Regime switching models for the Mexican peso

The Mexican peso has shown long periods of tranquility that suddenly give rise to short volatile periods. We characterize this exchange rate process by estimating a series of regime switching regressions and comparing the different specifications as pioneered by Meese and Rogoff [J. Int. Econ. 14 (1983) 3]. We find evidence for two clearly identified regimes: one with an appreciating trend and low volatility, and another with large depreciations and high volatility. We use the estimated model to explain the bias implied in the peso forward market. Finally, we show that duration dependence or fundamentally driven transition probabilities do not improve the model's forecasting power.     

论步骘及其家族人物对孙吴政局的影响

步骘作为临淮淮阴步氏家族的代表人物，东汉末年避难江东，饱尝艰辛。后采进入孙权幕府，建安十五年，步骘受命领兵入交州，为孙吴开辟疆域；任职荆州，不断举荐士人，反对孙权重用校事吕壹。孙权步夫人“宠冠后庭”，孙权屡欲立其为后，引起统治集团上层的激烈纷争；其女全公主凭依孙权的支持，暗中操纵了“二宫构争”等一系列政治斗争。     

试论美国钢铁保障措施及中国之应对

美国钢铁保护由来已久,美国总统3月5日宣布启动201条款实施钢铁保障措施的决定,引来世界各国注目。201条款带有贸易保护主义色彩且存在法律漏洞。此外,本文就WTO保障条款浅析美国保障措施的不合法之处,并就我国实际情况,针对美国钢铁保障措施做出应对之策,完善我国保障措施立法。     

中国通货膨胀目标制设计

通货膨胀目标制已经被越来越多的国家和地区所采纳。文章结合通货膨胀目标制的基本前提以及我国现实条件得出:我国目前实行通货膨胀目标制是可行的,并运用实证分析方法,从价格指数、目标点位和目标区域的选择、目标区域、政策时限、目标偏离的调整和例外条款等方面设计了中国的通货膨胀目标制,最后针对中国实际情况给出了政策建议。     

股票市场收益率波动长记忆性的分解及实证研究

目前股票市场长记忆性检验和建模方法，不能很好地消除短期记忆的影响，针对这一问题，本文提出寻找序列的突变点，通过将序列分解为只包含长记忆性部分和不包含长记忆性部分的序列分解技术，来排除短期记忆的影响。对上证指数和深圳成分指数收益率波动的长记忆性进行实证研究发现，将序列分解以后进行长记忆性检验，不仅可以得出长记忆性检验更为精确的结论，同时可以检验序列分解过程的效果。     

Testing the null hypothesis of no regime switching with an application to GDP growth rates

This paper presents tests for the null hypothesis of no regime switching in Hamilton’s (Econometrica 57:357–384, 1989) regime switching model. The test procedures exploit similarities between regime switching models, autoregressions with measurement errors, and finite mixture models. The proposed tests are computationally simple and, contrary to likelihood based tests, have a standard distribution under the null. When the methodology is applied to US GDP growth rates, no strong evidence of regime switching is found. I thank Don Andrews, Peter Phillips, Yuichi Kitamura, Anat Bracha, Patrik Guggenberger, Orit Whiteman and three anonymous referees for useful comments and suggestions.     

Environmental tax policy in a model of growth cycles

Summary. The purpose of this paper is to consider environmental taxation which would control emissions of firms in a model of growth cycles. In the model presented below, the economy may experience two phases of growth and environmental quality: “the no-innovation growth regime” and “the innovation-led growth regime”. Aggregate capital and environmental quality remain constant in the no-innovation growth regime, while they perpetually increase in the innovation-led growth regime. The paper shows that the tax plays a key role in determining whether the economy stably converges to one of the two regimes or fluctuates permanently between them. It also shows that there is a critical level of the tax and that the economy obtains higher growth rates of capital and environmental quality by raising (or reducing) the tax if the initial tax is below (or above) the critical level. Received: April 2, 2001; revised version: March 21, 2002 RID="*" ID="*" This research reported here was conducted within the research project “Project on Intergenerational Equity” at Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University. I am deeply grateful to an anonymous referee for his or her insightful comments, which greatly improved the paper. I also thank Hiroshi Honda, Yasuo Maeda, Yuji Nakayama, and participants in workshops at Hitotsubashi University, Kyoto University, Nagoya University, Osaka University, University of Tsukuba, Yokohama National University, and University of Tokyo for their valuable comments and suggestions. Any remaining errors are mine.     

A Markov–switching vector equilibrium correction model of the UK labour market

There is a wide literature on the dynamic adjustment of employment and its relationship with the business cycle. In this paper we present a statistical model that offers a congruent representation of part of the UK labour market since the mid 1960s. We use a cointegrated vector autoregressive Markov-switching model in which some parameters change according to the phase of the business cycle. Output, employment, labour supply and real earnings are found to have a common cyclical component. The long run dynamics are characterized by one cointegrating vector relating unemployment to trend-adjusted real wages and output. Despite there having been many changes affecting this sector of the UK economy, the Markov-switching vector-equilibrium-correction model with three regimes (representing recession, normal growth, and high growth) provides a good characterization of the sample data, and performs well relative to alternative linear and non-linear models. The results of an impulse-response analysis highlight the dangers of using VARs when the constancy of the estimated coefficients has not been established, and demonstrate the advantages of generating regime dependent responses. First Version Received: December 2000/Final Version Received: August 2001     

合作主义:中国福利制度框架的重构

合作主义 (corporatism)或称三方伙伴合作的程度在当代发达国家的经济制度和福利制度中是一个值得关注的问题。它与几乎所有工业化国家的社会保障制度相生相伴 ,相互依存 ,成为一枚硬币的两个侧面 ;它是现代文明国家发展进程中一个不可逾越的历史阶段 ,是现代社会保障制度与现代社会福利制度的结构中一种不可或缺的要素。在社会保障制度设计上我们应该有一个理性的预期 ,使之充分体现着我们价值观的追求 ,利用“后发国家”的优势和我国独特的政治优势 ,以避免当代西方福利国家中出现的问题 ;我国在进行经济制度的转型过程中不能忽略福利制度的转型 ,我国新工会法的颁布客观上为树立现代社会保障和社会福利制度法律框架的第一个支柱打下了桩基     

纽约股票市场对中国A股市场的影响

首先，本文考察了纽约股市波动对中国A股市场的影响。一般认为，中国的A股市场由于严格的资本控制而免受外国影响。但是，通过月度、每周、每日的样本数据（1992年到2004年），经过季节性调整和汇率变动调整后，我们发现上海和深圳A股市场的变动与美国股票价格指数变动相一致。其次，我们考察国家贝塔值（country beta）在马尔可夫转换误差修正模型中的动态关系。对中国市场来说，国家贝塔值和错误纠正项的重要性紧密相连。在东亚金融危机之前，美国市场对中国A股市场的影响普遍存在，而东亚金融危机产生后，则是通过国家贝塔值来影响中国股市的收益。