Insurance development,banking activities,and regional output: evidence from China

This paper applies panel cointegration tests and panel vector error correction models to investigate the interrelationship among the banking sector, insurance market, and regional output based on the samples from 25 Chinese provinces. We first find that there is a fairly strong long-run cointegrating relationship among real GDP, banking credit, and real insurance premiums. Second, both insurance markets (life and non-life) and the banking sector have a positive effect on real output. Third, we determine that banking activities and economic growth exhibit long-run and short-run bidirectional causalities. Fourth, there is fairly strong evidence in favor of the hypothesis for the long-run bidirectional causal relationships between insurance premiums and economic growth, taking into account the critical channel of the banking sector. Finally, we provide some beneficial suggestions for investors and policy-makers.     

FDI, services trade and economic growth in India: empirical evidence on causal links

This article examines the linkages between inward FDI, services trade (export and import) and economic output using co-integration and VECM causality test. These linkages have been explored both at the aggregate and at the sectoral levels (manufacturing and services). The empirical findings confirm the long-run relationship among these variables. Causality results indicate the presence of bi-directional causal relationship between FDI and economic output as well as between services exports and economic output. The results also bring out feedback relationship between services export and FDI, reconfirming the presence of complementary relationship between the two. At the sectoral level, we find at least a unidirectional causality from FDI and services exports to both manufacturing and services output and also cross-sectoral spillover effects from manufacturing output to services output and vice versa.     

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。     

The export-output growth nexus in Japan: a bootstrap rolling window approach

The purpose of this article is to examine the export–output nexus in Japan by taking into account the time variation in the causal link with bootstrap Granger non-causality test and rolling estimation. The data used cover the seasonally adjusted real export and real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the 1957:1–2009:1 period. Standard Granger causality tests indicate no causality between export and real GDP series. On the contrary, full sample-modified Granger causality tests based on bootstrap, which are applicable irrespective of integration–cointegration properties of the data, indicate a bi-directional causal link between exports and real GDP. Accordingly, export growth should be an important factor behind Japan’s high-economic growth in the last three decades. Using parameter stability tests, we show that these results are not uniform for different sample periods and results vary due to structural changes. Using bootstrap rolling window estimation, we find that there is a positive bi-directional predictive power from the mid 1970s to the late-1980s between the series, while from the late 1990s to 2009 there is a positive predictive power only from export growth to output growth.     

Examining comovement and causality between producer price index for P&C insurance premium and uncertainty indices: Wavelet and non-parametric quantile causality approach

This study examines the impact of the news-based climate policy uncertainty index (CPU) on PPI-P&C. To understand the impact of different types of uncertainty on P&C insurance premiums, the study also examines the relation of economic policy uncertainty (EPU), and geopolitical risk uncertainty (GPU) with PPI-P&C index. The time-frequency relation between the indices is examined using wavelet coherence analysis (WCA), whereas the casual dependency is examined using the non-parametric causality in quantiles (CIQ) approach and linear and non-linear Granger causality tests. WCA shows significant co-movement phases between CPU and PPI-P&C across time-frequency domain with CPU leading the PPI-P&C over a specific time interval. Results from CIQ give evidence of uncertainty indices having an asymmetric significant dependency relation with the PPI-P&C index. The results have implications for examining the impact of rising uncertainties on rising insurance costs for P&C insurance providers.     

Does international oil volatility have directional predictability for stock returns? Evidence from BRICS countries based on cross-quantilogram analysis

While numerous studies have investigated the relationship between oil volatility and stock returns, it is surprising that little research has examined the quantile dependence and directional predictability from oil volatility to stock returns in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries. We address this issue by using the cross-quantilogram model proposed by Han et al. (2016). The empirical results show that, overall, oil volatility has a directional predictability for the stock returns in BRICS countries. When the oil volatility is in a low quantile (lower than its 0.1 quantiles), it is less likely to show either a large loss or a large gain in the stock market. In contrast, there is an increased likelihood of either large loss or a large gain in the stock market when the oil volatility is in a high quantile (higher than its 0.9 quantiles). The directional predictability from the oil volatility to stock returns depends on the net position of oil imports and exports of these BRICS countries in the oil market. The net oil exporters (Russia and Brazil) are less likely to have large gains and large losses in the stock market than are the net oil importers (India, China, and South Africa) when the oil volatility is in a low quantile. The net oil exporters are more likely to have large gains and large losses than are the net oil importers when the oil volatility is in a high quantile. The results are robust to change in the variable of oil volatility and the sample interval.     

A quantitative reassessment of the finance–growth nexus: evidence from a multivariate VAR

The long-run relationship between financial development and economic growth is examined in a multivariate vector autoregression (VAR) framework using 10 sample countries. Difficulties surrounding the cross-country regressions and bivariate time series studies are outlined. The long-run financial development and output relationships are identified in a cointegrating framework through tests of over-identifying restrictions. We find bi-directional causality between financial development and economic growth in all the sample countries, conclusions that stand distinct from those in the existing empirical literature. We attribute our findings to: (i) analysis of a higher dimensional system, (ii) a new method of identifying the long-run economic relationships, and (iii) a new approach to long-run causality testing.     

Modeling nonlinear Granger causality between the oil price and U.S. dollar: A wavelet based approach

In this paper, we use a wavelet approach to study the linear and nonlinear Granger causality between the real oil price and the real effective U.S. Dollar exchange rate. Instead of analyzing the time series at their original level, as it is usually done, we first decompose the two macroeconomic variables at various scales of resolution using wavelet decomposition and then we study the relationships among the decomposed series on a scale by scale basis. A major finding of this paper is that the linear and nonlinear causal relationships between the real oil price and the real effective U.S. Dollar exchange rate vary over frequency bands as it depends on the time scales. Indeed, there is a strong bidirectional causal relationship between the real oil price and the real dollar exchange rate for large time horizons, i.e. corresponding to fundamentalist traders, especially fund managers and institutional investors. But, for the first frequency band which corresponds to a class of traders whom investment horizon is about 3-months and whom trading is principally speculative (noise traders), the causality runs only from the real oil prices to real effective U.S dollar exchange rate.     

Risk,uncertainty, and leverage

Using mostly theoretical models and traditional risk/uncertainty measures (VIX index, panic, precaution, scary bad news, etc.), the current literature tries to clarify the risk/uncertainty-deleveraging pattern. The findings are not sufficient to explain the dynamic empirical relationship between modern risk/uncertainty indicators and leverage. We fill this gap in the literature by using US quarterly data, from 1985:1 to 2018:4, Granger causality tests, and a structural vector autoregression model. We find that commercial bank leverage rises when geopolitical risk and macroeconomic, policy, and equity uncertainty increase. Client-based business relationships of banks and high government borrowing from banks during crises periods are responsible for this relationship. We find that the leverage of broker-dealers and shadow banks declines when Chicago risk and macroeconomic, policy, financial, and equity uncertainty increase. We argue that the vulnerability of broker-dealers and shadow banks to the risk/uncertainty of the entire market system is responsible for this relationship.     

Museum and monument attendance and tourism flow: a time series analysis approach

This article takes a time-series analysis approach to evaluate the directions of causality between tourism flows, on the one side, and museum and monument attendance, on the other. We consider Italy as a case study, and analyse monthly data over the period January 1996 to December 2010. All the considered series are seasonally integrated, and co-integration links emerge. We focus on the error-correction mechanism among co-integrated time series to detect the directional link(s) of causality. Clear-cut results emerge: bi-directional causality exists in the long-run dynamics, but it is the long-run dynamics of visits to museums and monuments that mainly adjust to tourism variables (arrivals, overnights, average stays). In the short run, there are some causal effects going from the cultural sites’ attendance to tourism dynamics. The nonstationary nature of time series, their co-integration relationships and the direction of causal links suggest specific implications for tourism and cultural policies.     

Oil price and exchange rates: A wavelet based analysis for India

In this paper, we explore linear and nonlinear Granger causalities between oil price and the real effective exchange rate of the Indian currency, known as ‘rupee’. First, we apply the standard time domain approach, but fail to find any causal relationship. So, we decompose the two series at various scales of resolution using the wavelet methodology in an effort to revisit the relationships among the decompose series on a scale by scale basis. We also use a battery of non-linear causality tests in the time and the frequency domain. We uncover linear and nonlinear causal relationships between the oil price and the real effective exchange rate of Indian rupee at higher time scales (lower frequency). Although we do not find causal relationship at the lower time scales, there is evidence of causality at higher time scales only.     

A bootstrap-corrected causality test: another look at the money–income relationship

Previous studies of the causal relationship between money supply and real output are based on asymptotic distributions. If the assumption of normality is not fulfilled and if ARCH effects are present, asymptotic distributions perform inaccurately. In this paper, we reinvestigate the potential causal relationship between money and output by applying an alternative methodology based on the leveraged bootstrapped simulation techniques using data from Denmark, Japan, Sweden, and the US. We find unidirectional causality from money to output for the sample countries except for Sweden for which causality is bi-directional. This finding of unidirectional causality between money and output supports monetary business-cycle models and reveals one important policy implication—that is, in looking for the sources of output fluctuations, money might be a major factor.

Dynamic linkages between Asian stock prices and exchange rates: new evidence from causality in quantiles

This article applies the Granger causality test in quantiles to investigate causal relations between stock returns and exchange rate changes for nine Asian markets over the period 1 January 1997 to 16 August 2010. Our empirical results indicate that the quantile causal relations vary across different quantiles and different periods. Although the causal effects of exchange rate changes on stock returns (or stock returns on exchange rate changes) are heterogeneous across quantiles, the overall evidence suggests that most stock and foreign exchange markets are negatively correlated. The result shows that there are more bidirectional causal relations in accordance with this method than the conventional least square (LS) estimation. The symmetry of these quantile causal effects (the ‘averaging effect’) helps to explain why conventional LS method usually obtains an insignificant result of causality.     

Energy consumption,employment, output,and temporal causality: evidence from Taiwan based on cointegration and error-correction modelling techniques

In this study, a cointegration analysis and a vector autoregressive model (VAR) are used to examine the causal relationships among energy consumption, employment, and output for Taiwan over the period January 1982 to November 1997. Johansen (1988) and Johansen and Juselius (1990) cointegration test result indicates these three variables are cointegrated with one cointegrating vector. The results from Granger causality tests based on vector error-correction models (VECM) suggest bidirectional Grange causality for employment-output and employment-energy consumption, but only unidirectional causality running from energy consumption to output. Furthermore, the impulse responses and variance decompositions are also incorporated into the analysis. The results from impulsive response and variance decomposition analysis tell similar stories. Energy consumption appears to have led to output growth in Taiwan over this period. The policy implication of this finding is that energy conservation will restrain the output growth in Taiwan.     

CO2 emissions,output, energy consumption,and trade in Tunisia

This article contributes to the literature by investigating the dynamic relationship between carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, output (GDP), energy consumption, and trade using the bounds testing approach to cointegration and the ARDL methodology for Tunisia over the period 1971–2008. The empirical results reveal the existence of two causal long-run relationships between the variables. In the short-run, there are three unidirectional Granger causality relationships, which run from GDP, squared GDP and energy consumption to CO₂ emissions. To check the stability in the parameter of the selected model, CUSUM and CUSUMSQ were used. The results also provide important policy implications.     

The relationship between stock prices and exchange rates in South Africa and Nigeria: structural breaks analysis

The relationship between stock prices and exchange rates has continued to generate interest from both the academia and financial industry players for many years. This study conducts an empirical investigation into the relationship between stock prices and exchange rates for the two largest economies in Sub-Saharan Africa – South Africa and Nigeria. Our methodology accounts for structural breaks in the data and the long-run relationship between stock and foreign exchange markets. The results of multivariate causality tests with structural breaks showed that causality runs from exchange rates to domestic stock prices in Nigeria (flow channel) while in South Africa, no causality exists between domestic stock prices and exchange rates. The results also reveal that there is causality from the London stock market to both countries’ stock markets, thus showing that international stock markets are driving both the Nigerian and South African stock markets.     

Inflation and Productivity in Europe: An Empirical Investigation

Motivated by the ``Maastricht proposition' that nominal convergence will generate significant real benefits, the paper investigates the inflation-productivity nexus in fifteen European countries over the period 1960–1997. Modern econometric techniques organised around I(1) and cointegration analysis are used to test for the existence of a long-run relationship between inflation and productivity. Bayesian and recently developed causality testing procedures are employed to examine the inflation-productivity relationship. The empirical results suggest the existence of causality in seven countries. Causality is bi-directional in five cases. Notably, causality fails exactly where the ``Maastricht proposition' would be more useful: The European South and the smaller member states of the Union.     

How productivity and domestic output are related to exports and foreign output in the case of Sweden

In this paper we examine the relationships between two sets of three variables: Swedish real exports, Swedish real GDP, and foreign real GDP in one set; and Swedish real exports, Swedish total factor productivity, and foreign real GDP in the other set. The foreign real GDP facing Sweden is proxied by total OECD real GDP minus Sweden's real GDP. Multivariate tests for integration and cointegration show that the variables in each model are cointegrated. We also perform Granger causality tests on these variables in our examination using the Toda-Yamamoto procedure. We discover bi-directional causality between Swedish real exports and Swedish real GDP (or Swedish total factor productivity). Foreign real GDP is shown to Granger cause Swedish real exports, but no significant causation of foreign real GDP on either domestic GDP or total factor productivity was found. A change in foreign real GDP thus appears to affect Swedish output and productivity only indirectly, through changes in Swedish exports. JEL classification:F41, F43, C30, C32     

Energy consumption promotes economic growth or economic growth causes energy use in China? A panel data analysis

This study tries to examine the causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth for twenty-nine provinces of China by employing the panel Granger causality analysis. The econometric methodology used in this paper allows us to untangle the causal nexus between energy consumption and economic growth and helps us to discriminate between competing theories on which hypothesis is applicable to China. Among the main results, it is found that there is no causality in two out of twenty-nine provinces and bidirectional causality is observed in sixteen out of twenty-nine provinces. Unidirectional causality is observed in eleven out of twenty-nine provinces of China. When bootstrap critical values are used, our empirical findings indicate that there is an unidirectional causal link running from real output to energy use for China, implying that economic growth significantly affects energy consumption, and hence, the conservation hypothesis is applicable to China.     

Nonlinear causality relationship between stock and real-estate returns in PIGS countries: wealth effect or credit-price effect

It is the first research to investigate for nonlinear interdependence of these two markets in the PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) countries based on the quantile causality test. The results reveal the existence of the nonlinear causality relationship between the stock returns and real-estate returns in the PIGS countries.

The empirical results of the quantile causality test suggest a significant causal relationship between these two markets in the PIGS countries, especially in the tail quantile. The existence of a significant tail interdependence implies that investors are unable to hedge the risk across the real-estate and stock markets when they are extremely volatile. Therefore, when there exist extreme returns between the two markets in the PIGS countries, both continuous negative impacts imply that instability in the real-estate market drives instability in the stock market and vice versa. It could be one of the major reasons why it deepened the systemic risk of the European sovereign debt crisis.