahead of the rating action, although to a lesser degree than has been found for bond ratings. Accordingly, ABS market participants appear to rely somewhat more on rating agencies as a source of negative news about credit risk. Nevertheless, because ABS rating downgrades are relatively rare events, their effects account for only a small fraction of the variance of returns. In contrast to our results on downgrades, market reactions to ABS rating upgrades are virtually zero, on average. Together, the results imply even greater asymmetry in the value-relevance of ABS rating changes than has been found in event studies of changes in bond ratings.
PPP Rules, Macroeconomic (In)stability and Learning
Authors: Zanna Luis-Felipe
Published: August 2019

Governments in emerging economies have pursued real exchange rate targeting through Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) rules that link the nominal depreciation rate to either the deviation of the real exchange rate from its long run level or to the difference between the domestic and the foreign CPI-inflation rates. In this paper we disentangle the conditions under which these rules may lead to endogenous fluctuations due to self-fulfilling expectations in a small open economy that faces nominal rigidities. We find that besides the specification of the rule, structural parameters such as the share of traded goods (that measures the degree of openness of the economy) and the degrees of imperfect competition and price stickiness in the non-traded sector play a crucial role in the determinacy of equilibrium. To evaluate the relevance of the real (in)determinacy results we pursue a learnability (E-stability) analysis for the aforementioned PPP rules. We show that for rules that guarantee a unique equilibrium, the fundamental solution that represents this equilibrium is learnable in the E-stability sense. Similarly we show that for PPP rules that open the possibility of sunspot equilibria, a common factor representation that describes these equilibria is also E-stable. In this sense sunspot equilibria and therefore aggregate instability are more likely to occur due to PPP rules than previously recognized.
Look at Me Now: The Role of Cross-Listing in Attracting U.S. Investors
Authors: Holland Sara B. , Ammer John , Smith David C. , Warnock Francis E.
Published: August 2019

We use a comprehensive 1997 survey to examine U.S. investors' preferences for foreign equities. We document a variety of firm characteristics that can influence U.S. investment, but the most important determinant is whether the stock is cross-listed on a U.S. exchange. Our selection bias-corrected estimates imply that firms that cross-list can increase their U.S. holdings by 8 to 11 percent of their market capitalization, roughly doubling the amount held without cross-listing. All else equal, we find that firms experience smaller increases in U.S. shareholdings upon cross-listing if they are Canadian, from English-speaking countries, are members of the MSCI World index, or had higher quality accounting standards prior to cross-listing. We argue that these findings suggest that improvements in information production explain U.S. investors' attraction to foreign stocks that cross-list in the United States.
Corporate Governance and the Shareholder Base
Authors: Lins Karl V. , Warnock Francis E.
Published: August 2019

This paper uses a sample of 4,410 firms from 29 countries to investigate the relation between corporate governance and the shareholder base. In contrast to previous work, our results strongly support the notion that poor corporate governance, at both the firm and country level, negatively impacts the willingness of foreign investors to hold a firm's equity. Specifically, we find that firms whose managers have sufficiently high control rights that they may reasonably be expected to expropriate minority equity investors attract significantly less U.S. investment, especially in countries with poor external governance. Our findings suggest that the prices U.S. investors are asked to pay for firms with poor governance are not low enough to fully compensate them for expected expropriation or increased estimation risk associated with expected poor disclosure by these firms. Because prior research shows that a smaller shareholder base is associated with a lower firm value, our results are consistent with the notion that the shareholder base represents an important channel through which poor expected corporate governance contributes to a reduction in firm value.
The Value of Financial Intermediaries: Empirical Evidence from Syndicated Loans to Emerging Market Borrowers
Authors: Nini Greg
Published: August 2019

Empirical estimates of the benefit of financial intermediation are constructed by examining the role played by local banks in facilitating syndicated loans to borrowers in emerging market countries. Assuming that local banks possess a superior monitoring ability, the market is ideal for studying the value of intermediation since cross-border lending into emerging markets is plagued by particularly high information and agency costs and the supply of local bank capital is in limited short run supply. Using variation in the propensity of local banks to participate in foreign arranged syndicates, there are two economically important results. First, local banks are much more likely to participate in unconditionally riskier loans. Second, after controlling for borrower characteristics, loan characteristics, and the endogeneity of the local bank lending decision, loans with local bank participation have spreads that are 10 percent lower (29 basis points) than otherwise similar loans. Combined, the results support the conclusion that local banks, a particularly special type of financial intermediary, provide value by considerably reducing financing costs, especially for riskier borrowers.
Order Flow and Exchange Rate Dynamics in Electronic Brokerage System Data
Authors: Berger David W. , Chaboud Alain P. , Chernenko Sergey V. , Howorka Edward , Wright Jonathan H.
Published: August 2019

We analyze the association between order flow and exchange rates using a new dataset representing a majority of global interdealer transactions in the two most-traded currency pairs. The data consist of six years (1999-2004) of order flow and exchange rate data for the euro-dollar and dollar-yen currency pairs at the one-minute frequency from EBS, the electronic broking system that now dominates interdealer spot trading in these currency pairs. This long span of high-frequency data allows us to gain new insights about the joint behavior of these series. We first confirm the presence of a substantial association between interdealer order flow and exchange rate returns at frequencies ranging from one minute to one week, but, using our long span of data, we find that the association is weaker at lower frequencies, with far less long-term association between cumulative order flow and long-term exchange rate movements. We study the linearity and time-variation of the association between high-frequency exchange rate returns and order flow, and document an intradaily pattern to the relationship: it is weakest at times when markets are most active. Overall, our study tends to support the view that, while order flow plays a crucial role in high-frequency exchange rate movements, its role in driving long-term fluctuations is much more limited.
General-to-specific Modeling: An Overview and Selected Bibliography
Authors: Hendry David F. , Campos Julia , Ericsson Neil R.
Published: August 2019

This paper discusses the econometric methodology of general-to-specific modeling, in which the modeler simplifies an initially general model that adequately characterizes the empirical evidence within his or her theoretical framework. Central aspects of this approach include the theory of reduction, dynamic specification, model selection procedures, model selection criteria, model comparison, encompassing, computer automation, and empirical implementation. This paper thus reviews the theory of reduction, summarizes the approach of general-to-specific modeling, and discusses the econometrics of model selection, noting that general-to-specific modeling is the practical embodiment of reduction. This paper then summarizes fifty-seven articles key to the development of general-to-specific modeling.
Effects of Financial Autarky and Integration: The Case of the South Africa Embargo
Authors: Coulibaly Brahima
Published: August 2019

The economic embargo imposed on South Africa between 1985 and 1993 brought the country closer to financial isolation. This paper interprets the imposition and removal of the embargo as financial autarky and financial integration 'natural experiments,' and studies the effects on the economy. The aggregate data indicate a decrease in the levels and growth rates of investment, capital, and output during the embargo period relative to the pre-embargo and post-embargo periods. To further rationalize the findings in the aggregate data, we calibrate a neoclassical growth model to the South African economy. During the transition to steady-state, we model the embargo by limiting the country’s ability to borrow for a period corresponding to the duration of the embargo. The derived dynamics for investment, capital, and output support the view of a positive (negative) link between financial integration (isolation) and economic growth.
Explaining the Global Pattern of Current Account Imbalances
Authors: Gruber Joseph W. , Kamin Steven
Published: August 2019

This paper assesses some of the explanations that have been put forward for the global pattern of current account imbalances that has emerged in recent years: in particular, the large U.S. current account deficit and the large surpluses of the Asian developing economies. Based on the approach developed by Chinn and Prasad (2003), we use data for 61 countries during 1982-2003 to estimate panel regression models for the ratio of the current account balance to GDP. We find that a model that includes as its explanatory variables the standard determinants of current accounts proposed in the literature--per capita income, relative growth rates, the fiscal balance, demographic variables, and economic openness--can account for neither the large U.S. deficit nor large Asian surpluses of the 1997-2003 period. However, when we include a variable representing financial crises, which might be expected to restrain domestic demand and boost the current account balance, the model explains much of developing Asia's swing into surplus since 1997. Even so, the model cannot explain why the capital outflows associated with Asia's current account surpluses were channeled primarily into the U.S. economy. Observers have pointed to strong growth performance and a favorable institutional environment as elements attracting foreign investment into the United States, and we found strong evidence that good performance in these areas significantly reduces the current account balance. While a model incorporating these factors still fails to predict the large U.S. current account deficit (and, in fact, predicts a slight surplus), it does predict a U.S. current account balance that is relatively weaker than the aggregate balance of developing Asia.
Interest Rate Rules, Endogenous Cycles, and Chaotic Dynamics in Open Economies
Authors: Airaudo Marco , Zanna Luis-Felipe
Published: August 2019

In this paper we present an extensive analysis of the consequences for global equilibrium determinacy of implementing active interest rate rules (i.e. monetary rules where the nominal interest rate responds more than proportionally to changes in inflation) in flexible-price open economies. We show that conditions under which these rules generate aggregate instability by inducing cyclical and chaotic equilibrium dynamics depend on particular characteristics of open economies such as the degree of (trade) openness and the degree of exchange rate pass-through implied by the presence of non-traded distribution costs. For instance, we find that a forward-looking rule is more prone to induce endogenous cyclical and chaotic dynamics the more open the economy and the higher the degree of exchange rate pass-through. The existence of these dynamics and their dependence on the degree of openness are in general robust to different timings of the rule (forward-looking versus contemporaneous rules), to the use of alternative measures of inflation in the rule (CPI versus Core inflation), as well as to changes in the timing of real money balances in liquidity services ("cash-when-I-am-done" timing versus "cash-in-advance" timing).
Modeling Direct Investment Valuation Adjustments and Estimating Quarterly Positions
Authors: Ihrig Jane , Marquez Jaime R.
Published: August 2019

This paper takes an in-depth look at U.S. direct investment valuation adjustments. We develop a methodology to generate valuation adjustments at the quarterly frequency, which can be combined with the Bureau of Economic Analysis's quarterly direct investment flows to obtain quarterly estimates of direct investment assets and liabilities. Our methodology involves two steps. First, we estimate valuation adjustment models with annual data. Our models rely on variables that reflect terms used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis in their data construction: exchange-rate changes, changes in the price of products, and changes in stock-market prices. Second, we apply quarterly data to the estimated models to generate quarter valuations and implement a procedure that ensures that the estimated valuations for the four quarters in a given year sum to the reported annual valuation adjustments. With this framework we consider how asset price shocks affect the net direct investment position and, hence, net international investment position.
Predictive Regressions with Panel Data
Authors: Hjalmarsson Erik
Published: August 2019

This paper analyzes panel data inference in predictive regressions with endogenous and nearly persistent regressors. The standard fixed effects estimator is shown to suffer from a second order bias; analytical results, as well as Monte Carlo evidence, show that the bias and resulting size distortions can be severe. New estimators, based on recursive demeaning as well as direct bias correction, are proposed and methods for dealing with cross sectional dependence in the form of common factors are also developed. Overall, the results show that the econometric issues associated with predictive regressions when using time-series data to a large extent also carry over to the panel case. However, practical solutions are more readily available when using panel data. The results are illustrated with an application to predictability in international stock indices.
International Cross-listing, Firm Performance and Top Management Turnover: A Test of the Bonding Hypothesis
Authors: Lel Ugur , Miller Darius P.
Published: August 2019

We examine a primary outcome of corporate governance, the ability to identify and terminate poorly performing CEOs, to test the effectiveness of U.S. investor protections in improving the corporate governance of cross-listed firms. We find that firms from weak investor protection regimes that are cross-listed on a major U.S. exchange are more likely to terminate poorly performing CEOs than non-cross-listed firms. Cross-listings on exchanges that do not require the adoption of the most stringent investor protections (OTC, private placements and London listings) are not associated with a higher propensity to shed poorly performing CEOs. Overall, our results provide direct support for the bonding hypothesis of Coffee (1999) and Stulz (1999), and suggest that the functional convergence of legal systems is indeed possible.
Of Nutters and Doves
Authors: Bodenstein Martin , Armenter Roc
Published: August 2019

We argue that there are conditions such that any inflation targeting regime is preferable to full policy discretion, even if long-run inflation rates are identical across regimes. The key observation is that strict inflation targeting outperforms the discretionary policy response to sufficiently persistent shocks. Under full policy discretion, inflation expectations over the medium term respond to the shock and thereby amplify its impact on output. As a result, little output stabilization is achieved at the cost of large and persistent inflation fluctuations.
Real-Time Measurement of Business Conditions
Authors: Scotti Chiara , Aruoba S. Boragan , Diebold Francis X.
Published: August 2019

We construct a framework for measuring economic activity in real time (e.g., minute-by-minute), using a variety of stock and flow data observed at mixed frequencies. Specifically, we propose a dynamic factor model that permits exact filtering, and we explore the efficacy of our methods both in a simulation study and in a detailed empirical example.
Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Export Prices: Assessing Some Cross-Country Evidence
Authors: Vigfusson Robert J. , Sheets D. Nathan , Gagnon Joseph E.
Published: August 2019

A growing body of empirical work has found evidence of a decline in exchange rate pass-through to import prices in a number of industrial countries. Our paper complements this work by examining pass-through from the other side of the transaction; that is, we assess the exchange rate sensitivity of export prices (denominated in the exporter&amp;#x27;s currency). We first sketch out a streamlined analytical model that highlights some key factors that determine pass-through. Using this model as reference, we find that the prices charged on exports to the United States are more responsive to the exchange rate than is the case for export prices to other destinations, which is consistent with results in the literature suggesting that import price pass-through in the U.S. market is relatively low. We also find that moves in the exchange rate sensitivity of export prices over time have been significantly affected by country and region-specific factors, including the Asian financial crisis (for emerging Asia), deepening integration with the United States (for Canada), and the effects of the 1992 ERM crisis (for the United Kingdom).Full paper (screen reader version)
India's Future: It's About Jobs
Authors: Keim Geoffrey N. , Wilson Beth Anne
Published: August 2019

Projections of sustained strong growth in India depend importantly on the utilization of the huge increase in India's working-age population projected over the next two decades. To date, however, India's economic growth has been concentrated in high-skill and capital-intensive sectors, and has not generated strong employment growth. In this paper, we highlight the tension between India's performance in output and employment, describe the characteristics of India's demographic dividend, and discuss impediments to India's shift away from agriculture.
Lack of Commitment and the Level of Debt
Authors: Debortoli Davide , Nunes Ricardo
Published: August 2019

We analyze how public debt evolves when successive policymakers have different policy goals and cannot make credible commitments about their future policies. We consider several cases to be able to disentangle and quantify the respective effects of imperfect commitment and political disagreement. Absent political turnover, imperfect commitment drives the long-run level of debt to zero. With political disagreement, debt is a sizeable fraction of GDP and increasing in the degree of polarization among parties, no matter the degree of commitment. The frequency of political turnover does not produce quantitatively relevant effects. These results are consistent with much of the existing empirical evidence. Finally, we find that in the presence of political disagreement the welfare gains of building commitment are lower.
Current Account Sustainability and Relative Reliability
Authors: Thomas Charles P. , Curcuru Stephanie E. , Warnock Francis E.
Published: August 2019

The sustainability of the large and persistent U.S. current account deficits is one of the biggest issues currently being confronted by international macroeconomists. Some very plausible theories suggest that the substantial global imbalances can continue in a benign manner, other equally plausible theories predict a disorderly resolution, and in general it is very difficult to discern between competing theories. To inform the debates, we view competing theories through the perspective of the relative reliability of the data the theories rely on. Our analysis of the dark matter theory is cursory; from a relative reliability perspective, it fails as it is built on the assumption that an item that is largely unmeasured is the most accurate component of the entire set of international accounts. Similarly, the best data currently available suggest that U.S. returns differentials are much smaller than implied by the exorbitant privilege theory. Our analysis opens up questions about potential inconsistencies in the international accounts, which we address by providing rough estimates of various holes in the accounts.
Exchange Rates and Fundamentals: A Generalization
Authors: Nason James M. , Rogers John Harold
Published: August 2019

Exchange rates have raised the ire of economists for more than 20 years. The problem is that few, if any, exchange rate models are known to systematically beat a naive random walk in out of sample forecasts. Engel and West (2005) show that these failures can be explained by the standard-present value model (PVM) because it predicts random walk exchange rate dynamics if the discount factor approaches one and fundamentals have a unit root. This paper generalizes the Engel and West (EW) hypothesis to the larger class of open economy dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models. The EW hypothesis is shown to hold for a canonical open economy DSGE model. We show that all the predictions of the standard-PVM carry over to the DSGE-PVM. The DSGE-PVM also yields an unobserved components (UC) models that we estimate using Bayesian methods and a quarterly Canadian-U.S. sample. Bayesian model evaluation reveals that the data support a UC model that calibrates the discount factor to one implying the Canadian dollar-U.S. dollar exchange rate is a random walk dominated by permanent cross-country monetary and productivity shocks.
A Non-Random Walk Revisited: Short- and Long-Term Memory in Asset Prices
Authors: Eitelman Paul , Vitanza Justin
Published: August 2019

In this paper, we test for short and long memory in asset prices across 44 emerging and industrialized economies. Using methodology from Lo and MacKinlay (1988) and Lo (1991), we find that markets with a poor Sharpe ratio are more likely to reject the random walk than better performing markets. We also make a methodological contribution. Contrary to the Baillie (1996) criticism, our long memory analysis suggests that the choice of a truncation lag is not as important as one might initially believe. Tests that reject the null hypothesis tend to do so across any reasonable choice in lag.
The Fragility of Sensitivity Analysis: An Encompassing Perspective
Authors: Ericsson Neil R.
Published: August 2019

Robustness and fragility in Leamer's sense are defined with respect to a particular coefficient over a class of models. This paper shows that inclusion of the data generation process in that class of models is neither necessary nor sufficient for robustness. This result holds even if the properly specified model has well-determined, statistically significant coefficients. The encompassing principle explains how this result can occur. Encompassing also provides a link to a more common-sense notion of robustness, which is still a desirable property empirically; and encompassing clarifies recent discussion on model averaging and the pooling of forecasts.
Sudden Stops, Financial Crises and Leverage: A Fisherian Deflation of Tobin's Q*
Authors: Mendoza Enrique G.
Published: August 2019

This paper shows that the quantitative predictions of a DSGE model with an endogenous collateral constraint are consistent with key features of the emerging markets' Sudden Stops. Business cycle dynamics produce periods of expansion during which the ratio of debt to asset values raises enough to trigger the constraint. This sets in motion a deflation of Tobin's Q driven by Irving Fisher's debt-deflation mechanism, which causes a spiraling decline in credit access and in the price and quantity of collateral assets. Output and factor allocations decline because the collateral constraint limits access to working capital financing. This credit constraint induces significant amplification and asymmetry in the responses of macro-aggregates to shocks. Because of precautionary saving, Sudden Stops are low probability events nested within normal cycles in the long run.