Mean Reversion in the Real Interest Rate and the Effects of Calculating Expected Inflation

We investigate the measured persistence in the real interest rate using a variety of methods to annualize inflation and calculate the real rate. Results from a battery of conventional unit root tests yield conflicting conclusions for the various real rates, adding to an existing confusion regarding mean reversion. Both long memory and exponential smooth‐transition autoregressive models (ESTAR) nonlinearity are considered as possible alternatives, and in contrast to the unit root test results, we find highly robust evidence against the unit root null. Based on the empirical results, Monte Carlo analysis is performed to study the disparate results obtained using fractional integration and unit root tests.     

Decline in the persistence of real exchange rates,but not sufficient for purchasing power parity

The paper investigates the possibility of decline in the persistence of real exchange rates, or deviations from PPP. To this end, we test the null hypothesis of no decline in the PPP deviation persistence between two subsamples using a fractional integration framework. The test rejects the null at the 10% significance level for nine out of 17 countries, providing solid evidence for a decline in the persistence of real exchange rates. However, the decline is not sufficient for PPP, meaning we fail to reject the unit root hypothesis even in the latter period for all 17 countries. In addition, our rolling-window estimates show that the real exchange rate of many countries have experienced a sharp drop in their persistence once we use samples starting from the mid-1980s. Finally, we examine the relationship between the dynamics of PPP deviation persistence and several economic variables and confirm that the speed of convergence of PPP deviations is highly related to economic/financial integration and world economic stabilization.     

Testing PPP for the South African Rand/US Dollar Real Exchange Rate at Different Data Frequencies

This paper tests the PPP hypothesis for the South African rand/US dollar real exchange rate using a fractional integration framework. The results suggest that the real exchange rate of the South African rand with respect to the US dollar is a highly dependent variable with an order of integration very close to 1. This finding is not affected by the data frequency considered (daily, weekly or monthly). Also, there appears to be a single break in December 2001 (possibly corresponding to a change in the monetary policy framework), with the unit root null being rejected in favour of d > 1 for the periods before the break, but not afterwards. Thus, our results strongly reject the PPP hypothesis for the South African rand/US dollar rate across data frequencies, since shocks are found to affect the exchange rate forever.     

Purchasing Power Parity under the Gold Standard

Long-run purchasing power parity (LRPPP), the basis of most open economy macroeconomic models, has proved difficult to back up empirically. However, there is one standout exception to the otherwise mixed results. Diebold, Hasted, and Rush (1991) are consistently cited as having found strong evidence of LRPPP by using a fractionally integrated moving-average model whose restrictions are looser than those of traditional unit root tests. We propose structural change rather than fractional integration as a plausible behavior pattern for the data. Using the Bai-Perron (1998) test for multiple structural change, we find mean shifts in each of the real exchange rates. When those shifts are included in the model, the speed of mean reversion is greatly improved. We assert that quick mean reversion around an occasionally changing mean provides a more reasonable representation of the data than does fractional integration.     

PURCHASING POWER PARITY IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES: FURTHER EVIDENCE FROM FOURIER UNIT ROOT TESTS BASED ON LINEAR AND NONLINEAR MODELS

This paper examines the validity of purchasing power parity hypothesis for 33 African countries using recently developed Fourier unit root tests by Christopoulos and León‐Ledesma that account for the existence of multiple breaks in the real exchange rates. The results support the evidence of the PPP in 20 countries, showing that most of the real exchange rates in the selected countries are characterised by linear or nonlinear stationary around multiple temporary mean changes.     

Testing the Marshall–Lerner Condition in Kenya

In this paper we examine the Marshall–Lerner (ML) condition for the Kenyan economy. In particular, we use quarterly data on the log of real exchange rates, export/import ratio and relative (US) income for the time period 1996q1‐2011q4, and employ techniques based on the concept of long memory or long‐range dependence. Specifically, we use fractional integration and cointegration methods, which are more general than standard approaches based exclusively on integer degrees of differentiation. The results indicate that there exists a well‐defined, cointegrating relationship linking the balance of payments to the real exchange rate and relative income, and that the ML condition is satisfied in the long run, although the convergence process is relatively slow. They also imply that a moderate depreciation of the Kenyan shilling may have a stabilising influence on the balance of trade through the current account without the need for high interest rates.     

Real exchange rates and unit root tests

Real Exchange Rates and Unit Root Tests. — This paper examines monthly OECD exchange rate data (1979–1997) using univariate and panel data unit root tests. Some of these tests support the hypothesis of a unit root. But tests of cointegration reveal the existence of weak purchasing power parity relationships between bilateral nominal exchange rates and relative prices. We suggest that researchers need not conduct unit root tests on real exchange rate data when a modified version of PPP is used; or if there is a long enough time series. Given the definition of real exchange rates, the indicator should be stationary and should have intrinsic mean reverting behaviour.     

Mean Reversion of Real Exchange Rates in High-Inflation Countries

We test for mean reversion in real exchange rates using data from five countries, four of which have experienced episodes of high inflation. Using monthly data for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Israel, we find that a stochastic unit root model is typically appropriate (Brazil is the exception). Kalman filter estimates of the stochastic unit roots show sharp deviations from unity associated with high inflation episodes. This suggests that stochastic unit root models are a more appropriate way to model mean reversion in real exchange rates for high inflation countries than models with fixed rates of mean reversion.     

Prospects for a Monetary Union in the East Africa Community: Some Empirical Evidence

This paper examines generalised purchasing power parity (G-PPP) and business cycle synchronisation in the East Africa Community with the aim of assessing the prospects for a monetary union. The univariate fractional integration analysis shows that the individual series exhibit unit roots and are highly persistent. The fractional bivariate cointegration tests suggest that there exist bivariate fractional cointegrating relationships between the exchange rate of the Tanzanian shilling and those of the other EAC countries, and also between the exchange rates of the Rwandan franc, the Burundian franc and the Ugandan shilling. The Fractionally Cointegrated Vector AutoRegressive (FCVAR) results imply the existence of a single cointegrating relationship between the exchange rates of the EAC countries. On the whole, there is evidence in favour of G-PPP. In addition, there appears to be a high degree of business cycle synchronisation between these economies. On both grounds, one can argue that a monetary union should be feasible.     

Pitfalls in panel tests of purchasing power parity

Pitfalls in Panel Tests of Purchasing Power Parity. —The results of panel unit root tests applied to real exchange rates as a test of long-run purchasing power parity (PPP) diverge much. In particular, due to misspecifications there is little evidence of the convergence of real exchange rates for the German mark. This paper provides evidence of this issue by analyzing large panels of real exchange rates vis-à-vis the German mark and the dollar. In particular, the impact of the base country and various aspects of the dynamic specifications are analyzed. Overall, the results provide strong evidence in favour of PPP as a long-run relationship.     

IS THERE AN ASYMMETRIC BEHAVIOUR IN AFRICAN INFLATION? A NON‐LINEAR APPROACH

In this paper we test the inflation persistence hypothesis as well as model the long‐run behaviour of inflation rates in a pool of African countries using a non‐linear framework. In order to do so, we rely on unit root tests applied to non‐linear models and fractional integration. The results show that the hypothesis of inflation persistence does not hold empirically for most of the countries. In addition, the estimated models (logistic smooth transition autoregressions) are stable in the sense that the variable tends to remain in the regime (low inflation or high inflation) once reached, and changes between regimes are only achieved after a shock. The results also indicate that the effects of the shocks on inflation tend to die out; exogenous factors, i.e. supply shocks and inertia may be causing this outcome, as they play a substantial role in the determination of the inflation rates for our selected African countries.     

CORPORATE TAX RATES IN THE SADC REGION: DETERMINANTS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

Since the 1990s the SADC region has closely followed declining trends that occurred in the industrialised world in terms of corporate tax rates. The main purpose of this paper is to find appropriate explanations behind these trends as experienced in the SADC region. A cross‐section panel, including the so‐called Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR), is applied to uncover the main determinants of corporate tax rates in the region. The main findings of the paper acknowledge the vulnerability of corporate tax rates to global influence. The presence‐of‐trade variable relating to openness and international pressure takes precedence in the determination of corporate tax rates. The results indicate that higher trade ratios mean lower statutory corporate rates as international influence intensifies. It also tends to confirm the region's dependency on trade for tax revenues, but also its ability to still attract tax revenues from capital flows. Some evidence exists in terms of an association between the government expenditure‐GDP ratio and the statutory and average corporate tax rates, although this is not definitive. The paper re‐emphasises the importance of international pressure in terms of future tax policy‐making in the SADC region but also opens an avenue for further tax co‐operation efforts.     

Seasonal and non-seasonal long memory effects in the Japanese real effective exchange rate

In this article we examine the long-run and the seasonal long memory effects in the monthly Japanese real exchange rate by means of fractionally integrated techniques. We use a procedure due to Robinson [Efficient Tests of Nonstationary Hypotheses. J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 89 (1994) 1420–1473] that permits us to simultaneously test unit and fractional roots at both the zero and the seasonal frequencies. The results show that the root at zero plays a much more important role than the seasonal one, though the latter root also plays a significant part, with an order of integration constrained between 0 and 0.8. The fact that the latter order of integration is strictly smaller than 1 implies that mean reversion takes place in relation with the seasonal monthly structure. J. Japanese Int. Economies 20 (1) (2006) 87–98.     

Inflation Targeting in ASEAN‐10

The paper addresses the empirical question of whether economies that do not systematically target inflation (non‐inflation targeters) experience higher exchange rate volatility as compared with inflation targeters in 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) from 1990 to 2010. The paper examines the role of real exchange rate, exchange rate volatility and the reaction functions of central banks using dynamic panel estimation techniques. The results indicate that the output gap offers more useful information than the inflation gap in setting interest rates for inflation targeters, implying that the real term is more important than the nominal term. In turn, this suggests that an increase in interest rate can be wielded swiftly to reduce real gross domestic product and suppress inflation. The real exchange rate appears as a weaker determinant in setting interest rates for non‐inflation targeters. Inflation targeters experienced lower exchange rate volatility compared with non‐targeters in the ASEAN, which implies that implementation costs to their domestic economies may be marginally lower. Meanwhile, the non‐targeters follow a mixed strategy as both the inflation and real exchange rate are used as instruments to set the interest rates.     

Changes in misalignment of the Korean won: Towards a flexible exchange rate regime

This paper investigates whether the adoption of a more floating exchange rate regime with inflation targeting has improved the vulnerability of the exchange rate, by looking at the Korean case. Using the NATREX model, I estimate the equilibrium real exchange rate of the Won and its misalignment. The unit‐root test for misalignment and the unrestrictive vector autoregressive (VAR) impulse response function test show that under a more flexible exchange rate regime, the vulnerability of the exchange rate regime to external shocks has declined.     

Measuring Multi‐Membership in Economic Integration and Its Trade Impact: A Comparative Study of ECOWAS and SADC

One of the intriguing aspects of African regional trade agreements (RTAs) is the extent of multi‐membership, where many African countries are members of more than one RTA. Using a gravity model for 25 countries and the years 1980‐2006, we measure the extent of multi‐membership and compare its impact in two major African regional blocs, Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). We find that the impact of multi‐membership critically depends on the characteristics of the multi‐membership of regional integration initiatives. We find a positive impact if an additional membership complements the integration process of the original regional integration initiative: overlapping memberships had a much stronger and significant positive effect on bilateral trade within ECOWAS compare with an insignificant impact within the SADC.     

Reviving Foreign Direct Investments in Southern Africa: Constraints and Policies

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to examine the factors that determine the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) to SADC member states, which is critical for introducing widespread technological change, complementing domestic investment, improving the agility and competitiveness of firms, and providing access to skills and global markets. Since the end of apartheid in 1994, FDI flows to SADC have improved significantly increasing from an annual average of only $660 million in 1985–95 to about $5.9 billion in 2000–04. A number of countries in the region have taken additional steps to reform their policy stance in order to boost prospects for increased FDI inflows, while South Africa has now become an important growth pole for attracting foreign investment to the region. However, despite the economic and institutional reforms, especially by some of the low‐income countries in the region, the flow of FDI to SADC member states remains low and concentrated in few countries and sectors. The paper identifies a number of factors constraining FDI inflows, including the small size of the regional economy, persistent macroeconomic uncertainty in some important economies, high administrative barriers, inadequate physical infrastructure, weak financial systems, and growing perception of corruption. The paper argues that SADC member states need to strengthen efforts to enhance policy frameworks, both individually and collectively, in order to make the region attractive for foreign investors. More progress is required on improving the efficiency of institutions, macroeconomic policy co‐ordination and harmonization, opening up to trade, strengthening energy, transport and telecommunications infrastructure, putting more resources in developing local skills, reducing bureaucratic red tape and curbing corruption. Importantly, SADC member states should avoid heated competition or “bidding wars” for FDI, where countries seek to outbid each other in offering fiscal and financial subsidies to attract foreign investors. Competition for FDI between neighbouring countries is not only wasteful and costly, but may also weaken regional co‐operation and integration. Co‐operation at a SADC level may therefore help avoid costly bidding wars.     

Do Real Exchange Rates Follow a Nonlinear Mean Reverting Process in Developing Countries?

In an effort to fight relatively high inflation, many developing countries try to manage their nominal exchange rates through official intervention. In addition, developing countries tend to have high transportation costs, tariffs, and nontariff barriers. These factors are among the sources of generating nonlinearity in real exchange rates and hence some nonlinear adjustment toward purchasing power parity (PPP) in developing countries. In this paper, we employ monthly real effective exchange rate (REER) data of 88 developing countries and test the null of nonstationarity versus an alternative of linear stationarity by the means of a conventional unit root test and compare the results with those obtained from a new test in which the null is the same but the alternative hypothesis is nonlinear stationarity. The latter test supports the PPP theory in more developing countries compared with the former test, suggesting that nonlinear adjustment toward PPP in developing countries is an important phenomenon. Reported country characterizations indicate that reversion in REER occurs more often for high-inflation countries and for countries with high flexibility in their exchange rates.     

Fundamental equilibrium exchange rates and exchange rate dynamics

This paper examines whether there is a tendency for actual exchange rates to return to their fundamental equilibrium exchange rates (FEERs) when the latter are estimated based on popular exchange rate models. Co-integration tests and unit root tests are applied. There is little evidence that the exchange rates of Japan and Germany have a reversion to the purchasing-power-parity (PPP) rates or Williamson's FEERs or the underlying external and internal balance (UEI) FEERs.     

基于STAR模型的中日汇率态势检验

改革开放是我国发展壮大的必经之路.其过程离不开与其他国家或地区的经济交往,因此必然受到国外经济的影响.随着我国经济开放程度的不断扩大,汇率的变动对我国经济变动的影响也越来越大.在我国对外贸易中,日本是一个不容忽视的贸易对象国,本文采用基于STAR模型的KSS非线性单位根检验分析法和传统的ADF与PP检验对中日实际汇率进行了实证检验,检验结果表明,我国汇率符合购买力平价理论,这说明现有的参考一篮子货币的有管理的浮动汇率制度正逐步达到市场有效性和预期效果,应继续发挥市场供求在人民币汇率形成中的基础性作用,增强浮动弹性.