The institutional memory hypothesis and the procyclicality of bank lending behavior

We test a new hypothesis that may help explain the procyclicality of bank lending. The institutional memory hypothesis is driven by deterioration in the ability of loan officers over the bank's lending cycle that results in an easing of credit standards. We test this hypothesis using data from individual US banks over 1980–2000: over 200,000 bank-level observations on commercial loan growth, over 2,000,000 loan-level observations on interest rate premiums, and over 2000 bank-level observations on credit standards and loan spreads from bank management survey responses. The empirical analysis supports the hypothesis, although there are differences by bank size class.  

基于贸易与货币竞争视角的CAFTA人民币区域化策略

随着《中国-东盟自由贸易区框架协议》的签订,中国与东盟国家之间日益增长的经贸、旅游等往来,必然要求人民币为自由贸易区内的贸易与相互投资提供更广泛的金融服务,而且人民币已在不同程度上被周边国家或地区所接受,并在这些国家或地区内流通。研究并实施人民币在CAFTA区域化,已成为我国政府必须做出的抉择。本文在分析人民币区域化必要性的基础上,就如何实施CAFTA框架下的人民币区域化提出自己的观点。  

Exploring interactions between real activity and the financial stance

In this paper we empirically study interactions between real activity and the financial stance. Using aggregate data we examine a number of candidate measures of the financial stance of the economy. We find strong evidence for substantial spillover effects on aggregate activity from our preferred measure. Given this result, we use a large micro-data set for corporate firms to develop a macro–micro-model of the interaction between the financial and real economy. This approach implies that the impulse responses of a given aggregate shock will depend on the portfolio structure of firms at any given point in time.  

Volatility and growth: Credit constraints and the composition of investment

How does uncertainty and credit constraints affect the cyclical composition of investment and thereby volatility and growth? This paper addresses this question within a model where firms engage in two types of investment: a short-term one; and a long-term one, which contributes more to productivity growth. Because it takes longer to complete, long-term investment has a relatively less cyclical return; but it also has a higher liquidity risk. The first effect ensures that the share of long-term investment to total investment is countercyclical when financial markets are perfect; the second implies that this share may turn procyclical when firms face tight credit constraints. A novel propagation mechanism thus emerges: through its effect on the cyclical composition of investment, tighter credit can lead to both higher volatility and lower mean growth. Evidence from a panel of countries provides support for the model's key predictions.  

资产配置中的投资时钟模型

投资时钟模型是将资产配置和行业策略同经济周期相联系的资产配置方法。经济周期划分为衰退、复苏、过热和滞胀四个阶段,各阶段都对应着收益表现超过一般市场的某一特定资产类别:债券、股票、大宗商品和现金。投资时钟模型还可以帮助资产配置的行业选择。在经济复苏阶段,投资于成长性的周期性行业;在过热阶段,投资于价值性的周期性行业;在滞胀时期,投资于价值型的防御性行业;在衰退时期,投资于成长性的防御性行业。  

湖南经济周期阶段及其持续性分析

根据湖南1978～2008年的相关数据对湖南经济周期阶段进行的研究,结果表明:虽然2004年湖南已经开始进入经济扩张阶段,但是2008年经济出现回落的迹象,实际产出正在向潜在产出靠近.同时,对湖南经济周期持续性研究结果表明:经济扩张阶段的持续时间一般是5.33年左右,因此,在2009年湖南经济周期阶段有可能发生变化,即经济很可能从扩张阶段转向收缩阶段.  

经济周期、宏观调控与银行监管

本文在分析中国经济周期特征和成因的基础上,认为政府主导下的投资和信贷波动是导致中国经济波动的主要因素。目前,中国平滑经济波动的金融宏观调控手段主要包括信贷控制和指导、存款准备金制度、利率和汇率政策及公开市场业务等措施。随着中国经济的开放化、法治化和市场化,需要进一步发挥银行监管在金融宏观调控中的作用,在实践中主要就在于建立和完善以资本充足率为核心的监管调控体系、以透明独立为特征的监管组织体系和以准确快捷为目标的风险预警和测试体系。  

Return enhancement trading strategies for size based portfolios

Recent theoretical work suggests that definitions of market efficiency that allow for the possibility of time-varying risk-premia will generally lead to return sign predictability. Consistent with this theory, we show that a logit model based on the lagged value of the market risk premium is useful for successfully predicting the return sign for CRSP small decile portfolio returns, but not large ones. We additionally employ this model in market timing simulations of micro-cap mutual funds in which investment can actually be made. The results indicate that a market-timing strategy based on our return-sign forecasting model outperforms a buy-and-hold strategy for 13 of 14 micro-cap funds studied. On average, the buy-and-hold strategy produces an average compound return of 11.98% per annum versus an average of 16.60% for the market-timing strategy. Nevertheless, trading restrictions make the return-sign forecasting model more practical to employ by the micro-cap fund portfolio manager rather than the individual fund investor.

Financial distress, bankruptcy law and the business cycle

This paper explores the business cycle implications of financial distress and bankruptcy law. We find that due to the presence of financial imperfections the effect of liquidations on the price of capital goods can generate endogenous fluctuations. We show that a law reform that ‘softens’ bankruptcy law may increase the amplitude of the cycle in the long run. In contrast, a policy of bailing out businesses during the bust or actively managing the interest rate across the cycle could stabilize the economy in the long run. A comprehensive welfare analysis of these policies is provided as well.   

How do commodity futures respond to macroeconomic news?

This paper investigates the impact of seventeen US macroeconomic announcements on two broad and representative commodity futures indices. Based on a large sample from 1989 to 2005, we show that the daily price response of the CRB and GSCI commodity futures indices to macroeconomic news is state-dependent. During recessions, news about higher (lower) inflation and real activity lead to positive (negative) adjustments of commodity futures prices. In contrast, we find no significant reactions during economic expansions. We attribute this asymmetric response to the state-dependent interpretation of macroeconomic news. Our findings are robust to several alternative business cycle definitions.