Chinese economy in the new era

The “new era”, a term introduced by President Xi Jinping, may also be identified as the Xi era, during which China will be transformed from a moderately well‐off to a strong and wealthy nation. In the new era, the Chinese Government will deepen economic reform, widen economic opening and enhance the quality of economic growth. / Our projections show that by 2020, Chinese real GDP per capita, in 2017 prices, will exceed US$10,000, an economic development milestone. By 2031, Chinese real GDP will surpass US real GDP (US$29.4 trillion vs US$29.3 trillion), making China the largest economy in the world. However, Chinese real GDP per capita will still lag behind the US significantly, amounting to only one‐quarter of that of the United States. By 2050, Chinese real GDP will reach US$82.6 trillion, compared to US$51.4 trillion for the United States. However, in terms of real GDP per capita, China will still lag significantly behind, at US$53,000, slightly less than the current level of US real GDP per capita, compared to US$134,000 for the United States.     

The Rise of China and Its Implications for the Global Economy: Evidence from a Global Vector Autoregressive Model

This paper studies empirically the role of China in the world economy. We examine both the way the Chinese economy reacts to exchange rate shocks and the repercussions for the world economy of an output shock emanating from China. Based on a global vector autoregressive model and a new data set that excels in country coverage and covers the most recent time period including the global financial crisis, our results are threefold: First, we show that a +1% shock to Chinese output translates to a permanent increase of 1.1% in Chinese real GDP and a 0.1% to 0.5% rise in output for most large economies. Second, to benchmark the shock to Chinese output, we examine the response to a +1% shock to US GDP. The results show that the US economy remains dominant in the world economy, as output rises in other advanced economies by 0.6 to 1%. By contrast, China seems to be little affected by the US shock. Finally, we are the first to assess the impact of a real appreciation of the renminbi versus the US dollar in a global model. Our results indicate that real appreciation of the renminbi decreases the level of Chinese GDP slightly and the long‐run effect is also negative for many countries exporting (e.g. raw materials) to China.     

The cost of natural capital consumption: Accounting for a sustainable world economy

The System for integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting (SEEA) has been criticized in this journal for ignoring the benefits of ecosystem services for human well-being. This paper argues that extended national accounts should not attempt measuring economic welfare. Rather, they could and should assess the environmental sustainability of economic activity as the cost of natural capital consumption. The global application of SEEA concepts and methods demonstrates the feasibility of international green accounting. For the world economy, sustainability costs run to about 3 trillion US$ or 6% of world GDP. Large variations at national and regional levels suggest that conventional economic indicators may significantly overstate economic progress in some parts of the world. Data gaps and lack of data comparability affect these first estimates. National and international statistical services should be more aggressive in greening the national accounts. More prudent and more sustainable economic policies might be the result.     

世界经济体制性失效及对中国经济的诊断

在世界市场通货膨胀、通货紧缩和资产价值崩溃等现象的背后,是市场经济体制性失效。资源性商品价格会因为投机性活动的失范和泛滥而暴涨暴跌。因此在世界范围内,当前应当着手的不是仅仅调节供求,更不是供求力量双方相互指责,而是为如何克服世界市场经济的体制性失效,克服美国等发达国家为了自身的眼前利益而利用这种体制性失效,放任美元市场、借贷市场、证券市场、期货市场等虚拟经济部门中垄断力量的盲目扩张和操纵市场造成的困难,从而为建立一个更为完善的世界市场经济体制而共同努力。     

WHAT IT TAKES TO SOLVE THE U.S. GOVERNMENT DEFICIT PROBLEM

This paper uses a structural multi‐country macroeconometric model to estimate the size of the decrease in transfer payments (or tax expenditures) needed to stabilize the U.S. government debt/gross domestic product (GDP) ratio. It takes into account endogenous effects of changes in fiscal policy on the economy and in turn the effect of changes in the economy on the deficit. A base run is first obtained for the 2013:1–2022:4 period in which there are no major changes in U.S. fiscal policy. This results in an ever increasing debt/GDP ratio. Then transfer payments are decreased by an amount sufficient to stabilize the long‐run debt/GDP ratio. The results show that transfer payments need to be decreased by 2% of GDP from the base run, which over the 10 years is $3.2 trillion in 2005 dollars and $4.8 trillion in current dollars. The real output loss is 1.1% of baseline GDP. Monetary policy helps keep the loss down, but it is not powerful enough in the model to eliminate all of the loss. The estimates are robust to a base run with less inflation and to one with less expansion. (JEL E17)     

China’s Macroeconomic Outlook and Risk Assessment: Counterfactual Analysis,Policy Simulation,and Long-Term Governance — A Summary of Annual Report (2015–2016)

This summary report highlights the confluence of continued downward pressures and deflation scares in the face of looming uncertainty in China’s key macroeconomic landscapes. Counterfactual analyses and policy simulations are conducted, in addition to benchmark forecasts, based on IAR-CMM model and taking into account both cyclical and secular factors. Economic deceleration is projected to continue in the short to medium term, with real GDP growth declining to 6.3% (5.5% using more reliable instead of official data) in 2016 and facing a significant risk of sliding further down in 2017. Five key factors contributing to the weak outlook, additional to frictions and impediments associated with economic transition/restructuring and lackluster domestic/external demands, are identified, including: lack of new growth/ development engine, exhaustion of government-led driving force, the crowding-out of private sectors by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with excess capacity\capital overhang, nonperforming government sectors and officials, and twist or misinterpretation of the “New Normal.” A root cause of these problems, lying with sluggishness in China’s transformation into a market based economy, has to do with overpowered government but underpowered market in resource allocation and government underperformance in enforcing integrity and transparency in the marketplace and in providing public goods and services. At the nexus between inclusive growth and institutional transformation are market oriented and rule of law governed structural reforms and harmonious development. As such, fundamental institutional reforms that dialectically balance demand and supply side factors and properly weigh short run stabilization against long run development should be elevated to the top of the agenda.     

Permanency and Flexibility of Institutions: The Role of Decentralization in Chinese Economic Reforms

The purpose of this paper is to offer a Lachmannian analysis aimed at studying the coherence and the efficiency of reforms in China in terms of institutional change. The idea is that transition dynamics cannot be analyzed by reference to market criteria only; transition is, above all, a change in institutions. Every transition economy thus faces the problem of creating a new institutional framework which associates the co-ordination of activities by the market with the preservation of a centralized mechanism of resource allocation. We explain that, in China, this role is played by decentralization. Indeed, we demonstrate that Chinese economic reforms, of which the main institutional vector is decentralization, show the particularity of reconciling, within one single logic, the permanency of a well-established institutional order required for the co-ordination of individual plans, and the flexibility of institutions necessary for the move towards the market. We then defend the theory that both the success and the originality of Chinese economic reforms rest on their capacity to resolve the permanency-flexibility dilemma.     

中国“货币超发”： 判断标准、成因及其治理

2013年10月末,我国广义货币余额达到107万亿元,与GDP之比接近200%,M2/GDP也被广泛用来佐证我国货币已经超发的论点,但简单地将M2与GDP相对应,论证货币超发缺乏严谨的理论依据与逻辑结构,对经济变量的解释力也不足。从IS-LM模型分析发现我国高M2/GDP的症结不在货币量的多少,而是货币对经济产出的影响效率偏低,关注的重点需要从“货币超发”转向为货币政策创造制度环境,解决的途径也不在“堵”而在“疏”。     

论主权财富基金的理论逻辑

主权财富基金是国际金融市场一类崭新的有影响力的机构投资者。全球的主权财富基金的现有规模大概在3万亿美元左右。其规模还将继续不断增长。从主权财富基金兴起的原因看,首先,国际货币体系的变革是主权财富基金兴起的根本原因;其次,能源价格上涨是导致主权财富基金规模扩张的重要原因;最后,经济全球化为主权财富基金的运作提供了良好的环境。根据"国家经济人模型",国家在经济发展的初期和高增长阶段,外汇储备迅速增加,国家逐步将盈余财富用于投资。然而,随着生产要素的消耗,国家积累的财富逐步达到顶峰。当国家经济进入富裕导向阶段或稳定低增长阶段时,国家需要消费积累的财富,投资也倾向于无风险资产。目前看,各国设立主权财富基金主要有五方面目标:(1)跨期平滑国家收入;(2)协助中央银行分流外汇储备;(3)跨代平滑国家财富;(4)预防国家社会经济危机;(5)支持国家发展战略。     

我国转型经济中的政府制度创新

我国社会制度变迁的基本内容表现为从计划经济向市场经济的转变。计划经济实质上是一个政府垄断和管制的经济,要向市场经济转变就是要解除政府对社会经济生活的垄断和管制,这在很大程度上是一个政府自我革命的过程,其中政府政策的调整,职能的转变和行为选择,是建立市场经济的关键。因此,要深化市场经济关键不是继续推行"体制外"改革而是要改革政府本身,进行政府制度创新,实现制度治国。     

我国的货币政策是否应对股价变动做出反应?

本文运用现代协整分析、误差修正模型和格兰杰因果分析等现代时间序列分析方法 ,实证考察了若干发达国家和新兴发展中国家 (地区 )股价指数和实际国内生产总值以及消费价格指数之间的动态关系 ,发现当一国股市发展到一定水平时 ,股指与实体经济间存在着较为显著的多重协整关系和双向因果关系 ;也考察了我国上证综指与实际国内生产总值之间的动态关系 ,发现股指与实体经济间存在着双重协整关系和单向因果关系 ;最后 ,通过进一步考察我国股市的财富效应和投资效应及理论分析 ,可操作性地提出了我国货币政策应对股价变动做出适时反应 ,而且当前应当做出反应的政策建议。     

中国股市与实体经济背离的根源探析

众多的实证分析表明中国股市与实体经济相背离,尤其是2001年以来这种背离更加明显。中国股市在上市、退市及股权分割等方面的制度缺陷是导致其背离的根源。要想改变中国股票市场与实体经济背离的现状就必须针对这些制度缺陷进行彻底的改革。     

Short-Run and Long-Run Effects of Copper Mining on Peru’s Recent Economic Growth

Peru is the second-largest producer and exporter of copper in the world. This paper proposes a novel approach to assess short-run and long-run effects of copper on Peru’s recent economic growth. Annual data over the 2014–2018 period were used to calculate a Mining Contribution Index (MCI). An institutional quality indicator of the World Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum measured the dependence of Peruvian economic growth on mining and the quality of its institutions, respectively. Then, monthly data during the period 2005–2018 were used to run vector autoregressive (VAR) and vector error correction (VEC) models to measure copper’s effects on the country’s economy over time. VAR-VEC models included copper production, exports, international price, investment, taxes paid by producing companies, and Peru’s gross domestic product (GDP). Stationarity and causality of variables were verified with the Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Granger tests, respectively. Due to the presence of non-stationary variables, a VEC model was implemented to forecast short- and long-run effects. The main results show that real GDP responds to copper output and other related explanatory variables differently, depending upon the instrument applied. Peruvian GDP has increased dependence on copper mining. The quality of its institutions could explain the presence of Dutch Disease or resource curse theory. Short- and long-run effects of copper output on GDP were generally statistically non-significant. GDP was statistically significant in relation to other mining variables, such as copper exports and the international price of copper.

     

Is it Abenomics or Post-Disaster Recovery? A Counterfactual Analysis

This study is an attempt to assess the impact of policy initiatives launched by Japan’s new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Japan’s real gross domestic product (GDP) in his first quarter in office. We use as a benchmark for measurement a counterfactual estimate of GDP. Since the Japanese economy is also in the midst of reconstruction from the 2011 Tohoku disaster in the first quarter of 2013, we first estimate the counterfactual GDP that would have materialized in the absence of that disaster. We will use a dummy variable method and the statistical method proposed by Cheng Hsiao and others. We check the validity of these methods with regard to the Kobe earthquake of 1995 and then estimate the post-disaster counterfactual GDP in the absence of the Tohoku disaster. We measure the impact of government policies as the difference between the actual and counterfactual GDP. By doing so, we conclude that government policies have failed to lift Japan’s GDP to the expected level. Even with the help of Abenomics, the gap remains in the range of 6 to 14 trillion yen per year.     

社会主义经济转轨的马克思主义分析方法

中外经济学家研究社会主义经济转轨的方法大体有五种:一是“激进—渐进”的速度分析方法,二是“目标—指标”的定量分析方法,三是“政治—经济”的关联分析方法,四是“成本—效益”的经济分析方法,五是“过程—绩效”的实证分析方法。这些分析方法既有其合理性,同时又存在着缺陷。本文认为,立足于历史唯物主义科学世界观的马克思主义制度分析方法是研究社会主义经济转轨的科学方法。为此,本文运用马克思主义的制度分析方法,即“生产方式—社会结构”分析方法对社会主义经济转轨进行深入而系统的分析。本文的基本观点是:社会主义经济转轨实质上是社会经济结构即生产方式与生产关系的变革,这一变革的根源在于传统社会主义生产方式与社会经济结构的内在矛盾,这一变革的趋势必然是构建与市场经济相适应的现代社会主义模式。     

中国资本市场影响消费水平的实证检验

美国金融危机给世界经济带来巨大的冲击,由于中国资本市场严重滞后于实体经济,因此监管者不应误读美国金融危机的教训。股市适度上涨有利于消费扩张,中国应稳健有序地推进资本市场的发展。满足运行中的融资需求。以挖掘和发挥对实体经济的支持功效。     

CPI bias and real living standards in Russia during the transition

The economies of the former Soviet Bloc experienced large declines in output during the decade of transition which began with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Yet there are many reasons to believe that measured output and official deflators provide a poor proxy for the change in real living standards in transition economies. This paper uses the Engel curve methodology developed by Hamilton [Hamilton, B. 2001. “Using Engel's Law to Estimate CPI Bias” American Economic Review 91(3): 619–630] to examine changes in real living standards in Russia during the transition period and to provide an estimate of how much the official Russian CPI has overstated consumer inflation. We also examine changes in consumer durables, home production, and subjective well-being to further evaluate changes in living standards. Our findings indicate that CPI bias has caused a substantial understatement of the growth performance of the Russian economy during the transition. Even just allowing household final consumption to be deflated with bias, we find that the level of real per capita GDP in 2001 may be understated by up to 30% compared with using a bias-corrected deflator. Our analysis of consumer durables, home production, and subjective well-being supports the conclusion that the decline in living standards has been substantially less than what is inferred by looking at official statistics on real output.     

房地产价格波动与区域经济间的关系——以山西省为例

采用VAR模型,对1990—2009年山西省房地产价格波动与区域经济基本面变量的关系进行了定量分析,并对影响房价波动的关键因素进行了识别。研究表明:山西省的地区生产总值、城镇居民可支配收入、房地产投资额、城镇化水平与商品房价格存在协整关系,且前者均是商品房价格的Granger原因;市场主体预期对房地产价格的影响要大于宏观经济基本面因素。最后提出促进房地产业健康发展的相关建议。     

中国金融与经济周期的测度与分析——兼论双重周期中的政策选择

本文采用了更为匹配样本数量的中低频域分析和拐点分析方法来研究中国的金融周期。从单个变量的识别结果来看，信贷、信贷与GDP比例、M2和房地产价格均是识别中国金融周期的重要变量，而股价并非识别中国金融周期的代表性变量。综合的金融周期实证表明，金融周期的确是与传统经济周期所不同的一种内生的经济现象。金融周期普遍比用GDP识别出来的传统经济周期的持续期更长、振幅更大。中国的金融周期是先行于实体经济周期的。金融周期下行会对实体经济的复苏带来负面影响。宏观政策需要严格把握政策力度，确保双周期的平稳过渡。     

SHORT-CUT ESTIMATES OF REAL INCOME

The United Nations International Comparisons Project (ICP) has conducted in-depth purchasing-power parity (PPP) studies of the so-called "benchmark" countries (of which there were 34 in the 1975 sample). In the absence of PPP studies of the rest of the countries in the world, the ICP team has constructed "short-cut" estimates of real income (that is, income converted from domestic currency to dollars at PPP) for the nonbenchmark countries. The idea of a "short-cut" procedure for estimating real income is to run a regression of real income on nominal income (that is, income converted from domestic currency to dollars at a market exchange rate) and other variables among the benchmark countries and then to use this regression to estimate real income for the nonbenchmark countries. The most recent ICP short-cut estimates have been based on regressions of real income on nominal income and the foreign trade ratio. The present study expands the list of candidate variables that might be included in a short-cut regression. The list includes educational attainments, the share of minerals in GDP, the trade balance, the growth of the money supply, tourist receipts, and the share of nontradables in GDP. The theory underlying the inclusion of each of these variables is discussed. Regressions are run with various combinations of these variables and some short-cut estimates of real income for 76 market economies are presented.