Inflation and inflation uncertainty in the ASEAN-5 economies

This study explores the linkage between inflation and inflation uncertainty in the ASEAN-5 countries over the period 1970:01–2007:12. Inflation uncertainty is estimated as a conditional variance in an AR(p)-EGARCH(1,1) model. Granger causality tests show that rising inflation increases inflation uncertainty and that rising inflation uncertainty increases inflation in all five countries. The ASEAN-5 have had low inflation rates relative to other emerging markets. Thus, our study shows that even in low inflation emerging markets inflation can lead to inflation uncertainty and uncertainty can lead to inflation. Given current inflationary pressures in these countries, our results warn of possible costs of not keeping inflation in check.     

Inflation and inflation uncertainty: The case of Cambodia,Lao PDR,and Vietnam

This paper studies the relationship between inflation and inflation uncertainty in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam. Inflation uncertainty is estimated as the conditional variance in a family of generalized autoregressive heteroskedasticity (GARCH) models. This paper finds that inflation causes inflation uncertainty in these countries, which supports the argument of Friedman (1977). Moreover, the analysis demonstrates that inflation uncertainty causes inflation only in Lao PDR, which implies that Cukierman and Meltzer's (1986) argument can be supported in Lao PDR. This paper also investigates how inflation in the United States is related to inflation and inflation uncertainty in Indochina countries. The result shows that inflation positively responds to US inflation only in Cambodia.     

Further Long Memory Properties of Inflationary Shocks

Several previous studies have found fractionally integrated, or long memory behavior, in the conditional mean of inflation. This paper notes that extremely similar phenomena are also apparent in the squared and absolute values of residuals from fractionally filtered inflation series. Hence, the inflation process appears to have a dual long memory feature in both its first and its second conditional moments. We suggest a parametric model of long memory in both the conditional mean and the conditional variance. Some Monte Carlo evidence is presented that supports estimation of the model by approximate maximum likelihood methods. We then report estimated models for the inflation series for several different industrialized countries, including the United States. For nearly all of the countries in our study, there is strong evidence of statistically significant long memory parameters in both the conditional mean and the variance. We note some of the implications for modeling inflation.     

金融元素的变动对通货膨胀影响的实证研究

本文主要研究货币供应量(M2)、外汇储备、汇率、国际石油价格变动对通货膨胀的影响。构建VAR模型和向量误差修正模型,通过脉冲响应函数和方差分解分析了金融元素对CPI的影响。实证结果表明:货币供给量、外汇储备、汇率和CPI之间存在一种长期的稳定关系,外汇储备和汇率的变动对通货膨胀的影响皆较小。CPI与实际有效汇率间存在负相关关系。国际石油价格变动对通货膨胀的影响较大,汇率变动对通货膨胀的影响较小,说明汇率对价格传递的不完全性。     

Estimation of historical inflation expectations

Expected inflation is a central variable in economic theory. Economic historians have estimated historical inflation expectations for a variety of purposes, including studies of the Fisher effect, the debt deflation hypothesis, central bank credibility, and expectations formation. I survey the statistical, narrative, and market-based approaches that have been used to estimate inflation expectations in historical eras, including the classical gold standard era, the hyperinflations of the 1920s, and the Great Depression, highlighting key methodological considerations and identifying areas that warrant further research. A meta-analysis of inflation expectations at the onset of the Great Depression reveals that the deflation of the early 1930s was mostly unanticipated, supporting the debt deflation hypothesis, and shows how these results are sensitive to estimation methodology.     

The Impact of Political Instability on Inflation Volatility in Africa

This paper investigates whether political instability leads to volatile inflation using a panel of 49 African countries. The study uses novel measures of political instability, particularly the state failure index and state fragility index. In the field of political instability and inflation volatility, this is the first study to measure inflation volatility as the conditional variance of inflation estimated from GARCH (1, 1) model. Adopting the system‐generalized method of moments estimator for linear dynamic panel models for the sample period 1985‐2009, the study documents a positive statistically significant effect of political instability on inflation volatility.     

On the inflation-uncertainty hypothesis in the USA,Japan and the UK: a dual long memory approach

We use parametric models of long memory in both the conditional mean and the conditional variance of inflation and monthly data in the USA, Japan and the UK for the period 1962–2001 to examine the relationship between inflation and inflation-uncertainty. In all countries, inflation significantly raises inflation-uncertainty as predicted by Friedman. Increased nominal uncertainty affects inflation in Japan and the UK but not in the same manner. The results from Japan support the Cukierman–Meltzer hypothesis. In the UK uncertainty surrounding the future inflation appears to have a mixed impact on inflation.     

What influences aggregate inflation expectations of households in India?

We analyse the factors influencing Indian households’ inflation expectations and draw out implications for inflation targeting. The literature finds news on inflation affecting expectations. Using quarterly data from India over 2008–2019, we find: (i) in estimated epidemiological models of learning in expectation formation, the response coefficient on inflation news in the shape of central bank forecasts exceeds coefficients estimated for advanced economies, implying official views having a relatively greater weight on expectations; (ii) error variance decompositions of expectations to shocks in variables including commodity and core inflations, demand and policy variables in a series of SVARs, also show policy communications affecting expectations in the short-term. Food inflation has a significant short-run effect on expectations, but demand determined core inflation dominates over the long run; (iii) impulse responses show a rise in the policy rate raising expectations. The above results show communications as more effective than policy rates in influencing inflation expectations.     

我国通胀持久性的区间转换分析及其政策启示

抗通胀是当前一个阶段我国经济面临的重要难题。本文通过非线性小波变换阀值去噪和双区间Markov转移模型的分析表明,无论高通胀区还是低通胀区,我国通货膨胀的持久性均在0.9以上,通胀率偏离预期后受到随机冲击所需的回复时间较长,通货膨胀的治理成本较高。为有效降低我国通胀的高持久性,提高央行货币政策制定的透明度和政策施行的信用度是首要解决的问题。     

What does South Korean inflation targeting target?

This paper characterises South Korean monetary policy in the period of explicit inflation targeting that started in 1999. We calculate Bank of Korea's parameters in the policy objective function, conditional on an estimated macro-model. We show that this central bank appears to have pursued optimal policy geared towards achieving price stability, while displaying a considerable degree of interest rate smoothing. In addition, the central bank loss function is estimated to include negligible weights on output and exchange-rate variability.     

Does inflation lower productivity? Time series evidence on the impact of inflation on labor productivity in 12 OECD nations

According to proponents of zero-inflation policies, even low rates of inflation create distortions in capital allocation and in price signals, which result in lower rates of productivity growth. This paper tests the hypothesis that inflation has a causal impact (in the Granger sense) on labor productivity growth in manufacturing for 12 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In bivariate tests of inflation and productivity and in multivariate tests using controls for cyclical effects, there is no evidence of a consistent relationship between inflation and productivity growth with regard to either sign or magnitude. Therefore, the present analysis does not support the view that further reductions in inflation from already low single-digit levels would have a positive impact on labor productivity growth for major industrial countries.     

Depreciation,inflation and capital replacement*

Abstract. This paper examines the effects of depreciation, taxes and inflation on the optimal timing of asset replacement in accordance with the Canadian tax laws. The main findings are that an increase in the capital cost allowance rate will delay (accelerate) replacement of fixed assets at low (high) levels of capital cost allowance rates, and that an increase in the annual inflation rate will delay (accelerate) replacement of fixed assets at low (high) levels of inflation. The applications of the replacement model are illustrated with numerical examples.     

Output gaps and inflation in Mainland China

We estimate output gaps using three methods for Mainland China on annual data spanning 1982–2003. The estimates are similar and appear to co-move with inflation. Standard Phillips curves, however, do not fit the data well. This may reflect the omission of some important variable(s) such as the effect of price deregulation, trade liberalisation and/or changes in the exchange rate regime. We re-estimate the Phillips curves assuming that there is an unobserved variable that follows an AR(2) process. The modified model fits the data much better and accounts for some of the surprising features of the simple Phillips curve estimates.     

Asymmetric effects of inflation shocks on inflation uncertainty

The empirically documented regularity that dis-inflationary shocks are associated with larger output changes than are positive shocks presents an interesting puzzle to macroeconomists. This paper presents, and empirically supports, a new explanation for this asymmetry. The authors show, using a TARCH model, that negative inflationary shocks result in greater inflation uncertainty than positive shocks. As Friedman [1977] argues, and a body of empirical evidence demonstrates, inflation uncertainty leads to lower output growth. Drawing on this explanation, this essay points to an avenue by which the output asymmetry of inflationary shocks can be explained.     

通货膨胀问题初探

通货膨胀是金融理论研究和金融机构政策操作中的重要问题。本文分析了一直以来存在的对通货膨胀观点不一的物价派和货币派的理论,并在此基础上,初步探讨了通货膨胀的本质。指出通货膨胀是货币供给增多和商品供给减少的共同产物,不能将二者割裂开来。     

Coffee, money and inflation in Colombia

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between coffee, money, inflation and international competitiveness in Colombia. The basic hypothesis being investigated is that higher (lower) prices of coffee will tend to result, through the accumulation of international reserves, in higher (lower) inflation. In turn, this higher inflation will generate, for a given rate of devaluation of the nominal exchange rate, a reduction of the real exchange rate, with the consequent loss of competitiveness in the non-coffee tradable goods sector. A ‘Dutch-disease’ type of model is developed to discuss analytically the relationship between coffee prices, money creation and competitiveness in the short and long run. Empirical results for 1952–1980 are presented. These results support the hypothesis that there has been a positive relationship between the price of coffee, money creation and inflation in Colombia.     

The impact of financial development on the effectiveness of inflation targeting in developing economies

An ever-increasing number of developing economies with varied levels of financial development have adopted Inflation Targeting (IT) frameworks to guide monetary policy. Using a panel dataset of 54 developing economies over the period 1980 to 2015 (30 of which have IT frameworks), we re-visit the rather controversial issue of whether adoption of an IT framework leads to superior outcomes in terms of reducing inflation and its variability. After controlling for potential endogeneity and self-selection concerns of policy adoption, our main empirical finding is that IT frameworks appear to reduce inflation rates in developing economies regardless of the level of financial development, while it reduces variability of inflation rates only when we control for levels of financial market development. We further find that the effectiveness of IT framework on inflation is highly dependent on financial inclusion and bank characteristics, while the effect on inflation variability is more associated with components of capital market development.     

Forecasting China's economic growth and inflation

Although macroeconomic forecasting forms an integral part of the policymaking process, there has been a serious lack of rigorous and systematic research in the evaluation of out-of-sample model-based forecasts of China's real GDP growth and CPI inflation. This paper fills this research gap by providing a replicable forecasting model that beats a host of other competing models when measured by root mean square errors, especially over long-run forecast horizons. The model is shown to be capable of predicting turning points and to be usable for policy analysis under different scenarios. We find that M2 supply, rather than interest rates, is a key variable for forecasting macroeconomic variables. Annual GDP growth for the next five years is predicted to be close to the 6.5% official target and a future GDP growth path is predicted to be of L-shape rather than U-shape.     

British government and popular understanding of inflation in the mid‐1970s

In Britain in the 1970s inflation rose to historically unprecedented peace‐time levels, and became the central issue of economic policy‐making. We know a great deal about the elite policy debates on the significance of this inflation, and the arguments about how to reduce it, but we know far less about how inflation was understood by the population at large, and how those understandings were shaped. This article explores the evidence on popular understanding, especially analysing the material gathered by the Counter‐Inflation Publicity Unit, created in the summer of 1975. Along with other evidence, this material is used to explore how far the Labour government's economic propaganda can be said to have influenced popular opinion on both the significance and causes of inflation. The evidence supports the argument that the belief that trade unions were the main culprit for inflation was reinforced and entrenched by this propaganda, with important unintended consequences for the arguments about policy that followed the ‘Winter of Discontent’ of 1978/9.     

Inflation targeting and inflation persistence in Asia–Pacific

Following the Asian financial crisis in 1997–1998, a number of regional central banks adopted inflation targeting. While it is possible for the average inflation rate to be close to target, deviations of inflation could nevertheless be large and protracted. We therefore explore how successful this framework has been by looking at the persistence of inflation, as measured by the sum of the coefficients in an autoregressive model for inflation, using a median unbiased estimator and bootstrapped confidence bands. We find that persistence tends to decline following the adoption of inflation targeting. The speed by which persistence falls varies across countries. Interestingly, the economies not adopting inflation targeting show a smaller decline in persistence. Overall, we conclude that inflation targeting has performed well in Asia.