Exchange rate versus inflation targeting: a theory of output fluctuations in traded and non-traded sectors

This paper develops a basic model for output fluctuations in traded and non-traded sectors under two alternative monetary policy regimes; exchange rate targeting (or monetary union) and inflation targeting. The conventional wisdom from one-sector models says that inflation targeting gives better output stabilization than exchange rate targeting when demand shocks occur, but the opposite when supply shocks occur. In a model with a traded and a non-traded sector, we show that the conventional wisdom holds for the non-traded sector. However, for the traded sector, we show that inflation targeting destabilizes output compared with exchange rate targeting when both supply and demand shocks occur. The only shocks where inflation targeting provides the better output stability for the traded sector are shocks to world market prices. The two-sector structure introduces new mechanisms that may turn around earlier results for aggregate production. For instance, a demand shock may induce higher aggregate output fluctuations with inflation targeting than with exchange rate targeting. Furthermore, a positive demand shock may prove to be contractionary under inflation targeting.     

A note on the demand for labor by firms and the Phillips curve phenomenon

This paper derives microeconomic implications of an increase in inflation uncertainty for a firm's demand for capital and labor resources. The concern for this topic is motivated by an interest in the effect of inflation uncertainty on the demand for labor and especially the Phillips curve. The basic idea is that an increase in the actual inflation rate increases inflation uncertainty with respect to the rental price of capital relative to that of labor, which in turn increases the demand for labor, both absolutely and relative to the capital stock. The result is a decline in unemployment.     

MARKETS FOR INFLATION‐INDEXED BONDS AS MECHANISMS FOR EFFICIENT MONETARY POLICY

We consider a continuous‐time framework featuring a central bank, private agents, and a financial market. The central bank's objective is to maximize a functional, which measures the classical trade‐off between output and inflation over time plus income from the sales of inflation‐indexed bonds minus payments for the liabilities that the inflation‐indexed bonds produce at maturity. Private agents are assumed to have adaptive expectations. The financial market is modeled in continuous‐time Black–Scholes–Merton style and financial agents are averse against inflation risk, attaching an inflation risk premium to nominal bonds. Following this route, we explain demand for inflation‐indexed securities on the financial market from a no‐arbitrage assumption and derive pricing formulas for inflation‐linked bonds and calls, which lead to a supply‐demand equilibrium. Furthermore, we study the consequences that the sales of inflation‐indexed securities have on the observed inflation rate and price level. Similar to the study of Walsh, we find that the inflationary bias is significantly reduced, and hence that markets for inflation‐indexed bonds provide a mechanism to reduce inflationary bias and increase central bank's credibility.     

Price stability through price-level targeting or inflation targeting? A tale of two experiments

Price stability can be attained through price-level or inflation targeting. This paper compares the two monetary policy strategies from both a historical and a theoretical perspective. The Swedish experiment with price-level targeting in the 1930 occurred within a framework that lacked the accountability characteristic of New Zealand's current policy framework for inflation-targeting. Using a simple forward-looking rational expectations framework, we show that price-level targeting offers a better output-inflation variability tradeoff than inflation targeting in the forward-looking New Keynesian framework.     

The asymmetric effects of exchange rate fluctuations on output and prices: Evidence from developing countries

This paper examines the asymmetric effects of exchange rate fluctuations on real output and price in developing countries. The theoretical model decomposes movements in the exchange rate into anticipated and unanticipated components. Unanticipated currency fluctuations determine aggregate demand through exports, imports and the demand for domestic currency, and determine aggregate supply through the cost of imported intermediate goods. The evidence indicates that the supply channel leads to output contraction and price inflation in the face of unanticipated currency depreciation. In contrast, the reduction in net exports determines output contraction without reducing price inflation in the face of unanticipated currency appreciation.     

中国货币运行中现金漏损率的变化规律及其原因分析

文章首次采用结构突变模型,将现金漏损率纳入资产需求理论分析框架对中国的现金漏损率的变化规律和影响因素进行实证研究.得到如下结论:现金漏损率的变化在1992年发生了明显的结构突变,改革开放以来,中国现金漏损率变化呈现先上升后下降的阶段性特征,存在明显的季节性波动规律;1992年之前,现金漏损率的不断上升主要归因于物价上涨因素,而1992年之后,现金漏损率的逐渐下降则主要是由于中国经济的持续增长与金融改革的深化造成的;而近段时间通胀预期和各地出台的各种地产调控有可能导致现金漏损率反弹.因此文章建议,当前在稳定物价和房价的同时,必须开辟更多的金融投资渠道,以免现金漏损率的反弹带来通胀的潜在隐患.     

通胀预期与货币需求:实际调整与名义调整机制检验

货币存量调整机制一般可分为两类设定方式:实际调整过程和名义调整过程.在实际调整机制下,预期通胀对货币需求没有独立的影响,而在名义调整机制下,通胀预期自然成为货币需求的一个解释变量.通胀预期在货币需求函数中显著可能并不意味着通胀预期直接影响了货币需求,而是表明了部分调整机制的误设.本文根据预期通胀率在货币需求函数中的显著性,比较了货币持有量名义调整和实际调整机制假说对我国的解释能力,认为名义机制比实际机制更好地描述了中国的经验.我们在一个状态空间中联合估计预期通胀以及货币需求方程,避免了传统"两步法"的不足.     

Inflation and Default Dynamics

Changes in inflation, particularly if they are sharp, can have important consequences for nominal contracts, especially debt instruments such as fixed-rate bonds. This paper examines the intricate dynamics of inflation and defaults. The experience of the United States during the past four decades is subjected to empirical analysis to examine how the nature of the relationship changed as we shifted from a high inflation to a low inflation regime. The paper is organized as a three-part study. We initially examine the U.S. default experience, as summarized in Moody's speculative grade default rate, along with industry differences. The paper then scrutinizes U.S. inflation dynamics as seen in different summary measures of the general price level and delves into pricing power issues. The study proceeds to examine co-movements in the inflation and default series from a theoretical and empirical standpoint and the results confirm the intuitive postulate: higher the inflation rate, the more pricing power companies have; greater pricing power leads to, better earnings and repayment abilities for firms and a lower incidence of defaults.     

通货膨胀对中小企业的影响及应对方法研究

我国上半年CPI指数一度在8%左右徘徊,大大超过国际标准,也超过国内专家测定的合理区间,通货膨胀有进一步恶化的趋势。中小企业受经营规模和经营实力的限制,对通货膨胀的抵御能力相对不足,国家应采取有效的手段来缓解这种局势。在宏观层面上,国家应实施控制和稳定需求,增加有效供给,对中小企业适度减少税收的政策;在微观层面上,中小企业要改变竞争战略,开拓新的销售渠道,使企业能够在较高通胀时期,不断发展壮大。     

Exploring country-level institutional arrangements on the rate and type of entrepreneurial activity

This study introduces a novel multidimensional measure of the entrepreneurial environment that reveals how differences in institutional arrangements influence both the rate and the type of entrepreneurial activity in a country. Drawing from institutional theory, the measure examines the regulatory, normative, and cognitive dimensions of entrepreneurial activity, and introduces a novel conducive dimension that measures a country's capability to support high-impact entrepreneurship. Our findings suggest that differences in institutional arrangements are associated with variance in both the rate and type of entrepreneurial activity across countries. For the formation of innovative, high-growth new ventures, the regulative environment matters very little. For high-impact entrepreneurship an institutional environment filled with new opportunities created by knowledge spillovers and the capital necessary for high-impact entrepreneurship matter most.     

Is the US Dollar a Suitable Anchor for the Newly Proposed GCC Currency?

Responses of inflation and non‐oil output growth from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to monetary policy shocks from the United States (US) were estimated to determine whether there is evidence to support the US dollar as the anchor for the proposed unified currency. A structural vector autoregression identified with short‐run restrictions was employed for each country with Fed funds rate as the US monetary policy instrument, non‐oil output growth and inflation. The main results suggest that for inflation, the GCC countries show synchronised responses to monetary policy shocks from the US which are similar to inflation in the US, and for non‐oil output growth, there is no clear indication that US monetary policy can be as effective for the GCC countries as it is domestically. Consequently, importing US monetary policy via a dollar peg may guarantee only stable inflation for the GCC countries – not necessarily stable non‐oil output growth. If the non‐oil output response is made conscientiously – and there are concerns over the dollar’s ability to perform its role as a store of value – a basket peg with both the US dollar and the euro may be a sound alternative as confirmed by the variance decomposition analysis of our augmented SVAR with a proxy for the European short‐term interest rate.     

不完全汇率传递下的货币政策工具规则分析

本文尝试构建一个开放条件下的总供给-总需求模型,通过名义进口价格刚性在模型中引入汇率传递因素。模型对各种货币政策工具规则下社会福利损失函数进行比较,考察在不同的汇率传递程度下的各种货币政策工具规则。研究结果显示,社会福利水平随着汇率传递程度下降而提高;货币政策工具规则对消费者物价指数(CPI)上涨作出反应一定程度上优于对国内制造商品价格上涨作出反应,制定的货币政策工具规则应该以CPI为目标,以使社会福利损失最小。     

通货膨胀对我国股市条件波动影响的统计检验

将通货膨胀因素引入到GARCH模型的方差方程中,以检验通货膨胀、通货膨胀变动以及通货膨胀不确定性对股市条件波动的影响。实证分析的结果表明,在统计意义上,通货膨胀及其变动对股市收益的条件波动几乎不会产生影响,而通货膨胀不确定性对股市波动的影响是显著的。这一结果意味着管理好通胀预期,降低通货膨胀不确定性,引导公众形成合理的通胀预期对促进股市平稳发展具有重要意义。     

The demand for risky assets under uncertain inflation : An examination of some widely used assumptions

This paper examines the effect of the following commonly used methods of incorporating random inflation into discrete-time models of the demand for risky assets: 1) the use of a multivariate normal probability distribution for nominal asset returns and the random inflation rate, and 2) the approximation of real asset returns by the difference between nominal returns and the rate of inflation. The combination of these assumptions results in a deceptively simple version of the inflationary capital asset pricing model (CAPM). However, in an approximation-free version of this model the expected value of real wealth does not exist. While it is obvious that mean-variance analysis is not applicable in such models, we also find that the model does not satisfy Ohlson's weakened conditions for a quadratic approximation to the portfolio selection problem. Furthermore, this model is neither a member of the generalized Pareto-Levy nor log-stable class of portfolio models analyzed by Fama, Samuelson, Ohlson, and Struck.     

我国货币需求的变动及其决定机制——基于VEC模型的实证研究

基于VEC模型对我国货币需求变动与决定机制的实证研究表明,利率对货币需求、收入和物价等宏观经济变量的影响不具有显著性,预期通货膨胀率变动会对货币需求形成强烈冲击,股票市场在长期和短期对货币需求的影响机制不同,M2余额的调整相对M1而言对经济运行具有更显著的影响。鉴于此,中央银行在货币政策制定时应以M2作为主要的调控目标,重点防范物价异动对货币需求的冲击,加强股市对货币需求的影响机制研究,突出公开市场业务在货币政策工具中的作用。     

我国通货膨胀过程的社会福利成本度量与经验分析

通过利用1994年至2006年之间的我国GDP、M1和名义利率的季度数据,采用协整检验和回归系数估计方法,获得我国长期货币需求函数,在此基础上对我国通货膨胀的社会福利成本进行了实证分析。实证结果表明,我国较高的通货膨胀率会带来比较大的福利成本,因此,当前通胀压力较大的时期,采取适当的宏观调控措施,将通货膨胀率控制在3%以下的低水平状态。     

A Discrete‐Time Intertemporal Asset Pricing Model: GE Approach with Recursive Utility

This paper studies the equilibrium characterization of asset pricing in a discrete‐time Lucas exchange economy (Lucas 1978) with the intertemporal recursive utility function of Epstein and Zin (1989). A general formulation of equilibrium asset pricing is presented. It is shown that risk aversion of a certainty equivalent corresponds to risk aversion in the intertemporal asset pricing model. The discrete‐time analogue of Ma's (1993) option pricing formula is derived in an i.i.d. environment, with which we prove an observational nonequivalence theorem in distinguishing the differences of the betweenness recursive utility functions and the expected utility functions. Additionally, when the consumption growth rate follows a first-order Markov process, it is shown that the observational nonequivalence result holds for Kreps–Porteus expected utility. Finally, as by-products, this paper also contains derivations of closed-form formulas for the aggregate equity (with endogenously determined yields), the term structure of interest rates, and European call options on the aggregate equity in a Markov setting.     

Expectations of Inflation: The Role of Demographic Variables,Expectation Formation,and Financial Literacy

When financial decisions have consequences beyond the immediate future, individuals' economic success may depend on their ability to forecast the rate of inflation. Higher inflation expectations have been reported by individuals who are female, poorer, single and less educated. Our results suggest that these demographic differences in inflation expectations may be partially explained by variations in expectation formation and financial literacy. Specifically, higher inflation expectations were reported by individuals who focused more on how to cover their future expenses and on prices they pay (rather than on the US inflation rate) and by individuals with lower financial literacy.     

货币供给冲击、货币需求冲击与中国宏观经济波动

基于由贝叶斯技术估计的新凯恩斯动态随机一般均衡(DSGE)模型,识别和分析货币供给与货币需求冲击对产出和通货膨胀波动的影响,结果表明:货币供给冲击对产出和通货膨胀波动均能够产生同向影响,但对产出波动的影响不明显,仅能解释其不足2%的波动,而对通货膨胀波动的影响比较强,长期内可以解释其26%以上的波动;货币需求冲击对产出和通货膨胀波动的影响都不明显,长期内对二者波动的解释能力均低于0.6%。因此,在应对通胀压力时,央行可以运用数量型货币政策工具,对高通胀势头实施积极的紧缩性宏观调控。