Does the US EXIM Bank really promote US exports?

This paper investigates the impact of US Export‐Import Bank (EXIM ) on US exports particularly in the wake of international competition from foreign national export credit agencies (ECA s). We employ a gravity framework on a country‐industry‐year‐level panel data set that matches EXIM authorisations with US bilateral exports. Our results depict the general ineffectiveness of the Bank in promoting exports within and across industries. Some heterogeneities behind the general finding are also uncovered: industries other than aerospace parts and products are more likely to benefit from EXIM authorisations, and EXIM authorisations to larger businesses seem to be more effective in encouraging exports. Furthermore, we find no evidence that EXIM encourages US exports by offsetting foreign ECA competition. These results are neither affected by competing countries’ membership to the OECD Arrangement nor by the size of American firms that received EXIM support. Our results cast doubt on the ubiquitously positive claims made by the Bank and its supporters, yet also provide policy lessons for countries that are either in the inception stages of establishing their own ECA s or are now placing greater importance on ECA financing in encouraging exports.     

Do U.S. citizens support government intervention in agriculture? Implications for the political economy of agricultural protection

The persistence of agricultural protectionism throughout the world is intriguing given the widely recognized benefits of free trade. The political economy literature over the last decades has considered groups’ interest, politicians’ preferences, and their interactions within domestic politics as the primary forces driving agricultural protection. Yet, a growing body of studies suggests that it would be judicious to weigh in consumers’ or taxpayers’ perspectives in deciphering the nature of agricultural protection. This study examines U.S. citizens’ preferences about government intervention in agriculture and trade. Results show that they are in strong support of agricultural protection and their perceptions of national food security, family farms, environmental sustainability, and multifunctionality of agriculture play a significant role in shaping their support/opposition toward government intervention. The conventional political economy literature theorizes that consumers or taxpayers would oppose public policies that increase their tax burden; however, in the case of the farm sector, they have little incentive to voice their objections given the costs of farm programs are spread across a large number of consumers and taxpayers. U.S. citizens’ support for government involvement in agriculture as reported in this and other prior studies does not lend support for such political economy explanation.     

On the predictability of the distribution of excess returns in currency markets

This paper investigates the predictability of foreign exchange (FX) volatility and liquidity risk factors on returns to the carry trade, an investment strategy that borrows in currencies with low interest rates and invests in currencies with high interest rates. Previous studies have suggested that this predictability could have been spuriously accounted for due to the persistence of the predictors. The analysis uses a predictive quantile regression model developed by Lee (2016) that allows for persistent predictors. We find that predictability changes remarkably across the entire distribution of currency excess returns. Predictability weakens substantially in the left tail once persistence is accounted for, implying a moderate negative predictive relation between FX volatility risk and carry trade returns. By contrast, it becomes stronger in the right tail. Furthermore, we provide evidence that FX volatility risk still dominates liquidity risk after controlling for persistence. These findings suggest that the persistence of the predictors needs to be taken into account when one measures predictability in currency markets. Finally, out-of-sample forecast performance is also presented.     

“新冠肺炎”疫情对我国外贸和就业的冲击及纾困举措

“新冠肺炎”疫情对我国外贸和就业产生何种冲击?本文认为,此次疫情已给我国外贸和就业以及全球产业链和供应链带来严重不利的冲击,需要保持中国出口增长,以支撑进口和就业增长,平稳产业链。此次疫情下我国的内外部经贸环境更加严峻,与2003年“非典”时有着很大的不同。稳就业是当务之急,而稳外贸、稳外资是稳就业的关键支撑力。此次疫情加剧了我国巨量高校毕业生叠加农村城镇化大量人口的就业压力。纾困举措:(1)稳定出口市场维护全球供应链,发挥市场机制的有效配置作用;(2)遏制住疫情,运用财政和货币政策对企业减税降费、增加市场流动性,降低成本和扩大消费;(3)帮助企业有序复工复产,提升营商环境,通过稳外贸和稳外资提升就业;(4)大力提升贸易投资便利化和公共产品服务来支持企业开拓市场;(5)教育部可根据高校实际招生能级,授权其适度增加研究生招生比重来缓解毕业生集中就业压力。     

The Impact of Public Expenditure and International Trade on Agricultural Productivity in China

The “industry nurturing agriculture” reforms and World Trade Organization accession led to dramatic growth in public expenditure and international trade in China’s agricultural sector. This article aims to estimate the effects of public expenditure and trade on agricultural productivity in China for 2004–2015. A semi-parametric production function with shape constraints is introduced to derive more accurate productivity before the productivity determinants are analyzed with an emphasis on public expenditure and trade. The empirical result shows that public expenditure and exports can effectively improve agricultural productivity, while imports have no significant effects. Policy implications are discussed in the context of supply-side reforms.     

地方政府土地财政依赖一定会推高城市一级土地市场化水平吗? ——基于2003—2015年中国省级面板数据的检验

研究目的：在深入分析地方政府土地财政依赖对城市一级土地市场作用机理的基础上，利用2003—2015年中国31个省（市、区）（不包括港澳台地区）的面板数据进行计量检验，测定地方政府土地财政依赖度对城市一级土地市场化率的影响程度。研究方法：计量经济分析方法。研究结果：为弥补地方政府土地财政缺口的刚性需求，地方政府领导人会权变地选择一级土地市场上各类用地的出让方式和出让量。土地财政依赖度与城市一级土地市场化率之间存在倒U型关系。研究结论：当土地财政依赖度与一级土地市场化率均较低时，地方政府会在一级土地市场上出让土地时适当增加“招拍挂”的比例，从而在提高土地财政依赖度的同时提升一级土地市场化率；当土地财政依赖度较高但一级土地市场化率较低时，地方政府会增加一级土地市场上“招拍挂”的比例，在降低土地财政依赖程度的同时提升一级土地市场化率。     

Forecasting using heterogeneous panels with cross-sectional dependence

In this paper, we focus on forecasting methods that use heterogeneous panels in the presence of cross-sectional dependence in terms of both spatial error dependence and common factors. We propose two main approaches to estimating the factor structure: a residuals-based approach, and an approach that uses a panel of auxiliary variables to extract the factors. Small sample properties of the proposed methods are investigated through Monte Carlo simulations and applied to predict house price inflation in OECD countries.     

Financial risk taking in the presence of correlated non-financial background risk

This paper characterizes the stochastic deterioration resulting from taking a zero-mean financial risk in the presence of correlated non-financial background risk. We show in particular that it has an equivalent stochastic order as well as a necessary and sufficient “integral condition” that implies and is implied by a particular sense in which the stochastic deterioration can be decomposed into a “correlation increase” and a “marginal risk increase”. We further characterize a measure of aversion to the stochastic deterioration. These characterizations provide for a more general framework for formulating concepts of increases in risk and correlation and for better understanding risk management decisions governed by individuals’ attitudes to them.     

Financial analyst coverage for U.S. firms facing foreign competition: Evidence from trade liberalization

This study examines financial analyst coverage for U.S. firms following an increase in foreign product market competition. To capture exogenous shocks to domestic firms' competitive environments, we exploit a quasi‐natural experiment from large import tariff reductions over the 1984 to 2005 period in the manufacturing sector. Using data for the years before and after large tariff reductions, our difference‐in‐differences analysis shows evidence of a significant decrease in analyst coverage for incumbent U.S. firms when they face greater entry threat from foreign competitors. We also find that analysts with less firm‐specific experience and less accurate prior‐period forecasts are more likely to stop following the domestic firm when foreign competition intensifies. Overall, the findings suggest that foreign product market competition from global trade liberalization is an important determinant of financial analysts' coverage decisions.     

基于BP人工神经网络中国光伏产业贸易摩擦预警研究

建立有效的贸易摩擦预警系统有利于中国新兴产业的健康发展,有利于中国实施制造强国战略。将警兆信号法与人工神经网络相结合,从宏观经济形势、产业供给能力、双边贸易状况、市场需求水平等四个维度切入,构建了中国光伏产品出口贸易摩擦预警系统模型。预警分析表明,模型的预警效果与现实拟合较好,具有可行性。从模型的预警结果来看,2019年~2020年中国输美光伏产品贸易摩擦警情均低于轻警级别,仍面临一定的贸易摩擦风险。