Inflation and Market Uncertainty in South Africa

Comparison of the movements in the VIX index, the rand – dollar exchange rate and South African CPI inflation reveals a striking resemblance between them, raising the question as to whether or not there is an empirical relationship among them. The aim of this paper is to determine whether or not changes in market uncertainty, as reflected in the VIX index, influence South African inflation. Given that the VIX index reflects market uncertainty, its impact on the inflation rate may differ between times of heightened uncertainty and normality, thus suggesting the presence of multiple regimes. To cater for this possibility, the analysis first uses the general‐to‐specific procedure (including squared and cubed values of dependent and independent variables) with impulse indicator saturation dummies to look for non‐linear behaviour in the form of statistically significant squared and cubed variables and clustered periods of outlier dummies that might reflect an alternative regime. Finding such periods, the analysis next uses a Markov‐switching model to model this non‐linear behaviour explicitly. The results show that market volatility as measured by the VIX indeed explains South African inflation. Moreover, as shown by the second regime of the Markov‐switching model, when market volatility is elevated, its influence on inflation also increases.     

Do Monetary Policy Announcements Affect Exchange Rate Returns and Volatility of Returns? Some Evidence from High‐Frequency Intra‐Day South African Data

This paper examines the temporal effect of domestic monetary policy surprises on both returns and volatility of returns of the South African rand/U.S. dollar exchange rate. The analysis in this “event study” proceeds using intra‐day minute‐by‐minute exchange rate data, repo rate data from the South African Reserve Bank's scheduled monetary policy announcements, and market consensus repo rate forecasts. A carefully selected sample over the period August 2003 to November 2017 ensures that the change in monetary policy is exogenous to the exchange rate. We find statistically and economically significant responses in intra‐day high‐frequency South African rand/U.S. dollar exchange rate returns and volatility of exchange rate returns to domestic interest rate surprises, but anticipated changes have no bearing on exchange rate returns and their volatility. The empirical results also indicate that there is an instantaneous response of the rand/dollar exchange rate to monetary policy surprises and that monetary policy news is an important determinant of the exchange rate until at least 42 minutes after the pronouncement – suggesting a high degree of market “efficiency” in its mechanical sense (although not necessarily in the deeper economic‐informational sense) in processing this information. Essentially, the asymmetric GARCH results exhibit no leverage effects – positive and negative information shocks have symmetric effects on conditional variance.     

EXTREME VALUE AT RISK: A SCENARIO FOR RISK MANAGEMENT

This paper uses the generalised extreme value (GEV) distribution to model the extreme losses that are likely to occur during market crashes, in the case of an investor who has long positions in stocks and currencies. The null hypothesis – which tests for normality of asset returns – is rejected due to asymmetry of these returns. We assume that the asymmetric behaviour and volatility of the returns are captured by the shape and scale parameters, respectively, of a GEV distribution. The data set includes stock indices for the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and South Africa, and the South African rand exchange rates against the US dollar observed from 3 January 2005 to 30 December 2009. In addition, we divide this sample period into two periods: the pre‐crisis period, from 3 January 2005 to 31 December 2007 and the crisis period, from 1 January 2008 to 30 December 2009. We compared the estimates of value at risk (VaR) using an extreme value theory (EVT) model, with the estimates derived from the traditional variance–covariance method and found that during the crisis the 99% extreme VaR estimates are more reliable as they lie within the Basel II green zone. These results suggest that, at higher quintiles, the VaR estimates based on EVT are reliable and more accurate than estimates from the traditional method.     

Global Financial Crises and Time‐Varying Volatility Comovement in World Equity Markets

This paper studies volatility comovement in world equity markets between 1994 and 2008. Global volatility factors are extracted from a panel of monthly volatility proxies relating to 25 developed and 20 emerging stock markets. A dynamic factor model (FM) is estimated using two‐year rolling‐window regressions. The FM's time‐varying variance shares of global factors map variations in volatility comovement over time and across countries. The results indicate that global volatility linkages are significantly stronger during financial crisis periods in Asia (1997‐1998), Brazil (1999), Russia (1998) and the United States (2000, 2007‐2008). Emerging markets are weakly synchronised with world volatility in comparison with developed markets. In particular, emerging market comovement is significantly lower than developed market comovement during the Asian and US sub‐prime crises. This suggests a degree of decoupling of emerging markets from the global drivers of volatility during these periods.     

The Korean stock market volatility during the currency crisis and the credit crisis

This paper studies the volatility of the Korean stock market during the Asian currency crisis of 1997–1998 and the global credit crisis of 2008–2009. We use a fad model with Markov switching heteroskedasticity, which was first proposed by Kim and Kim (1996). Using the monthly data from January 1980 to October 2009, we find that the volatility of the transitory component of the stock return, or fads, increased during the currency crisis, but did not rise much during the credit crisis. It implies that the stock price fluctuations were not driven by irrational sentiments during the recent global crisis as much as during the former crisis. However, when we consider the dollar value of the Korean stock index in order to estimate the volatility that foreign investors confront, we find that the volatility of the transitory component was raised during the credit crisis as well as during the currency crisis. That is, foreign investors experienced greater volatility than domestic investors in the recent financial market turmoil. This asymmetric volatility that domestic and foreign investors face is one of the characteristics of the credit crisis.For more detailed analysis, the same model was applied to the weekly data from January 2005 to October 2009 and provided the result that the data measured by won–dollar exchange rates were more increased than the raw data. It holds that foreign investors confronted much greater volatility than domestic investors while the stock volatility was relatively lower in the credit crisis state than in the currency crisis state.     

Transmission of Stock Prices and Volatility from the Influential Major Markets on the Emerging Market: A Case Study of the Korean Stock Market

Abstract

This study investigates how the 1997 crisis has changed the Korean market by focusing on price and volatility spillovers from the US, Chinese, and Japanese markets. Using the exponential general autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic (EGARCH) model, new information on stock prices originating in the US market was transmitted to the Korean market for all periods. The price spillover effect from the Japanese market to the Korean market became stronger from the crisis period. Asymmetry in the spillover effect on market volatility was more pronounced in the Korean market after the financial crisis.     

Financial Market Volatility and International Reserve Holding Behaviour: A Case Study for Korea,Indonesia, the Philippines,and Thailand

Abstract

The effects of financial market volatility on the international reserve holding behaviour of four Asian countries that experienced the financial crisis in 1997—Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand are investigated. The financial market volatility is modelled and the effect on reserve dynamics, reserve accumulation, and reserve volatility is estimated. Estimations are taken for two periods—pre- and post-crisis—and the structural break test is performed to examine the change in the effects on reserve holding behaviour. The empirical results, in general, support the evidence for the structural change in the effects on reserve holding behaviour after the crisis. This would be one of the evidences of the precautionary motive for reserve holdings after the crisis.     

Impact of Macroeconomic Announcements on Foreign Exchange Volatility: Evidence from South Africa

This study focuses on scheduled macroeconomic news announcements and evaluates their impact on the volatility of the South African rand (ZAR) and US dollar (USD) exchange rate using high frequency data. The following asymmetries are studied: news items by geographical location, no‐news vs. surprise news announcements and positive vs. negative news announcements. We make the following findings in our empirical study: (i) After the release of a news announcement, the level of foreign exchange volatility rises. This is independent of whether the news item surprised the market or not. (ii) Both South African and US news items significantly impact USD/ZAR volatility, suggesting that the news items are being used to formulate investor expectations regarding the future prospects of the currency pair. (iii) Negative news appears to have a greater impact on exchange rate volatility relative to positive news. This result is also state dependent, as investors tend to behave differently to news depending on the economic climate at that point in time. Investor cognitive biases give rise to the asymmetric news effects on exchange rate volatility. Finally, investors do not always act in rational manner, especially when faced with multiple news items that are contradictory to each other.     

Dynamics of Idiosyncratic Volatility and Market Volatility: An Emerging Market Perspective

Abstract

Estimating idiosyncratic volatility (IVOL) using various model-dependent and model-independent measures, we investigate the characteristics of aggregate IVOL in Malaysia over the period 1990–2008. The IVOL estimated in all models have similar patterns and has no trend over the sample period. There is evidence of episodic phenomenon. During financial crisis periods, market volatility is relatively higher than IVOL – a plausible reason is high correlation between firms' returns. Small firms and low-priced stocks appear to influence IVOL more than large firms and high-priced stocks. In Malaysia, market volatility and IVOL may predict GDP growth.     

Spillovers in Exchange Rates and the Effects of Global Shocks on Emerging Market Currencies

This paper provides an investigation into the spillover effects of exchange rate returns and volatility for developed and emerging market currencies, using data from 1997 to 2011. The results suggest that spillovers in exchange rate returns have increased steadily over time, in moderate reaction to economic events. In contrast, spillovers in total observed volatility (measured by squared returns) react more strongly to economic events, and this transmission has remained at a relatively high level since the global financial crisis. Furthermore, over the course of time, global shocks would appear to account for a larger proportion of aggregate exchange rate volatility (and the relative importance of domestic shocks has declined). The paper also considers whether the increase in volatility spillover is due to sudden shocks, or whether it is due to changes in the stochastic trend of the underlying volatility process. The results suggests that in most cases, this increase is due to sudden shocks, however, in certain instances country‐specific events may perpetuate changes to the trend of the underlying volatility spillover.     

Exchange-rate policy in East Asia after the fall: how much have things changed?

This paper evaluates the changes in the exchange-rate policies of East Asian economies in the aftermath of the currency crisis and the process in which the exchange-market stability was re-established. The empirical analysis evaluates the changing roles of the yen and the US dollar in the currency baskets, the shifts in the volatility of the underlying macroeconomic fundamentals and their implications on exchange-rate management, the exchange-market perception of credibility and risk of the postcrisis exchange-rate regimes, and the process of reversion to fundamental values after the massive currency depreciation.The analysis shows that after the abandonment of the quasi-dollar peg, the yen had gained a greater weight in the currency baskets and the greater flexibility in which the exchange rates are being managed serve to accommodate the greater volatility in the macroeconomic fundamentals. The improvement in the macroeconomic conditions and the greater credibility that has been acquired by the regional monetary authorities had allowed the exchange market to stabilize and enabled the exchange rates to revert back to their fundamental values.     

后金融危机时期中国股市的国际地位——基于非线性视角的股市联动网络分析

后金融危机时期全球股市一体化程度不断提高,全面认识中国股市的国际地位对于揭示国际股市一体化联动中的传导机制,防范和应对国际金融风险冲击具有重要的理论意义和现实价值。文章应用非线性格兰杰因果检验方法和社会网络分析方法,对金砖国家和七国集团股市收益率和波动率的联动关系及其联动网络结构进行分析,揭示出中国在国际股市联动中的地位对传导关系的控制方式,定量分析出事件冲击下中国股市与国际股市之间的交互影响。研究发现：（1）国际股市收益率和波动率联动网络呈现出稳定的非线性联动关系网络结构,受其影响各国股市收益之间存在互惠性,而波动之间则存在传染性;（2）在收益率联动网络中,中国股市的作用和地位已与英国相当,远高于其他金砖国家,正逐渐由"从属地位"转向"中心地位";（3）在波动率联动网络中,中国股市是造成国际股市风险交叉影响的重要"桥梁"。综上而言,当前中国股市表现出"高风险低收益"的市场特征;（4）中国对国际股市的影响具有典型的"地缘特征",将网络中心国家股市的利好传递给地缘临近国家股市;（5）波动率联动网络中初始冲击强度较大的国家,往往是对中国股市持续大规模产生冲击的国家;（6）相比较国际股市调整波动冲击的时间而言,中国股市调整时间较短,这表明后金融危机时代中国致力于股市的一系列改革举措取得了显著成效。     

FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET BID--ASK SPREADS AND THE MARKET PRICE OF SOCIAL UNREST

Time-series evidence yields estimates of the increase in thespread on the South African rand on days when riots, demonstrations,armed attacks, and related deaths occur in South Africa. Thecross-section evidence demonstrates how spreads vary across36 industrial and developing countries as spot rate volatilityand country risk vary. Both the changes in the spread over timefor particular countries and the changes in the spread acrossthe countries at a particular time appear to be significantlyrelated to countries' risk differences and exchange-rate volatility.     

EXCHANGE RATE PASS‐THROUGH TO IMPORT PRICES IN SOUTH AFRICA: IS THERE ASYMMETRY?1

This paper examines the magnitude and speed of exchange rate pass‐through (ERPT) to import prices in South Africa. It further explores whether the direction and size of changes in the exchange rate have different pass‐through effects on import prices, i.e. whether the exchange rate pass‐through is symmetric or asymmetric. The findings of the study suggest that ERPT in South Africa is incomplete but relatively high. Furthermore, ERPT is found to be higher in periods of rand depreciation than appreciation, which supports the binding quantity constraint theory. There is also evidence to suggest that pass‐through is slightly higher in periods of small changes than large changes in the exchange rate in harmony with the menu cost theory when the invoices are denominated in the exporters' currency.     

Long memory volatility dependency,temporal aggregation and the Korean currency crisis: the role of a high frequency Korean won (KRW)–US dollar ($) exchange rate

Using a new type of 5 min high frequency dataset consisting of real time Korean won (KRW)–US dollar ($) exchange rates, this paper characterizes the volatility process of high frequency returns. The semi-parametric local Whittle estimation is applied to estimate the long memory dependency in the volatility process of the 5 min KRW–$ returns and the temporally aggregated returns data. The estimation results present that the underlying long memory dependency in the volatility process appears to be generally consistent across various temporally aggregated returns and that the exogenous shocks and the multiple breaks associated with the crisis in the market seem to induce greater long memory dependency during the crisis.     

Changes in the socialist countries: Contents and prospects

Abstract

This paper examines volatility transmission and conditional correlations behaviour between the US and the Asian stock markets considering the effect of the Global Financial crisis. One Asian mature market and 10 emerging markets are included in the sample. To carry out the analysis, we use a multivariate asymmetric GARCH model. Results show that there exists volatility transmission between the US and the Asian markets. Moreover, it is found that, after the crisis, volatility transmission patterns have barely changed. Finally, results suggest that the lower the country‘s level of development, the lower the correlation with the USA.     

Return and volatility spillovers among the East Asian equity markets

This article examines the extent of contagion and interdependence across the East Asian equity markets since early 1990s and compares the ongoing crisis with earlier episodes. Using the forecast error variance decomposition from a vector autoregression, we derive return and volatility spillover indices over the rolling sub-sample windows. We show that there is substantial difference between the behavior of the East Asian return and volatility spillover indices over time. While the return spillover index reveals increased integration among the East Asian equity markets, the volatility spillover index experiences significant bursts during major market crises, including the East Asian crisis. The fact that both return and volatility spillover indices reached their respective peaks during the current global financial crisis attests to the severity of the current episode.     

Volatility Spillovers between the Equity Market and Foreign Exchange Market in South Africa in the 1995‐2010 Period

This paper attempts to assess the extent of volatility spillovers between the equity market and the foreign exchange market in South Africa. Multistep family of the General Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity models are used for this end, whereby volatility shocks obtained from the mean equation estimation in each market are included in the conditional volatility of the other market, respectively. The paper selects the appropriate volatility models for each market following criteria such as covariance stationarity, persistence in variance and leverage effects. The finding of the paper indicates that there is a unidirectional relationship in terms of volatility spillovers from the equity market to the foreign exchange market. The paper supports the view that the extent of foreign participation in the South African equity market possibly contributes to this phenomenon.     

The effect of circuit breakers on expected volatility: Tests using implied volatilities

Following the 1987 stock market crash, trading controls or circuit breakers were implemented in financial markets to moderate extreme volatility. However, the effectiveness of circuit breakers on the operation of these markets is disputed. While some argue that circuit breakers curb the effects of overreaction in markets and restore confidence, others argue that these trading interruptions merely delay price movements to later periods or to other markets. This paper examines the effect of changes in circuit breaker rules on the market's expectation of future volatility. The results have policy implications and suggest that the circuit breaker rule changes have no effect on expected volatility.     

基于GARCH族模型的上海市住宅市场价格波动的特征研究

住房问题是关系国计民生的重要问题,研究住宅市场的价格波动规律对消费者购买时机选择、调控政策的制定等具有重要的参考价值。鉴于此,以住宅市场收益率的变化来衡量住宅市场价格的波动,采用2006-2016年上海市新建住宅和二手房月度收益率时间序列作为样本,通过构建GARCH族模型对上海市新建住宅和二手房市场的价格波动特征进行研究。研究表明：上海市新建住宅市场的价格波动存在显著的自相关现象,但不存在显著的集聚性、非对称性以及高风险高回报的特征;二手房市场的价格波动存在显著的自相关现象,具有显著的集聚性,即二手房市场本期或过去若干期的波动较大时,未来几期的波动也会很大,反之亦然;二手房市场价格的波动不存在显著的非对称性及高风险高回报的特征。