Oil prices and economic downturns: the case of Spain

We address the macroeconomic effects of an oil price shock in Spain. We apply a vector autoregression model (VAR) analysis to quarterly data for the Spanish economy since 1986, to elucidate the effects of variations in the oil price on the economy, considering the three main causes of disruptions in the oil markets: oil supply shocks, oil demand shocks and oil-specific (precautionary) demand shocks. We conclude that the effects in Spain strongly depend on the type of shock: the consumer price index (CPI) has mainly been influenced by oil demand shocks; output has only reacted to oil supply shocks; and monetary policy has mainly reacted after precautionary shocks. Second-round effects caused by the behaviour of nominal wages have not been found. Additionally, we discuss two facts: the ability of firms to increase markups in a context of rising demand and the procyclical role of monetary policy when faced with oil demand shocks.     

中国经济周期波动的制度冲击效应分析

经济制度变革成为中国宏观经济经历的影响最深远的整体性、持久性的外生冲击之一,制度变动的冲击对我国经济周期的变动特征产生了深刻的影响。文章运用经济计量方法对制度冲击改变我国经济周期特征进行了检验,并通过市场化程度、非国有化水平和开放度三个制度冲击变量检验了其与我国经济周期波动的相关性,其结论证明在我国受政治背景的影响而出台的重大的经济制度改革对经济的发展影响巨大而深远,制度变动冲击对经济的周期变动的方向及程度起到了较大的决定作用。     

Using Romer and Romer's new measure of monetary policy shocks to identify the AD and AS shocks

This article re-examines the series of (exogenous) Federal Funds Rate (FFR) shocks created by Romer and Romer (2004) for the period 1969:01–1996:12. We hypothesize that if Romer and Romer have constructed a reasonable set of monetary policy shocks, then including them in a small Vector Autoregression (VAR) should help to identify other structural shocks that affected the United States economy during their sample period. Using a sample period of 1971:01–1996:12 we are easily able to identify both an Aggregate Demand (AD) shock and an Aggregate Supply (AS) shock without imposing any sign or long-run restrictions. We present historical decompositions that allow us to compare the relative importance of these shocks with that of the exogenous monetary policy shocks in explaining output fluctuations during the 1973–1975, 1980–1984 and 1990–1991 business cycle episodes.     

The Canadian underground and measured economies: Granger causality results

Using new time-series data for the size of the Canadian underground economy, the relationship between unreported and measured GDP in that country is examined. Granger causality tests are conducted, with a proper allowance for the non-stationarity of the data. It is found that there is clear evidence of such causality from measured GDP to ‘hidden’ output, but only very mild evidence of Granger causality in the reverse direction. This result supports similar evidence for New Zealand reported by the first author, and has several interesting policy implications.     

中国经济周期波动的制度冲击效应分析

经济制度变革成为中国宏观经济经历的影响最深远的整体性、持久性的外生冲击之一,制度变动的冲击对我国经济周期的变动特征产生了深刻的影响.本文运用经济计量方法对制度冲击改变我国经济周期特征进行了检验,并通过市场化程度、非国有化水平和开放度三个制度冲击变量检验了其与我国经济周期波动的相关性,其结论证明:在我国受政治背景的影响而出台的重大的经济制度改革对经济发展影响巨大而深远,制度变动冲击对经济周期变动的方向及程度起到了较大的决定作用.     

我国供给和需求冲击的区域差异效应研究——基于结构VAR的分析

本文根据Blanchard and Quah发展的结构VAR技术,将影响中国沿海和内陆地区实际GDP与通货膨胀率的冲击分解为供给和需求冲击。估算结果发现,沿海和内陆地区供给冲击的同步性较高但呈下降趋势,需求冲击的同步性弱于供给冲击,不过呈提高趋势,但由于区域协调而降低了其短期内的同步性。根据累积脉冲响应函数和预测误差方差分解结果,实际GDP和价格水平波动的绝大部分分别来自于供给和需求冲击,需求层面的区域协调对缩小区域差距无济于事,反而引致内陆地区的价格波动。各地区对供给和需求冲击反应的差异,使得在宏观调控和区域协调方面产生效率和区域平等、需求管理型宏观政策有效性和区域平等的两难困境。破解之道在于从影响区域反应差异的因素入手,提高内陆地区实际产出对内陆地区正向供给、需求冲击的反应强度和降低沿海需求冲击对内陆地区的负效应。     

Do technology shocks lower hours worked? – Evidence from Japanese industry level data

We examine the response of productivity and hours worked to technology and nontechnology shocks using the Japan Industrial Productivity (JIP) Database. We find that, at the aggregate level, positive technology shocks increase hours worked both in the manufacturing and the nonmanufacturing sector, accounting for a large fraction in the variances of hours worked. At the two- and three-digit industry levels, in contrast, we find that the correlation between productivity and hours worked in response to sectoral technology shocks tends to be negative. Further, we find that neither aggregate nor sectoral technology shocks appear to be the dominant factor underlying fluctuations in hours worked at the disaggregate level. The productivity decline in response to nontechnology shocks is not related to a permanent change in the relative size of industries.     

Exchange rates and asymmetric shocks in small open economies

We study the stabilizing properties of exchange rates in five small open economies during to periods of floating exchange rates and inflation targeting. In the cases of Sweden and Canada, the nominal exchange rates behave in a stabilizing manner. Most exchange rate movements emanate from the exchange rate itself and are hence not responses to fundamental shocks. However, these non-fundamental shocks have only negligible effects on output and inflation. Our findings indicate that exchange rates display some stabilizing properties but can mainly be characterized as disconnected from the rest of the economy. We would like to thank Nils Gottfries and participants at seminars at Uppsala University and the Riksbank for helpful advice and useful comments. Post gratefully acknowledges financial support from Handelsbankens forskningsstiftelser.     

How do US credit supply shocks propagate internationally? A GVAR approach

We study how US credit supply shocks are transmitted to other economies. We use the recently developed GVAR approach to model financial variables jointly with macroeconomic variables in 33 countries for the period 1983–2009. We experiment with inter-country links based on bilateral trade, portfolio investment, foreign direct investment and banking exposures. Capturing both bilateral trade and financial exposures in a GVAR fits the data better than using trade weights only. We use sign restrictions on the short-run impulse responses in the US model to identify the credit supply shocks. We find that negative credit supply shocks have strong negative effects on US and foreign GDP. Credit and equity markets in several countries respond clearly to the shocks. Exchange rate responses are consistent with a “flight to quality” to the US dollar. The credit supply shocks explain about a fifth of one-year-ahead output forecast error variance in the US and about a tenth in the euro area and the UK, but considerably less elsewhere.     

Oil currencies in the face of oil shocks: what can be learned from time-varying specifications?

While the oil currency property is clearly established from a theoretical viewpoint, its existence is less clear-cut in the empirical literature. We investigate the reasons for this apparent puzzle by studying the time-varying nature of the relationship between real effective exchange rates of five oil exporters and the real price of oil in the aftermath of the oil price shocks of the last two decades. Accordingly, we rely on a time-varying parameter VAR specification, which allows the responses of real exchange rates to different oil price shocks to evolve over time. We find that the reason of the mixed results obtained in the empirical literature is that oil currencies follow different hybrid models in the sense that oil countries’ real exchange rates may be driven by one or several sources of oil price shocks that furthermore can vary over time. In addition to structural changes affecting oil countries, structural changes arising from the oil market itself through the various, time-varying sources of oil price shocks are found to be crucial.     

货币供应量能预测中国通货膨胀吗?

研究表明,M0,M1,M2均对我国通货膨胀没有影响,且不能预测通货膨胀。因此,在短期内不能单纯采用控制货币供应量的货币政策来治理通货膨胀。但是,即便货币供应量对通货膨胀没有影响,仍不能否认货币供应量作为中介目标的意义,也不意味着可以任意地发行货币。     

利率期限结构与宏观经济因素的动态相依性——基于VAR模型的经验研究

利率期限结构的变化受到各种宏观经济冲击的影响,宏观经济冲击通过利率期限结构的变化影响到资产收益曲线。文章通过估计和检验结构VAR模型,发现货币冲击、供给冲击和价格冲击都对短期利率产生了持续显著的影响,而对长期利率则没有显著作用效果。宏观经济冲击只对收益曲线的截距参数具有显著影响,而对收益曲线的斜率参数和曲率参数的影响微弱。     

IS THE PHILLIPS CURVE DIFFERENT IN POOR COUNTRIES?

It has been suggested that the Phillips curve (positive output‐inflation correlation) is inverted in poor countries. It is argued here that the truth is more complex. In poor countries temporary supply‐side shocks, for example to agricultural output, induce a negative correlation between prices and output rather than between inflation rates and output. Empirical evidence supports this hypothesis.