Instrumental variables and wavelet decompositions

The application of wavelet analysis provides an orthogonal decomposition of a time series by time scale, thereby facilitating the decomposition of a data series into the sum of a structural component and a random error component. The structural components revealed by the wavelet analysis yield nearly ideal instrumental variables for variables observed with error and for co-endogenous variables in simultaneous equation models. Wavelets also provide an efficient way to explore the path of the structural component of the series to be analyzed and can be used to detect some specification errors. The methodology described in this paper is applied to the errors in variables problem and simultaneous equations case using some simulation exercises and to the analysis of a version of the Phillips curve with interesting results.     

Price convergence in US cities: a cointegration approach with two structural breaks

This article investigates how the price indices of major cities of the US respond to the shock from a city and from monetary policy. We find that the crisis of Bretton Woods system in 1968 and the oil crisis in 1974 should be incorporated as structural breaks in monetary policy variables and price indices. Using cointegration technique with structural break in our aggregated data, we find that the average half-life is 1.75 years, which is closer to what some of others found in disaggregated data, and that the interest rate is an effective tool for controlling cities’ price in short run.     

Measuring monetary policy with empirically grounded identifying restrictions

This article reevaluates the impulse response functions (IRFs) to a monetary policy shock of the structural vector autoregression (SVAR). Identifying restrictions are specified and justified based on empirical evidence,i.e., conditional independence relations of variables, which is an important dimension that a good model must be able to mimic. The empirical-based approach is able to significant narrow down the set of admissible causal orders to identify the IRFs to a monetary policy shock (from 2,482 to 8). I find that most of the qualitative “stylized” features reported in the literature remain intact. However, the quantitative predictions are much less certain than what is commonly perceived.     

Do money and financial variables help forecasting output in emerging European Economies?

Whether including monetary aggregates and different financial variables into small scale BVAR models improves the accuracy of output forecasts is tested for three emerging European economies. Various specifications for the priors of the BVAR models are used. The results are found to vary with respect to prior specification, variables, as well as prediction horizon. The evidence is stronger when the forecasting accuracy is compared based on log predictive likelihood but weaker when the RMSEs are used. These results may constitute evidence against dismissing the monetary aggregates or financial variables as completely irrelevant.     

上市公司行为短期化：来自现金分配的证据

股利政策被认为是公司发展战略的重要组成部份。本文在分析股利分配相关理论的基础上，通过对我国上市公司股利分配政策的考察，分析了可能影响公司股利政策的一些指标变量，并利用相关模型进行检验。研究结果表明，我国上市公司在决定是否发放现金股利和发放多少时，主要是依据公司短期盈利指标，较少考虑公司的长期发展指标。上市公司这种短期化的现金分配政策隐含着长期投资风险较大，导致投资者行为普遍短期化，从而加剧股票市场的波动。     

FDI对GDP增长的影响评价——基于山东省产业的实证研究

关于FDI对中国经济发展的贡献,引起了很大的关注。以山东省为考察对象,选用科学的模型和变量,定量分析FDI对不同产业GDP增长的贡献。分析结果证明,山东省利用FDI在不同产业取得了不同的效果,基于这一点,最后提出了今后在不同产业利用FDI的对策建议。     

创新网络嵌入性、社区意识对企业创新绩效的影响

借助嵌入性理论将社区意识作为关系嵌入性与结构嵌入性形成的前因变量引入创新网络进行分析,提出社区意识、嵌入性与创新绩效三者间关系的假设模型。采用中国情境下的成熟量表对相应变量进行测量,并借助SPSS25.0和AMOS24.0构造结构方程模型,对电子数码、医药、食品及机械零部件等行业企业的110份有效调研问卷进行分析。结果表明：社区意识对创新绩效存在显著正向影响;社区意识对关系嵌入性与结构嵌入性存在显著正向影响;关系嵌入性对创新绩效有显著正向作用,而结构嵌入性与创新绩效之间的因果关系不显著;关系嵌入性部分中介了社区意识对创新绩效的正向影响。最后,提出相应的创新网络治理措施。     

Growth accounting for the euro area

This article is concerned with the estimation of euro area potential output growth and its decomposition according to the sources of growth. The growth accounting exercise is based on a multivariate structural time series model which combines the decomposition of total output according to the production function approach with price and wage equations that embody Phillips-type relationships linking inflation and nominal wage dynamics to the output gap and cyclical unemployment, respectively. Assuming a Cobb?CDouglas technology with constant returns to scale, potential output results from the combination of the trend levels of total factor productivity (TFP) and factor inputs, capital and labour (hours worked), which is decomposed into labour intensity (average hours worked), the employment rate, the participation rate and population of working age. The nominal variables (prices and wages) play an essential role in defining the trend levels of the components of potential output, as the latter should pose no inflationary pressures on prices and wages. The structural model is further extended to allow for the estimation of potential output growth and the decomposition according to the sources of growth at different horizons (long run, medium run and short run); in particular, we propose and evaluate a model-based approach to the extraction of the low-pass component of potential output growth at different cut-off frequencies. The approach has two important advantages: the signal extraction filters have an automatic adaptation property at the boundaries of the sample period, so that the real-time estimates do not suffer from what is often referred to as the ??end-of-sample bias??. Secondly, it is possible to assess the uncertainty of potential output growth estimates with different degrees of smoothness.     

A modified procedure for simulation of macroeconometric models

The rational expectations literature suggests that even the effects of unanticipated changes in policy variables may not be accurately described by conventionalsimulations of macroeconometric models. Beginning with Zellner and Palm's time-series approach to structural econometric modelling, a modified simulation procedure is developed to examine the effects of changes in policy variables which are consistent with historic time-series processes. A state-space representation and the Akaike Information Criterion are used to model exogenous variable processes, and results from modified and conventional simulations are compared.     

The Feldstein–Horioka Puzzle and structural breaks: Evidence from EU members

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of capital mobility in European Union members using the Feldstein–Horioka puzzle proposed by Feldstein and Horioka (1980) in order to investigate relations between saving and investment flows. In this paper, data for 23 European countries were used over the period of 1995–2009 on the quarterly basis. Two different tests were used to estimate the stationarity of the model variables, which are the Ng and Perron (2001) unit root test procedure and approach proposed by Zivot and Andrews (1992) for unit root test allowing for a structural shift. Then the Kejriwal and Perron (2008, 2010) structural break test was applied to determine the presence of structural breaks in series. In most countries except Belgium and Finland UDmax and WDmax tests rejected the hypothesis of no breaks. To test the cointegration relationships between investment and saving flows of European Union members three different cointegration techniques were applied to the data. Firstly, the Johansen (1988) cointegration approach was used for the case of no cointegration shifts, then the Gregory and Hansen (1996) cointegration test was applied, which allows for one structural shift. Finally, again the Johansen' cointegration approach was used; however, this time with the inclusion of dummy variables related to earlier selected structural break locations. The empirical results provided stronger evidence of cointegration between investment and saving variables in the case of structural break accommodation compared to the case where the presence of structural breaks was ignored. The estimated saving retention coefficient in the presence of structural breaks using the Kejriwal and Perron (2008, 2010) approach appeared relatively low in many cases, illustrating by this the openness of estimated countries. In general, world and European countries with time have a tendency to a higher level of their capital market openness. Estimations of a saving retention coefficient in the presence of structural changes do not support the existence of the Feldstein–Horioka Puzzle in the considered EU countries, except Belgium.     

On the distribution of education and democracy

This paper empirically analyzes the influence of education on democracy by controlling for unobservable heterogeneity and by taking into account the persistency of some of the variables. The most novel finding is that an increase in the education attained by the majority of the population is what matters for the implementation and sustainability of democracy, rather than the average years of schooling. We show this result is robust to issues pertaining omitted variables, outliers, sample selection, or a narrow definition of the variables used to measure democracy.     

The forecasting ability of a cointegrated VAR system of the UK tourism demand for France, Spain and Portugal

This paper uses the vector autoregressive (VAR) methodology as an alternative to Deaton and Muellbauer’s Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS), to establish the long-run relationships between I(1) variables: tourism shares, tourism prices and UK tourism budget. With appropriate testing, the deterministic components and sets of exogenous and endogenous variables of the VAR are established, and Johansen’s rank test is used to determine the number of cointegrated vectors in the system. The cointegrated VAR structural form is identified and the long-run structural parameters are estimated. Theoretical restrictions such as homogeneity and symmetry are tested and not rejected by the VAR structure. The fully restricted cointegrated VAR model reveals itself a theoretically consistent and statistically robust means to analyse the long-run demand behaviour of UK tourists, and an accurate multi-step forecaster of the destinations’ shares when compared with unrestricted reduced form and first differenced VARs, or even with the structural AIDS model.     

A convenient representation for structural vector autoregressions

Latent variables are used to rewrite a wide class of structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) models. The framework is general enough to include as particular cases all just and over-identified models recently used in applied macroeconomics. The latent variables representation can conveniently be estimated with standard software packages like LISREL, EQS, LINCS and AMOS, for example. The approach is illustrated by using the models of Blanchard and Quah (1989) and Swanson and Granger (1997). First version received: October 1999/Final version accepted: August 2000     

基于价值创造和公司治理的财务状态分析与预测模型研究

我国约70%的上市公司处于价值损害状态。考虑到公司在对债权人违约之前,必先经历损害股东价值的阶段。因此,本文根据“价值创造观”(Value-Creation)来考察“价值损害型公司”的动态变化及其影响因素,并收集我国1998—2003年540家价值损害型上市公司的有关财务变量,首次引入公司内外部治理变量,应用“排序因变量模型”分析财务状态变化的影响因素,并采用“人工神经网络技术”,预测价值损害型企业的五种变化趋势:财务康复、财务转好、财务维持、财务转差或财务困境。结果表明:(1)总资产收益率等财务指标的改善,公司治理水平的提升或投资者保护程度的增强都有助于公司财务康复,反之则将导致公司陷入财务困境。(2)若公司在T年被界定为价值损害型公司,当采用T年和T+1年的数据分别构造“LMBP神经网络模型”来预测企业T+2年的财务状况的五种态势时,则预测准确率分别为55.1%和77.8%。(3)除财务指标外,股票超额收益率、本文构造的公司治理指数和投资者利益保护指数有助于预测价值损害型企业未来财务状态的变化趋势。     

工作团队凝聚力、组织公民行为与工作绩效关系——基于服务性企业的实证研究

本文以123个服务性企业的工作团队为研究对象,运用群体内部一致性系数Rwg将个体水平的变量转换成群体水平的变量,采用结构方程模型进行分析,探讨团队凝聚力、团队整体上表现出的组织公民行为与工作绩效的关系.研究结果表明,团队整体上表现出的组织公民行为对团队工作绩效具有积极的影响作用;团队凝聚力是组织公民行为的显著预测变量,并且与工作绩效成正相关.这一研究结论可以为提高服务性企业工作团队的工作绩效提供积极的指导意义.     

A Data Envelopment Analysis of the Efficiency of Victorian TAFE Institutes

In recent years the provision of vocational education and training has been recognised as having a vital role to play in improving Australia's economic performance and in alleviating the hardship of the long term unemployed. The importance of education and training gives rise to the issue of operating educational institutions with a high level of efficiency. In this article, Data Envelopment Analysis is used to derive estimates of the technical and scale efficiency of Victorian Technical and Further Education Institutes in 1995. The results reveal substantial dispersion in technical and scale efficiencies. Regression analysis is used to identify variables which are associated with technical inefficiency.     

Monetary policy and dividend growth in Germany: long-run structural modelling versus bounds testing approach

This study examines the long-run relationship between monetary policy and dividend growth in Germany. For this purpose, cointegration is tested for between both variables in the period 1974 to 2003. However, problems related to spurious regression arise from the mixed order of integration of the series used, from mutual causation between the variables and from the lack of a long-run relationship among the variables of the model. These problems are addressed by applying the bounds testing approach to cointegration in addition to a more standard long-run structural modelling approach. In principle, both procedures are capable of dealing with the controversial issue of the exogeneity of monetary policy vis-à-vis dividend growth. However, the structural modelling approach still leaves a certain degree of uncertainty about the integration properties of the interest rate and the dividend growth. Hence, one feels legitimized to refer to the bounds testing procedure and to conclude that in the longer term short-term rates drive stock returns but not vice versa.     

Scale effects,time-varying markups,and the cyclical behaviour of primal and dual productivity

This paper presents estimates of the degree of returns to scale using nonparametric measures of primal and dual productivity for 2-digit US manufacturing industries. As part of the analysis, the cyclical behaviour of primal and dual productivity measures are considered, time-varying markups are allowed for, and the small sample properties of the instrumental variables estimator used to derive the estimates from the primal and dual relations examined. Both the primal and dual estimates indicate the existence of increasing returns to scale for the durable goods industries. The simulation results indicate there is a slight tendency for the dual equation estimates to overestimate the degree of returns to scale. However, small sample bias appears to be most severe for the non-durable goods industries.     

Do Monetary Unions Make Economic Sense? Evidence from the Scandinavian Currency Union, 1873–1913

Popular propositions as to what constitutes a successful single currency area are examined by looking at the Scandinavian Currency Union (1873–1913) formed by Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Applying a frequently used indicator of the desirability of monetary union, we study the symmetry of country-specific structural shocks (measured net of the non-Scandinavian influence) in these three countries. It is found that country-specific shocks are not highly symmetric. This conclusion is also supported by the absence of clear-cut differences between the pattern of structural shocks in Belgium and structural shocks in the Scandinavian countries. This suggests that the three Scandinavian countries did not form an optimum currency area during the period 1873–1913.
JEL classification : F 15; F 33; N 13     

Dynamic factor models of consumption,hours and income

This paper addresses two questions in the economics of intertemporal choice. First, what are the key factors that drive fluctuations in income and what are the time paths of their effects? Second, how do consumers respond to these factors? We answer these questions by estimating dynamic factor models of consumption, hours, wages, unemployment, and income that account for measurement error and the fact that variables used in the study are measured at different time intervals and/or are aggregates for the calendar year. We pay special attention to a dynamic factor representation of a joint life cycle model of consumption and labour supply, which permits us to quantify the effect of wages, unemployment, and other factors on the marginal utility of income as well as to estimate the substitution effects of wage changes on labour supply and consumption.