EMU and trade: A PPML re-assessment with intra-national trade flows

This paper examines the EMU effect on trade for the eleven early joiners and Greece relying for the first time on data that include both international and intra-national trade flows, in line with all the microfoundations of the structural gravity model of trade. We find that the overall EMU impact on trade is positive between its members and, specially, for trade between members and non-members. Interestingly, we further show that the effect of the EMU on bilateral trade remarkably differs across countries. For Ireland, Belgium–Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal and Austria, we find robust evidence that EMU has boosted trade both with other members and with third countries, while for Finland, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, the results suggest that only trade with third countries has been enhanced by the EMU. Greece is the only country that shows a negative impact in trade with other EMU members and no effect in trade with non-members. Finally, the results across countries according to the direction of the trade flows (exports versus imports) do not show significant differences in any case.     

Monetary integration,soft budget constraints,and the EMU sovereign debt crises

One possible explanation for the European sovereign debt crises is that the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) gave rise to consolidation fatigue or even deliberate over‐borrowing. This paper explores the validity of this explanation by studying how three decisive stages in the history of the EMU affected public borrowing in EU member states: the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, the introduction of the Euro, and the suspension of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). The methodology relies on difference‐in‐difference regressions for 26 OECD countries over the 1975–2009 period. The findings indicate that the Maastricht treaty reduced deficits especially in traditionally high‐deficit countries. In contrast, the introduction of the Euro and the watering down of the original SGP led on average to higher borrowing. These results indicate that the introduction of the Euro and the suspension of the SGP led to soft budget constraints in the EMU.     

The Forex Regime and EMU Expansion

This paper provides evidence that the choice of the foreign exchange regime is not of first order importance for achieving high output growth. It is argued that due to the forward looking nature of the foreign exchange market, exchange rate stability hinges on the current and anticipated coherency of monetary and fiscal policies. We demonstrate this empirically on a panel including potential EMU accession countries. By means of rank regression analysis we uncover the partial links across the regime specifics of the representative country versus the German regime during the 1990s.     

The maastricht fiscal criteria: Required but ineffective?

The paper investigates the rationale for, and the effectiveness of the fiscal criteria in the Maastricht treaty against the background of two questions: What are the incentives for an unsound fiscal policy in EMU, and what are the (potential) negative externalities if such a policy were to occur. The paper argues that EMU creates both incentives for a higher fiscal deficit while respecting solvency, and incentives for not rectifying a potentially unsustainable debt level once one is a member. Unsound fiscal policy could trigger important negative extermalities for the other member countries. The paper concludes that the current fiscal provisions of the Maastricht treaty are not sufficiently well defined and the envisaged sanctions not strong enough to enforce a disciplined fiscal stance. This leads to proposals of supplementary measures for surveillance and alternative sanctions. Staying within the framework of the Maastricht treaty, it is strongly suggested that both debt and deficit criteria should be strictly surveyed, but in view of their conceptual and operational deficiencies they should be supplemented by additional indicators. Based on this broader measurement concept, it is proposed to use semi-automatic and market-led sanctions to enforce a disciplined fiscal stance.     

Should the Central and Eastern European Accession Countries Adopt the EURO Before or After Accession?

I analyse the option of unilateral euroisation for Central and Eastern Europe. The thorny questions of losing seigniorage and losing the lender of last resort are explicitly addressed. It is found that the option of unilateral euroisation might be quite inviting for some countries. This is certainly the case if one takes into account the difficulties thrown up by the Maastricht–criteria. It is argued that unilateral euroisation provides an elegant way out of the catch of the official EMU-accession path. The EU has, however, expressed explicitly its enmity against euroisation. I think this is a policy error. It should be at least a genuine policy option for all countries concerned. At best the EU should stimulate euroisation by embedding it in a broader and more embracing framework that would support integration and ultimately accession to the EU of the whole of Central and Eastern Europe.     

The Effect of Monetary Unification on German Bond Markets

We develop a benchmark against which the effects of ECB monetary policy on the German bond market can be evaluated. We first estimate an affine term structure model for the pre‐EMU period linking the German yield curve with the Bundesbank monetary policy. The German monetary policy and its implied yield curve are then reprojected onto the EMU period. The reprojected yield curve differs significantly from the observed one. Short‐term interest rates during the EMU period are significantly lower than they would have been in case the Bundesbank were still in charge of monetary policy. Furthermore, yield spreads increased substantially during the EMU period.     

The monetary approach to exchange rates in the CEECs1

A panel dataset for six Central and Eastern European countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) is used to estimate the monetary exchange rate model with panel cointegration methods, including the Pooled Mean Group estimator, the Fully Modified Least Square estimator and the Dynamic Least Square estimator. The monetary model is able to convincingly explain the long‐run exchange rate relationships of a group of CEECs, particularly when this is supplemented by a Balassa–Samuelson effect. Our estimated long‐run monetary equations are used to compute equilibrium exchange rates. Finally, we discuss the implications for the accession of selected countries to the European Economic and Monetary Union.     

The Impact of EMU on Inflation Expectations

This paper analyses the impact of the monetary regime change from the Bundesbank to the ECB on inflation expectations. In the theoretical part, the Barro-Gordon model is used to derive the potential effect of a new central bank on inflation and inflation expectations. The econometric investigation is based on a flexible specification of expectation formation which allows both for rational and adaptive elements. The results indicate that the monetary regime change did not have a strong and lasting impact on the formation of inflation expectations and that the credibility of both central banks is not perceived to differ significantly anymore. JEL Classification Numbers: E 58, E 31     

Editorial

Abstract

In this editorial we summarize and comment on papers published in issue 7.1. This is a themed issue, with four of the papers being originally presented at the 9th International Workshop in Spatial Statistics and Econometrics held at the University of Orléans, France. This was organized by Cem Ertur, who was chair of the Scientific Committee, and who has co-edited the current issue and taken the lead in writing about the papers from the Orléans workshop. The first paper, which was not an Orléans paper, is ‘Business Cycles Association in a Small Monetary Union: The Case of Switzerland’ by Alexandra Ferreira-Lopes &; Tiago Sequeira. From Orléans we have ‘QML Estimation of Spatial Dynamic Panel Data Models with Time Varying Spatial Weights Matrices’ by Lung-Fei Lee &; Jihai Yu; ‘Improving the J Test in the SARAR Model by Likelihood-Based Estimation’ by Peter Burridge; ‘The Mundlak Approach in the Spatial Durbin Panel Data Model’ by Nicolas Debarsy; and ‘Spatial Interactions in Hedonic Pricing Models: The Urban Housing Market of Aveiro, Portugal’ by Arnab Bhattacharjee, Eduardo Castro &; João Marques.

RÉSUMÉ Dans la présente communication, nous résumons les communications publiées dans l’édition 7.1, et nous présentons des commentaires sur ces dernières. Il s'agit d'une édition à thème, quatre des communications ayant été présentées initialement au 9^ème atelier international de statistiques et d’économétrie spatiales, à l'université d'Orléans, en France. Cette édition a été organisée par Cem Ertur, qui était président du Comité scientifique, a coédité l’édition actuelle, et a pris le pas dans les communications sur les communications émanant de l'atelier d'Orléans. La première communication, qui n’était pas une communication d'Orléans, est « Association de Cycles commerciaux dans une Union monétaire restreinte: le cas de la Suisse », par Alexandra Ferreira-Lopes &; Tiago Sequeira. D'Orléans, nous avons reçu « Estimation QML de modèles de données de groupe dynamique spatial, avec matrices de poids spatiaux temporalisées », par Lung-Fei Lee &; Jihai Yu; « Optimisation du test « J » dans le modèle SARAR par estimation basée sur les probabilité », par Peter Burridge; « L'approche de Mundlak dans le modèle spatial de données de panel de Durbin », par Nicolas Debarsy; et « Interactions spatiales dans les modèles hédoniques des prix: le marché de l'immobilier urbain d'Aveiro, au Portugal », par Arnab Bhattacharjee, Eduardo Castro &; João Marques.

EXTRACTO En este trabajo resumimos y hacemos comentarios sobre trabajos publicados en la edición 7.1. Esta edición tiene un tema, y cuatro de sus estudios se presentaron originalmente en el Noveno Taller Internacional de Estadísticas Espaciales y Econometría celebrado en la Universidad de Orleans, Francia. Éste fue organizado por Cem Ertur, que presidió el Comité Científico, coeditó la edición actual y adoptó la posición líder en escribir sobre los estudios derivados del taller de trabajo de Orleans. El primer trabajo, que no fue uno de los estudios de Orleans, es la ‘Asociación de Ciclos de Negocios en una Unión Monetaria Pequeña: el Caso de Suiza’ de Alexandra Ferreira-Lopes &; Tiago Sequeira. Los estudios procedentes de Orleans son: ‘Estimación QML de modelos de datos de panel dinámicos espaciales con matrices de pesos espaciales que varían con el tiempo’ de Lung-Fei Lee &; Jihai Yu; ‘Mejora de la prueba J en el modelo SARAR por estimación basada en probabilidad’ de Peter Burridge; ‘El planteamiento Mundlak en el modelo espacial de datos de panel Durbin’ de Nicolas Debarsy; e, ‘Interacciones espaciales en modelos hedónicos de fijación de precios: el mercado de la vivienda urbana de Aveiro, Portugal’ de Arnab Bhattacharjee, Eduardo Castro &; João Marques.