Fitting parametric lorenz curves to grouped income distributions — A critical note

Empirical Economics - The paper surveys various parametric Lorenz curves to be fitted to grouped income data in order to obtain an estimate for the Gini measure of inequality. The curves are fitted...     

An outlier test for linear processes — II. Large contamination

In Flak/Schmid (1993) an outlier test for linear processes was introduced. The test statistic bases on a comparison of each observation with a one-step predictor. It was assumed that an upper bound for the total number of outlierss _n is known, wheren denotes the sample size. The asymptotic distribution of the test statistic was derived under the assumption thats _n/n → 0 ands _n → ∞ asn → ∞. This note deals with the asymptotic behaviour of this quantity, ifs _n/n →p ₀ ∈ (0, 1).     

Hysteresis in Potential Output and Monetary Policy

We show that actively stabilizing economic activity plays a more prominent role in the conduct of monetary policy when potential output is subject to hysteresis. We augment a basic New Keynesian model by hysteresis in potential output and contrast simulation outcomes of this extended model to the standard model. We find that considering hysteresis allows for a more realistic amplification of macroeconomic shocks and persistent movements in output after monetary shocks. Our central policy implication of active output gap stabilization arises from stability analyses and welfare considerations.     

Asymptotic behavior of the estimated weights and of the estimated performance measures of the minimum VaR and the minimum CVaR optimal portfolios for dependent data

In this paper we derive the asymptotic distributions of the estimated weights and of estimated performance measures of the minimum value-at-risk portfolio and of the minimum conditional value-at-risk portfolio assuming that the asset returns follow a strictly stationary process. It is proved that the estimated weights as well as the estimated performance measures are asymptotically multivariate normally distributed. We also present an asymptotic test for the weights and a joint test for the characteristics of both portfolios. Moreover, the asymptotic densities of the estimated performance measures are compared with the corresponding exact densities. It is shown that the asymptotic approximation performs well even for the moderate sample size.     

On the structure and estimation of hierarchical Archimedean copulas

In this paper we provide a method for estimating multivariate distributions defined through hierarchical Archimedean copulas. In general, the true structure of the hierarchy is unknown, but we develop a computationally efficient technique to determine it from the data. For this purpose we introduce a hierarchical estimation procedure for the parameters and provide an asymptotic analysis. We consider both parametric and nonparametric estimation of the marginal distributions. A simulation study and an empirical application show the effectiveness of the grouping procedure in the sense of structure selection.     

The market price of fiscal uncertainty

Recent fiscal interventions have raised concerns about US public debt, future distortionary tax pressure, and long-run growth potential. We explore the long-run implications of public financing policies aimed at short-run stabilization when: (i) agents are sensitive to model uncertainty, as in Hansen and Sargent (2007), and (ii) growth is endogenous, as in Romer (1990). We find that countercyclical deficit policies promoting short-run stabilization reduce the price of model uncertainty at the cost of significantly increasing the amount of long-run risk. Ultimately these tax policies depress innovation and long-run growth and may produce welfare losses.     

Risk management,corporate governance,and bank performance in the financial crisis

The recent financial crisis has raised several questions with respect to the corporate governance of financial institutions. This paper investigates whether risk management-related corporate governance mechanisms, such as for example the presence of a chief risk officer (CRO) in a bank’s executive board and whether the CRO reports to the CEO or directly to the board of directors, are associated with a better bank performance during the financial crisis of 2007/2008. We measure bank performance by buy-and-hold returns and ROE and we control for standard corporate governance variables such as CEO ownership, board size, and board independence. Most importantly, our results indicate that banks, in which the CRO directly reports to the board of directors and not to the CEO (or other corporate entities), exhibit significantly higher (i.e., less negative) stock returns and ROE during the crisis. In contrast, standard corporate governance variables are mostly insignificantly or even negatively related to the banks’ performance during the crisis.     

Corruption and the shadow economy: like oil and vinegar, like water and fire?

From a theoretical point of view, the relationship between corruption and the shadow economy is ambiguous: They can either be substitutes or complements. This paper contributes to this debate by using a structural equation model with two latent variables to extract information on various dimensions of corruption and the shadow economy. Analyzing a sample of 51 countries around the world over the period 2000 to 2005, we present empirical evidence for a complementary (positive) relationship of corruption and the shadow economy.