The role of production fragmentation in international business cycle synchronization in East Asia

This paper analyzes factors contributing to the observed increase in international business cycle synchronization between eight East Asian developing countries and the major developed economies of Japan and the United States. To this end, a two-country dynamic general equilibrium (DGE) model is proposed which focuses on the role of production fragmentation among these countries. A key feature of the model is that it includes the trade in differentiated capital goods, which are added to the capital stock for production, and the technology embodied in these capital goods. The parameters of the model are calibrated using actual data of the countries included. Model simulations are conducted for two periods (1993–1997 and 1999–2005), before and after the Asian financial crisis, showing that the increase in business cycle synchronization can be attributed mainly to the growing fragmentation of production activities.     

Chinese exchange rate and price effects on G3 import prices

This paper explores the degree of price and exchange rate interdependence between China and the G3 (US, Japan and the Euro-zone) by undertaking a VAR based shock analysis. A GARCH framework is also employed to derive the conditional variances to uncover the extent of volatility transmission. We address two key issues. First as there have been concerns about low value-added cheap Chinese goods flooding G3 markets, we attempt to measure the impact of Chinese prices on G3 import prices. Second, we focus on the transmission of exchange rate shocks – a subject which we approach by examining shocks in China's bilateral exchange rate with each of these major trading partners (the US, Japan and the Euro Area). Our results indicate that reduced import prices from China are the channel through which aggregate domestic prices in the G3 remain depressed, while the impact of the RMB exchange rate with G3 currencies appears less powerful. This finding implies that the Chinese authorities’ RMB exchange rate policy is relatively unimportant and, in particular, that a revaluation of the RMB would not do much to reduce the US trade deficit. In terms of volatility spillover, the relatively flexible RMB exchange rate against the Euro results in RMB-EUR volatility having a stronger influence than the more tightly controlled RMB-USD rate on the volatility of Chinese export prices.     

农村信用社对农村城镇化的金融支持分析

在农村城镇化建设中离不开金融支持。农村信用社地位特殊,分析探究农村信用社对农村城镇化的金融支持是十分必要的。根据分析需要,采用向量自回归(VAR)模型和向量误差修正(VEC)模型,通过Johansen协整检验、Granger因果检验,揭示了农村城镇化水平、农村信用社金融支持、农村信用社发展水平之间的相互关系与作用。基于实证分析的结果得出了相关结论,并提出了针对性建议。     

Hot Money and Business Cycle Volatility： Evidence from China

This paper investigates the link between hot money and business cycle volatility in China from January 1997 to December 2009. Using the structural vector error correction model we find a considerable degree of long-run cointegration and bidirectional causality effects between hot money and business cycle volatility. The speculative shocks are found to temporarily promote China＇s economic growth, but also to exacerbate business cycle volatility. The liquidity shock stemming from hot money is shown to be the primary factor responsible for the significantly enhanced fluctuation in business cycles during the most recent global financial crisis period This could be detrimental to the smooth operation of financial markets. Therefore, informing future policies, it is critical for policy-makers to take precautions against the speculative factors.     

Re-examination of J-curve effect for Japan,Korea and Taiwan

This study uses the generalized impulse response function from the vector error correction (VEC) model to examine whether the J-curve effect exists for Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Both bilateral (with the US) and aggregate (with the rest of the world) cases are considered. Special attention has been given to the number of lag orders and conintegration selection and the tests of exogeneity of foreign income and structural changes. The conventional J-curve phenomenon can only be observed in Japan’s aggregate trade case. In Korea and Taiwan, where most export to import ratio increases during the currency contract period, is consistent with the theory that both economies are small.     

Trade and GDP Growth: Causal Relations in the United States and Canada

Causal relations between the growth rates of exports, imports, and the GDP of Canada and the United States are studied using the vector error correction (VEC) model. Utilizing time-series annual data (1948-1996), Granger causality tests are performed within the framework of the VEC model. Bidirectional causality is supported for Canada from the foreign sector to GDP and vice versa. A weaker relationship between the foreign sector and GDP is statistically supported for the United States. These results are also supported by comparing the total trade (exports plus imports) shares to GDP of the two neighboring economies. The Granger causality tests suggest that Canada is a more open economy than the United States and more trade dependent.     

International co-movements and business cycle transmission between Korea and Japan

This study examines the economic relationship and interdependence between Korea and Japan. Using macroeconomic data, an event chronology, and trade flows, I examine the question, are business cycles transmitted from Japan to Korea, and/or from Korea to Japan? And, how has that transmission changed over time? The study uses structured vector autoregressions (SVARs) to analyze monthly data 1960.01–2002.01 on industrial production, prices, interest rates, money supplies, and exchange rates. Japanese business cycles are found to have a moderate effect upon business cycle fluctuations in Korea, and that influence seems to be increasing over time. J. Japanese Int. Economies 18 (1) (2004) 57–83.     

Bayesian analysis of time-varying parameter vector autoregressive model for the Japanese economy and monetary policy

This paper analyzes the time-varying parameter vector autoregressive (TVP–VAR) model for the Japanese economy and monetary policy. The parameters are allowed to follow a random walk process and estimated using the Markov chain Monte Carlo method. The empirical result reveals the time-varying structure of the Japanese economy and monetary policy during the period from 1981 to 2008. The marginal likelihoods of the TVP–VAR model and other fixed parameter VAR models are estimated for model comparison. The estimated marginal likelihoods indicate that the TVP–VAR model best fits the Japanese economic data.     

International Interdependence and Business Cycle Transmission in ASEAN

This study investigates the international transmission of business cycles among the ASEAN countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, and between the ASEAN nations and their major trading partners, the United States, Australia, Japan, and the European Union. The research uses trade flows to show the pattern of economic interdependence, and principal components analysis, vector autoregressions, and spectral analysis to explore the possibility of a unique ASEAN business cycle. Binational VARs are used to examine the relative impacts of each country upon the others. Spectral analysis is used to check for the possibility of “mode-locking” between the countries that may serve to bring about some synchronization. Interestingly, there is evidence of the existence of a specific ASEAN regional business cycle. However, the VARs give only weak evidence of transmission of business cycles among the ASEAN economies and between the ASEAN economies and their major trading partners. The apparent weakness of the transmission is explained by the fact that commodity price fluctuations, wars, and major political disturbances, due to the process of nation-building, have interrupted the natural generation of business cycles, dominated the interdependence effects between nations, and hindered the measurement of international business cycle transmission. J. Japan. Int. Econ., September 1999, 13(3), pp. 230–253. Department of Economics, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529 Copyright 1999 Academic Press.Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: F41, F47, E32.     

Are Determinants of Portfolio Flows Always the Same? ‐ South African Results from a Time Varying Parameter Var Model

The literature on determinants of cross‐border capital flows has consistently assumed the determinants of such flows to be constant throughout the sample. This paper investigates this notion by estimating the time varying relationship between portfolio flows to South Africa and two widely accepted determinants of such flows: the sovereign spread and global risk (measured by the CBOE Volatility Index, henceforth VIX). The results show that the time variation is highly significant and a constant parameter model will give biased estimates of the effects of risk on capital flows. The paper also gives important insights to South African policy makers and financial practitioners: Bond flows (non‐resident purchases of South African bonds) have become more sensitive to the VIX after 2010. Share flows were particularly sensitive at the peak of the 2008 global financial crisis, but have at other times not responded in a statistically significant manner to changes in global risk. The relationships are estimated using a time varying parameter vector autoregressive (TVP VAR) model with stochastic volatility.     

Trade and wage inequality: Are they related?

The objective of this paper is to investigate the relationship between net exports and wage inequality in the U.S. The short- and long-run analyses of the U.S. trade and wage data are undertaken. Cointegration test results indicate that net exports and wage inequality are related in the long run. The main contribution of this paper lies in its focus on the short-run investigation of the relationship between net exports and wage inequality. This investigation was conducted using the vector error correction (VEC) testing framework. Contrary to the prevailing view, the VEC test results indicate that trade has no statistically significant impact on wage inequality in the U.S. Instead, the empirical evidence shows a negative causal impact of wage inequality on net exports.     

对外贸易与中国区域经济增长——以浙江省为代表的研究

本文把浙江省的对外贸易分为出口和进口两方面来考量,分析了二者与经济增长的长期协整关系,并通过向量误差修正(VEC)模型,脉冲响应分析和方差分解分析,进行了详细的研究。结果发现浙江省的出口对经济增长有促进作用,进口对经济增长促进作用并未显现。因此需要进一步发展对外贸易以促进经济发展。     

Competitiveness and external trade performance of the French manufacturing industry

Competitiveness and External Trade Performance of the French Manufacturing Industry. - This paper evaluates the competitiveness and external trade performance of the French manufacturing industry during the 1980s and early 1990s. It reviews developments in a broad range of competitiveness indicators, showing that the manufacturing sector appears to have maintained its competitive position, discusses developments in export market shares, and estimates a vector error correction model relating the trade ratio to relative unit labor costs, domestic and foreign demand, and nonprice competitiveness. Variance decompositions suggest that fluctuations in price and nonprice competitiveness account for about two-fifths of fluctuations in manufacturing trade flows.     

SOUTH AFRICA'S POST‐LIBERALISED CAPITAL FLOWS AND BUSINESS CYCLE FLUCTUATIONS

This study used Christiano and Fitzgerald filtered correlation analysis to investigate the cyclical relationships between South Africa's post‐liberalised capital flows and domestic business cycle fluctuations. The results show that foreign direct investment inflows are counter‐cyclical and proactive, while the “hot” inflows are acyclical. Thus, South Africa's post‐liberalisation “hot” inflows have not been significantly associated with domestic business cycle fluctuations. In contrast, the capital outflows are found to be consistently procyclical and proactive, suggesting that the outflows are more significantly associated with domestic business cycle fluctuations than the capital inflows. In addition, it is found that the cyclical relationships between the capital inflows and the business cycle components of exports, household consumption and gross fixed investment are generally procyclical, except for portfolio inflows, which have a counter‐cyclical relationship with fixed investment. In contrast, the capital outflows are counter‐cyclically associated with exports and household consumption, and procyclically associated with fixed investment.     

Aid Volatility and Real Business Cycles in a Developing Open Economy

This article analyzes the impact of the unpredictability of foreign aid on macroeconomic fluctuations in the recipient country. I build a small open‐economy business cycle model that accounts for foreign aid shocks, with no preference shocks. The model is calibrated to reflect the structural empirical regularities of Cote d'Ivoire, a typical aid‐dependent developing country. The parameters of the exogenous shocks are estimated using Bayesian methods and time series data for Cote d'Ivoire. The model produces business cycle patterns that are consistent with the data and key stylized facts. Specifically, the excess volatility of consumption with respect to output is successfully replicated. The results suggest that the unpredictability of foreign aid contributes to explain the volatility of business cycles in the recipient economy and has negative welfare effects.     

FORECASTING PERFORMANCE OF AN ESTIMATED DSGE MODEL FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN ECONOMY

We construct a small open‐economy New Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model for South Africa with nominal rigidities, incomplete international risk sharing and partial exchange rate pass‐through. The parameters of the model are estimated using Bayesian methods, and its out‐of‐sample forecasting performance is compared with Bayesian vector autoregression (VAR), classical VAR and random‐walk models. Our results indicate that the DSGE model generates forecasts that are competitive with those from other models, and it contributes statistically significant information to combined forecast measures.     

Monetary Policy, Credit, and Real Activity: Evidence from the Balance Sheet of Japanese Firms

We analyze the mechanism of monetary transmission in the Japanese economy by using the quarterly time series data disaggregated by firm size. In particular we examine the channels through which monetary policy influences the firm's fixed investment with special focus on the firm's land. We estimate the vector autoregressive model where we encompass two competing hypotheses on the monetary transmission: monetary and credit channels. Our evidence is in support of the credit channel. We find that land has played a vital role in the monetary transmission, especially for small firms. Moreover, we find that fall of land value in 1990s weakened the efficacy of monetary policy considerably. J. Japan. Int. Econ., December 2000, 14(4), pp. 385–407. Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan Copyright 2000 Academic Press.Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: E22, E32, E44, E51.     

金融资源配置对区域经济增长的影响研究——以湖南省为例

选取1994到2012年的湖南省金融机构存贷余额MR、证券市场筹资额CR和实际利用外资额FR为样本,运用Johansen检验表明金融资源配置与经济增长存在长期均衡关系;构建向量误差修正模型(VEC),通过了自相关LM检验和正态性检验(J-B),得出金融资源配置与经济增长存在短期均衡关系,运用脉冲响应函数分析金融资源配置对经济增长的冲击作用和贡献度,结果表明金融机构存贷款余额对经济增长是负向冲击,而证券市场筹资额和实际利用外资额正向冲击。     

China's Business Cycles: Perspectives from an AD–AS Model*

The present paper represents a first attempt to study China's business cycles using a formal analytical framework; namely, a structural VAR model. It is found that (i) demand shocks were the dominant source of macroeconomic fluctuations, but supply shocks had gained more importance over time; (ii) driving forces of demand shocks were consumption and fixed investment in the first cycle of 1985–1990, but shifted to fixed investment and world demand in the second cycle of 1991–1996 and the post‐1997 deflation period; and (c) macroeconomic policies did not play an important part either in initiating or counteracting cyclical fluctuations.     

Trans-Tasman Transmission of Monetary Shocks: Evidence From a VAR Approach

This paper investigates the cross-country transmission mechanisms of monetary shocks between Australia and New Zealand within a VAR framework for the period 1985:1–2003:4. The empirical results indicate that a monetary shock in either Australia or New Zealand has real effects in the short-run in both countries however, an Australian shock generates more significant responses of most variables. Australian output is found to be significantly more sensitive than New Zealand output to monetary innovations in either country. The results also suggest that monetary innovations in a small open economy can also influence its larger trading partner.The authors would like to thank Faik Koray and an anonymous referee for their valuable comments. The usual disclaimer applies.