How does the market variance risk premium vary over time? Evidence from S&P 500 variance swap investment returns

We explore whether the market variance risk premium (VRP) can be predicted. We measure VRP by distinguishing the investment horizon from the variance swap’s maturity. We extract VRP from actual S&P 500 variance swap quotes and we test four classes of predictive models. We find that the best performing model is the one that conditions on trading activity. This relation is also economically significant. Volatility trading strategies which condition on trading activity outperform popular benchmark strategies, even once we consider transaction costs. Our finding implies that broker dealers command a greater VRP to continue holding short positions in index options in the case where trading conditions deteriorate.     

A nesting framework for Markov-switching GARCH modelling with an application to the German stock market

In this paper, we establish a generalized two-regime Markov-switching GARCH model which enables us to specify complex (symmetric and asymmetric) GARCH equations that may differ considerably in their functional forms across the two Markov regimes. We show how previously proposed collapsing procedures for the Markov-switching GARCH model can be extended to estimate our general specification by means of classical maximum-likelihood methods. We estimate several variants of the generalized Markov-switching GARCH model using daily excess returns of the German stock market index DAX sampled during the last decade. Our empirical study has two major findings. First, our generalized model outperforms all nested specifications in terms of (a) statistical fit (when model selection is based on likelihood ratio tests) and (b) out-of-sample volatility forecasting performance. Second, we find significant Markov-switching structures in German stock market data, with substantially differing volatility equations across the regimes.     

Do terror attacks affect the dollar-pound exchange rate? A nonparametric causality-in-quantiles analysis

While much significant research has been done to study the effects of terror attacks on stock markets, less is known about the response of exchange rates to terror attacks. We suggest a non-parametric causality-in-quantiles test to study whether (relative) terror attacks affect exchange-rate returns and volatility. Using data on the dollar-pound exchange rate to illustrate the test, we show that terror attacks mainly affect the lower and upper quantiles of the conditional distribution of exchange-rate returns, while misspecified (due to nonlinearity and structural breaks) linear Granger causality test show no evidence of predictability. Terror attacks also affect almost all quantiles of the conditional distribution of exchange-rate volatility (except the extreme upper-end), with the significance of the effect being particularly strong for the lower quantiles. The importance of terror attacks is shown to hold also under an alternative measure of volatility and for an important emerging-market exchange rate as well.     

SDR货币篮子中人民币的国际化定位——汇率市场波动传染与波动聚类的实时甄别

随着人民币国际化进程的逐步推进,SDR货币篮子中人民币的国际化定位引人瞩目。本文基于非线性MSBIARCH模型,实时甄别人民币市场与美元市场、英镑市场、日元市场、欧元市场之间的波动传染关系,以及波动传染作用下汇率市场的波动聚类态势,进而识别SDR货币篮子中人民币的国际化定位,旨在为及时防范并规避人民币市场的波动风险提供参考。研究发现,汇率市场经由“经济基本面”“市场情绪”以及“市场预期”对外发挥波动传染作用,人民币市场与美元市场之间存在双向波动传染关系,与英镑市场、欧元市场以及日元市场之间存在单向波动传染关系。不同汇率市场之间的波动传染关系表现出时间区制转移特征,汇率市场的波动聚类态势也呈现时变特征。汇率市场发挥波动传染作用的时间与汇率市场呈现波动聚类态势的时间相匹配,均集中在极端经济事件期、不规则事件期以及政策颁布事件期。国际汇率市场的波动传染作用导致了人民币市场的波动聚类态势,而人民币市场的波动传染作用仅强化了国际汇率市场的波动聚类态势,SDR货币篮子中人民币的国际化程度有待进一步提高。     

跨境资本流动会加大金融波动吗?

日益活跃的跨境资本流动与金融波动的关系备受学术界关注,"国际风险承担渠道效应"的提出使人们开始重视金融中介在其中发挥的重要作用。本文基于全球79个国家1996-2017年的面板数据,采用系统GMM估计方法,考察了跨境资本流动对金融波动的影响,以及"国际风险承担渠道效应"存在与否。研究结果表明:大规模的跨境资本流动会增大金融体系脆弱性,加剧金融波动,对一国金融稳定造成强有力的威胁;跨境资本巨额的流出与流入均无助于金融稳定;跨境资本流动会通过影响金融中介的风险感知来改变其风险承担行为,最终会进一步放大跨境资本流动对金融稳定的负向作用,即存在"国际风险承担渠道效应"。因此,中国应坚持完善跨境资本流动管理体系与健全宏观审慎监管框架,严守资本充足率这一重要风险防线,加强对跨境资本和金融中介行为的监管,维护金融稳定。     

不确定性下的房地产价格波动与货币政策反应:一个文献综述

本文就货币政策如何应对房地产泡沫的研究文献进行述评。国内外学者在该领域的争论集中表现为间接反应观、事后反应观与直接干预观,已有文献对货币政策框架进行修正以应对房价异常波动,并且学者们就金融监管的作用已经达成理论共识。本文的主要结论是:政策环境中的不确定性是影响政策选择的决定性因素,在不确定性条件下,货币政策应该综合运用直接干预与间接反应方式应对房价泡沫;货币政策与金融审慎监管的协调配合有助于实现经济金融稳定的目标;运用房贷政策调控房价泡沫更具政策效力。目前,国内学者的理论研究基础还十分薄弱,缺乏结合中国经济转型背景下特定制度性因素的现实考察,另外,将研究视角拓展为开放经济条件是值得进一步研究的方向。     

城市化对非农产业的溢出效应——基于面板VAR模型

本文基于内生增长理论,利用东中西部1998—2009年的数据和面板VAR方法考察了城市化对非农产业发展的溢出效应。结果发现:城市化的溢出效应在东中西部地区间是非均衡的,并成为拉大地区经济差距的重要原因。东部较高的城市化率通过人力资本积聚对非农产业产生显著溢出效应;中部城市化溢出不明显,其非农产业发展的动力主要来自于工业自身的累积循环效应;西部城市化溢出作用非常微弱,其产业发展模式呈显著资金推动特征。本文据此提出,中西部应采取更加主动的城市化政策来吸引人力资本集聚和技术进步,以更好实现经济增长的协调发展目标。     

我国个人所得税再分配效应及累进性的实证分析

税收是调节收入分配差距的有效手段之一。本文循着层层递进的逻辑,建立了税收再分配效应及累进性分解的数学理论模型,实证分析了1995年到2008年间我国个人所得税的再分配效应,剖析了影响其变动的深层次原因。结果表明:除2006年外,我国个人所得税起到了正向、且进一步加强的再分配效应,但调节效果非常有限;平均税率明显偏低,累进性基本呈下降趋势;分类征收模式导致总体累进性下降,工资薪金所得税是个人所得税累进性的主要来源;免征额在工资薪金所得税的累进性中起主导作用,其次是税率结构,而社会保障支出起较小的累进(或累退)效果。因此,在公平视角下改革与完善我国个人所得税制迫在眉睫。     

美国量化宽松政策对亚太新兴市场国家的影响

量化宽松是美联储在通货紧缩下所采取的一种直接创造货币、扩大央行资产负债表规模的非传统货币政策。量化宽松将给我国等新兴市场国家造成较大的负面效果,建议采取临时性资本管制、针对性量化政策、建立区域货币离岸市场、加快经济结构转型等对策来应对。     

Convergence and divergence in regional agricultural productivity growth: evidence from Italian regions, 1951–2002

This article analyzes long‐term agricultural Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth at regional level by testing its time‐series properties and identifying factors associated with divergence as opposed to convergence. The empirical application concerns Italian regions over the 1951–2002 time period. TFP growth decomposition ultimately attributes the observed productivity growth performance to these contrasting (convergence vs. divergence) forces. We find that technological spillovers are the key convergence force regardless of how the spillover effects are computed. At the same time, forces favoring convergence are almost offset by divergence forces (mainly scale or learning effects). This decomposition may explain the persistence of TFP growth rate differences in Italian agriculture, and could be applicable elsewhere.