Common stochastic trends and inflation convergence in the EMS

Common Stochastic Trends and Inflation Convergence in the EMS. — This article seeks to clarify the relationship between the concept of convergence and univariate and cointegration analysis by looking at inflation convergence within the EMS. We take issue with the view put forward by Artis and Nachane, who hold that cointegration of inflation in Germany with inflation in the other EMS countries is a necessary condition for the “german leadership” thesis to stand. We think that, on the contrary, as long as convergence is still in the process of being achieved, inflation differentials are likely to be non-stationary and, if so, to exhibit common stochastic trends. However, our empirical results, based on Phillips-Perron tests and on the maximum likelihood framework developed by Johansen to test for common trends and cointegration, confirm the validity of the German leadership hypothesis.     

International parity relationships between the USA and Japan

Based on multivariate cointegration analysis we show that key parity conditions between the USA and Japan do not hold as stationary relations and that this is related to the nonstationarity of the real exchange rate. The latter seems almost exclusively to be related to similar nonstationary movements in interest rates. We obtain strong empirical results suggesting a reversal of the standard linkages, as predicted by the term structure of interest rates and the Fisher condition, between short and long interest rates and interest rates and inflation. Our findings may be important for the conduct of monetary policy, which is usually thought to be transmitted through short-term interest rates. Altogether, the empirical results suggest that it is agents’ behavior in the foreign exchange market, rather than in the goods market, which is crucial for the determination of the exchange rate.     

Food prices and long-run purchasing power parity in Africa

The purchasing power parity (PPP) theory is a cornerstone of exchange rate models in international economics. PPP is very important for two main reasons: first, it can serve as a prediction model for exchange rates, and second, it can serve as a benchmark in judging the level of exchange rate movements. This article utilised the Johansen cointegration technique in examining whether or not there is empirical support for long-run PPP in Africa. Annual data were used for exchange rates and food price indices in 25 countries covering the 1958-97 period. The empirical evidence showed strong support for long-run PPP in Africa, thereby providing wider acceptance for the applicability of PPP in exchange rate and other macroeconomic adjustment policies.     

Inflation and Structural Change in 50 Developing Countries

This study provides evidence on whether the inflation rate is stationary or nonstationary using quarterly inflation rate data from 50 developing countries. As Johansen [Johansen, Soren. “Testing Weak Exogeneity and Order of Cointegration in UK Money Demand Data,” Journal of Policy Modeling, 14, 3, June 1992, pp. 313–334] put it, “some time series such as the log of prices (P), have the property that even the inflation rate ΔP is nonstationary, whereas the second difference Δ²P is stationarity.” Results from fractional integration analyses provide evidence of long memory and confirm that the nonstationarity threshold of d³0.5 is satisfied in the majority of the cases. Results from recursive analyses indicate that, despite the finding that structural changes influence the behavior of the estimated integration parameters, evidence of long memory and nonstationarity can be found in each subsample as well as the full sample data.     

The linkage of interest rates within the EMS

The Linkage of Interest Rates within the EMS. — The paper explores the linkage between interest rates in Germany and the United States with those on other currencies within the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) of the European Monetary System. Monthly data on money market interest rates and rolling window cointegration techniques are used. The principal findings are that during the early part of the sample period (1979–1995), there is widespread cointegration between both US and German interest rates and those on other currencies in the ERM; but during the later part of the sample, this “worldwide” linkage disintegrates, cointegration between German and other ERM interest rates strengthening whilst that with the US disappears.     

PPP: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Delusion</Emphasis> or <Emphasis Type="Italic">Reality</Emphasis>? Evidence from a Nonlinear Analysis

In this paper we analyze the validity of the purchasing power parity (PPP) in a nonlinear framework using data for 18 bilateral US dollar exchange rates. Following Enders and Ludlow (2002), we use unit root and cointegration tests that do not assume a specific nonlinear adjustment. We find evidence of non-linear mean reversion in deviations from the PPP equilibrium in 11 out of 18 currencies. Additionally, to disentangle the respective contribution of exchange rate and prices to the adjustment toward the long run equilibrium, we estimate a Vector Error Correction Model. According to our empirical analysis, there exists a nonlinear mechanism to correct for deviation from the PPP equilibrium that comes mainly from the exchange rates. This is consistent with theoretical arguments on international goods markets under transaction costs as well as with an emerging strand of empirical literature. These results highlight the importance of neglecting the possibility of nonlinearity in the debate about the PPP and provide empirical evidence that supports the scenario of the PPP hypothesis as a reality.     

The domestic term structure and international interest rate linkages: A cointegration analysis

The Domestic Term Structure and International Interest Rate Linkages. A Cointegration Analysis. -This paper analyzes cointegration relations between domestic interest rates with different maturities and between the US and German interest rates of the same maturity by means of the Johansen procedure and single-equation error correction models. It analyzes also the implied common stochastic trends. The author concludes that in the long run, interest spreads within both countries strongly dominate and linkages between the interest rates of both countries are only important in the short run.     

Maximum likelihood cointegration tests of purchasing power parity: Evidence from seventeen OECD countries

Maximum Likelihood Cointegration Tests of Purchasing Power Parity: Evidence from Seventeen OECD Countries. — This paper examines the relevance of long-run purchasing power parity (PPP) during the recent floating exchange rate period, using Johansen’s maximum likelihood method for estimating and testing steady-state relations in multivariate vector autoregressive models. Thirty-two bilateral intercountry relations are considered and it is found that in many cases there exists a long-run relationship between exchange rates and international price differentials, which, however, significantly deviates from PPP in most instances.     

Cointegration and the PPP and the UIP hypotheses: An application to the Spanish integration in the EC

The aim of this paper is to find some empirical evidence on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) and Uncovered Interest Parity (UIP) in the Spanish case vis à vis the European Community for the period 1980–89. The main contribution of the paper is the aggregation of the variables corresponding to the countries that participate in the exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System. The results support the importance of the interest differential as an explanatory variable for the short-term adjustment to the PPP. The results follow from powerful estimation techniques, applied in the framework of a multivariate error-correction model using the maximum-likelihood procedure as developed by Johansen and Juselius (1992).     

Inflation expectations and the recovery from the Great Depression in Germany

A regime shift toward increased inflation expectations is credited with jump-starting the recovery from the Great Depression in the United States. What role did inflation expectations play in Germany that experienced a similarly successful economic upturn in the 1930s? We study inflation expectations in the German recovery across several methods: we conduct a narrative study of media sources; we estimate inflation expectations from a factor-augmented vector autoregression model, real interest rate forecasts, and quantitative news series. Consistently across these approaches, we do not find a shift to increased expected inflation. This recovery was different, and its causes lie elsewhere.     

通货膨胀及其影响因素的动态分析

文章通过建立宏观经济模型对1995--2010年间我国通货膨胀的动态走势进行了研究。结果表明：我国货币市场不仅存在实际货币需求、真实GDP和名义利率间的长期均衡关系,在贸易市场上还存在名义汇率、国内价格水平和国外价格水平之间的长期均衡关系。误差修正模型表明通货膨胀的短期波动依赖于货币供给、名义利率和实际GDP的变化,且具有很强的通货膨胀惯性,货币市场和贸易市场非均衡对通货膨胀的变化也有重要影响。     

The stock market and the ringgit exchange rate: a note

This paper presents and tests an augmented monetary model that includes the effect of stock prices on the bilateral exchange rates. The model is applied to the ringgit/US dollar (RM/US) and ringgit/Japanese yen (RM/JY) exchange rates. The empirical analysis is conducted by the Johansen method of cointegration. Using the data from the recent float that ends with 1996:Q4, the study is motivated, among others, by an interesting preliminary finding that although the augmented monetary model is cointegrated, it is subject to parameter instability and that the parameter time dependency can be attributed at least partly to a particular subset of the variables in the system including stock prices. We find that a restricted VAR model which imposes exogeneity restrictions on I(1) variables, such as stock prices, among others, exhibits both cointegration and parameter stability. In addition, we demonstrate that exchange rate adjusts to clear any disequilibrium in the long-run relationship. The empirical findings tend to suggest that the equity market is significant in affecting the exchange rate and in explaining at least in part the parameter instability evidenced in the cointegrating system. Hence, we conclude that models of equilibrium exchange rate should be extended to include equity markets in addition to bond markets.     

Forecasting inflation from the term structure

In this paper the authors analyze the forecasting ability of the term structure with respect to future inflation in Germany. In contrast to previous studies, they find evidence in favor of a nonstationary term premium. Assuming that the nonstationary part of the term premium can be approximated by an observable factor, they derive testable restrictions which cannot be rejected for German data. In an out-of-sample forecasting experiment, the model out-performs rival models which assume a constant term premium. Nevertheless, the authors find that the forecasting ability of the term structure is limited while the real interest rate, is revealed as a good predictor for future inflation rates. JEL no. E31, E37, E43.     

Inflation convergence in the EMS: Some additional evidence. A comment

Conclusions As in Caporale and Pittis, this paper finds significant evidence supporting the hypothesis of long-run equilibrium relationships between inflation rates in countries which participate in the ERM. However, the results differ in several important respects. First, the evidence rejects a dynamic specification in terms of inflation differentials against Germany and in at least one important case, Table 5, it is clear that imposing this restriction may lead to invalid inferences on the role of the ERM as a mechanism to achieve inflation convergence. Second, on the issue of German leadership the results given in Tables 4 and 5 suggest that the German inflation rate cannot be considered weakly exogenous. Rather it shares a long-run relationship with inflation in both ERM and non-ERM economies and responds to deviations from these equilibria. Finally, as these results also hold for a sample period twice the length of that used by Caporale and Pittis they cast considerable doubt on their assertion that cointegrating relationships are unlikely to be detected when “the dynamic process of convergence is still going on”.     

PURCHASING POWER PARITY WITH RANK TESTS FOR NONLINEAR COINTEGRATION IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

This study applies nonlinear cointegration to assess exchange rates with the corresponding relative prices and aggregate price levels for 20 African countries. We find that a nonparametric rank test has higher power than parametric testing procedures; a true data‐generating process of exchange rate is in fact a stationary nonlinear process. We examine the validity of purchasing power parity (PPP) from the nonparametric nonlinear point of view and provide robust evidence that clearly indicates PPP holds true for these countries. Hence, the long‐run African countries exchange rate adjustments are in equilibrium with the relevant fundamentals as suggested by the PPP hypothesis in a nonlinear way.     

Purchasing Power Parity in High-Inflation Countries: A Cointegration Analysis of Integrated Variables with Trend Breaks

This paper examines the long-run validity of purchasing power parity (PPP) for four high-inflation countries. The method of Zivot and Andrews (1992) is employed to detect the time-series behavior of the exchange rates and consumer price indices of these countries. We find that these variables are integrated with some trend breaks. We then utilize these data to test PPP using Johansen's (1988) multivariate cointegration technique. The cointegration tests are conducted with the correction of the finite sample bias and the adjustment for trend breaks. The results are consistent with the argument that, during the recent floating exchange-rate period, PPP holds well, at least in a weak form, in high-inflation countries where the general price level movement overshadows the factors causing deviations from PPP.     

Nonstationarity of Real Exchange Rates in the G7 Countries: Are They Cointegrated with Real Variables?

Using monthly data for the G7 countries in the post-Bretton Woods floating rate period, this paper demonstrates that almost all bilateral real exchange rates have unit roots and, hence, are nonstationary. Consequently, it rejects simple PPP as a long-run relationship. The paper also shows that many of these real exchange rates are cointegrated with other real economic variables such as relative labor productivity, terms-of-trade ratios, real trade balance ratios, and long-term real interest rate differentials. In particular, relative labor productivity is statistically significant with the correct sign for more than half of the country pairs for which cointegration is confirmed. This finding lends support to the Balassa–Samuelson productivity-bias hypothesis. These results imply that nonstationarity of real exchange rates and the consequent rejection of simple PPP can be consistent with the notion that real exchange rates revert to an equilibrium in the long run without deviating arbitrarily far from this equilibrium position.J. Japan. Int. Econ.,December 1997, pp. 523–547. Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan, and Faculty of Business and Commerce, Meiji University, 1-1 Kanda, Surugadai, Chiyada-ku, Tokyo 101, Japan.     

THE ROLE OF COMMODITY TERMS OF TRADE IN THE DETERMINATION OF THE REAL EXCHANGE RATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES

The aim of this paper is to investigate whether there exists a long‐run relationship between the real exchange rate and the commodity terms of trade in the so‐called Mediterranean or MENA countries. These economies are good candidates for this type of formulation, as are commodity exporting countries. Using cointegration techniques, we find long‐run relationships linking the real exchange rate and a commodity‐based measure of the terms of trade. Therefore, commodity terms of trade are a potential explanation for the apparent nonstationarity of MENA countries’ real exchange rates previously found in the empirical literature.     

Purchasing Power Parity under Regime Shifts: An Application to Asian Countries*

This paper re‐examines the long‐run purchasing power parity (PPP) relationship for nine Asian countries relative to the USA and Japan during a period containing significant structural breaks. The relevance of considering structural breaks in PPP tests is demonstrated by utilizing the Johansen et al. (2000) procedure that allows for up to two pre‐determined structural breaks. Using conventional tests without considering breaks, one is able to reject the null of no cointegration for only four countries. The Johansen et al. procedure clearly demonstrates the importance of allowing for structural breaks and provides strong support for long‐run PPP for all the countries, regardless of the base country, except in the case of the Philippines vis‐à‐vis Japan. The Hansen–Johansen parameter constancy test indicates stability for all the countries except the Philippines relative to the USA and Malaysia relative to Japan.