中国通货膨胀率与其不确定性之间的非线性动态关系

通货膨胀率和通货膨胀不确定性之间相互影响,二者之间的内在关系对政府运用货币政策具有重要的现实意义。本文采用1990年1月以来居民消费价格指数(CPI)的月度数据,结合随机域回归模型、系列随机域的非线性检验方法、最大似然估计及贝叶斯估计方法,对我国通货膨胀率与通货膨胀不确定性的关系进行了实证分析。实证研究发现,通货膨胀率引起了通货膨胀不确定性,两者呈现非线性的U型关系,支持了Friedman假说;大的通货膨胀不确性引起通货膨胀率先升后降,呈现非线性倒U曲线关系,Cukierman-Meltzer假说在U型左侧范围内成立,于U型右侧Holland结论成立。     

通胀率动态与通胀惯性度量

本文从通胀惯性的理论模型出发,构建无限状态Markov区制转移的计量模型,实现对通胀惯性的有效度量。对美国通胀惯性的实证分析,证实货币政策工具的频繁使用会付出通胀惯性的代价,暴露出其单一目标货币政策框架的缺陷。我国央行的调控也已经对市场利率形成了显著的传导作用,谨慎地使用货币政策工具,使我国的通胀惯性在被货币政策短暂影响后,得以有效恢复。这表明坚持实行多目标、多手段与宏观审慎政策相结合的调控模式,对维护经济环境稳定与长期发展的重要性。十国通胀惯性的度量结果与对比分析,进一步佐证了本文观点。     

Goods Inflation,Asset Inflation,and the Greatest Peacetime Inflation in the US

In every episode of global monetary inflation originating in the Federal Reserve, we find both asset price inflation and goods inflation. The interrelationship between these two types of inflation depends both on cycle-specific factors and more general factors which transcend the cycle and stem from essential aspects of monetary disorder. The purpose of this article is to analyse the nature of this interrelationship and elaborate on the concepts of monetary disorder, goods inflation, and asset inflation. In today’s world of monetary systems where there is no stable demand for high-powered money (which itself is no longer a highly distinct asset) monetary disorder can be hard to recognize until quite late in the inflationary process. Asset price inflation now has a popular meaning quite different from the original found in Austrian business cycle theory. Two decades of widespread inflation targeting at around 2% per annum have encouraged us to ignore an old lesson. In a well-functioning capitalist economy under a sound money order, prices would fluctuate considerably upwards and downwards with a tendency to revert to the mean over the very long run. Finally the principles and hypotheses developed here are analysed in the laboratory of history, specifically for the greatest peacetime inflation in the U.S. (1963–80).     

Inflation,Inflation Uncertainty,and Relative Price Variability

This paper tests three models that predict a relationship between the variability of relative price changes (RPV) and aspects of inflation such as expected inflation, unexpected inflation, and inflation uncertainty. These are, respectively, the menu-costs model, the Lucas-Barro signal-extraction model, and the Hercowitz-Cukierman extension of the Lucas-Barro model that allows for different price elasticities of supply across markets. The results imply rejection of the hypothesis that any one of the models entirely explains the relationship between inflation and RPV and also imply rejection of the hypothesis that the three models together jointly explain the relationship.     

通货膨胀、通货膨胀不确定性与中国实际产出增长

基于中国1993年1月至2010年12月的月度数据,本文采用双变量GARCH模型测量了中国通货膨胀不确定性,并借助于传统的Granger因果检验以及基于马尔科夫区制转移向量自回归(MS-VAR)模型下Granger因果检验等方法对通货膨胀、通货膨胀不确定性与中国实际产出增长进行了实证研究.本文研究发现:中国通货膨胀和通货膨胀不确定性之间存在着Granger意义上的双向因果性,在作用机制上支持了Okun-Friedman理论假说以及Holland论断;传统的Granger因果检验表明中国通货膨胀、通货膨胀不确定性对中国实际产出增长之间存在Granger意义上的因果性,但是基于MS-VAR模型的Granger因果检验研究则表明上述因果性仅存在于特定的机制下.     

The Relationship between Inflation and Inflation Uncertainty in Emerging Market Economies

A standard Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedastic (q,v) model is employed to construct a measure of monthly inflation uncertainty in 12 emerging market economies, and the relationship between inflation and inflation uncertainty is examined using Granger-causality tests. The results suggest that higher inflation rates increased inflation uncertainty in all the economies, providing strong support for the Friedman hypothesis. The evidence on the effect of inflation uncertainty on average monthly inflation is more mixed, with increased inflation uncertainty leading to lower average inflation in Colombia, Israel, Mexico, and Turkey, consistent with the Holland hypothesis, but to higher average inflation in Hungary, Indonesia, and Korea, consistent with the hypothesis of Cukierman and Meltzer.     

Monetary Aggregates Targeting,Inflation Targeting and Inflation Stabilization in Ghana

The central bank of Ghana (BoG) has operated monetary aggregates targeting and inflation targeting since the 1980s, to ensure enhanced output growth, low unemployment and stable, low inflation. Under inflation targeting, the inflation rate averaged 13.26 per cent per annum between 2007 and 2015, compared with 29.22 per cent per annum under monetary aggregates targeting. The relatively lower inflation rates notwithstanding, an average inflation rate of 13.2 per cent per annum is far above the medium‐term target of 8 per cent. This paper has examined the effectiveness of monetary aggregates targeting and inflation targeting in keeping inflation at moderate levels. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model was applied to the data covering the period 1970–2015. The results show that monetary targeting has steered inflation to moderate levels only in the short run while inflation targeting has maintained low inflation rates in both short run and long run. But neither regime has kept inflation at stable levels and within the target band, due to the sluggish transmission of broad money supply and prime rate changes to inflation. We implore the monetary authorities to strengthen the institutional setup for steering short‐term interest rates in Ghana. They should also enhance the BoG Act 2002 (Act 612), to develop secondary anchors and rules around output, money supply and fiscal deficit. Finally, the monetary policy committee should monetary policy credibility and transparency through strengthening its communication framework.     

Inflation and Inflation Expectations in South Africa: an Attempt at Explanation

This paper examines the relationship between inflation and inflation expectations in South Africa. We use inflation expectations derived from the quarterly surveys conducted by the Bureau of Economic Research from 2001Q1 to 2011Q4 . Using these data, we estimate the model assuming that private sector expectations are a linear function of the inflation target and lagged inflation. The results indicate that economic agents' expectations largely depend on lagged inflation. This suggests that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has not been successful in anchoring expectations of the private sector since the adoption of the inflation targeting (IT) regime in 2000. We also find evidence indicating that the SARB's implicit inflation target lies above the upper bound of the official IT band. Finally, it appears that the SARB has been more concerned about output stabilisation than inflation stabilisation.     

Inflation and the Consumption Function

Conclusion Nominal interest payments that come as a compensation for a fall in the real value of monetary assets can hardly be counted as income, if that variable is to have economic content. In spite of this obvious fact, and in a time when consumers are quite often modeled as being extremely rational, most econometric studies still use the disposable income data as if they were a good approximation of an economically meaningful variable even in times of inflation. Both theoretical and empirical work indicate that this is not the case. Perhaps the fact that the empirical work performed also has remarkably good prediction properties will help make econometricians think more carefully about the economic content of the data series they use.     

Exports,Inflation and Growth

This article seeks to identify some of the main determinants of exports and economic growth in cross-sectional data from the World Bank covering 160 countries for 1985–94. First, the linkages between the propensity to export and population, per capita income, agriculture, primary exports and inflation are studied by statistical methods. Then, the relationship between economic growth and some of the above-mentioned determinants of exports as well as investment are scrutinized the same way. The main conclusion is that, in the period under review, high inflation and an abundance of natural resources tended to be associated with low exports and slow growth.     

虚拟经济与当前的通货紧缩

我国自１９９７年开始,经历了以此较长时期的通货紧缩。这不但引起了人们对我国宏观经济形式的热切关注,也引起了对通货紧缩的理论研究。本文是从虚拟经济的角度重新考察虚拟经济的原因,提出通货紧缩与货币虚拟化的密切关系以及通货紧缩同虚拟经济之间的密切关系。并应用这个理论来解释物价和货币购买力的波动问题。     

关于我国高速增长与通货膨胀问题

小平同志南巡讲话以来,中华大地投资热潮一浪高过一浪,经济增长速度明显加快。对于这一热浪,各方看法不一,“冷”、“热’’之争又起。本期专稿发表了著名经济学家宋承先教授的文章《关于我国高速增长与通货膨胀问题》。宋教授在文中指出,我国已具备高速增长的物质基础,适度爬行的通货膨胀是允许的。     

Foreign Direct Investment and Inflation

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are able to shift investments between home and host countries to minimize the negative effects of changes in the macroeconomic environment. This article formalizes a model that allows studying this investment‐smoothing behavior of MNEs facing inflation taxes in both the home and the host country. The MNE is allowed to invest in two economies, home and host, and to finance its foreign direct investment (FDI) either through domestic or foreign sources. The investment smoothing by the MNE is studied for cases of both vertical and horizontal FDI. The results suggest FDI is used as a hedging tool, mitigating the effects of inflation taxes even if there are no formal hedging mechanisms. The investment‐smoothing reaction of MNEs depends on the reason for investment, the financing sources of FDI, and the substitutability between factors of production. Finally, this investment‐smoothing possibility (FDI) reduces the real negative effects of inflation.     

The Impact of Inflation Uncertainty on Output Growth and Inflation in Thailand*

We explore the impact of inflation uncertainty on output growth in Thailand, an emerging market economy with moderate inflation. Inflation and output uncertainty are modeled in a bivariate constant conditional correlation generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic (AR(p)‐cccGARCH(1,1)) specification. We include the exchange rate in the mean equations, and use the headline and core inflation rates and industrial production to generate inflation and output uncertainty series. These series are then used in Granger causality tests to make inferences about the effect of monetary policy‐induced inflation uncertainty. Causality tests show a positive relation from inflation to inflation uncertainty. Additionally, increased inflation uncertainty decreases output. These results are consistent with real costs associated with moderate inflation. Finally, we find no evidence that monetary policy reduced these costs.     

New Keynesian Explanations of Cyclical Movements in Aggregate Inflation and Regional Inflation Differentials

What determines the cyclical behavior of aggregate inflation and regional inflation differentials? The answer has strong implications for monetary policy and in Europe for the Stability and Growth Pact. In the United States, inflation rates move pro-cyclically, and across the Euro Area, inflation differentials are positively correlated with growth differentials. This suggests that demand shocks are the primary determinants of the cyclical behavior of aggregate inflation and regional inflation differentials. In this paper, we discuss New Keynesian explanations of these correlations, and we argue that demand shocks are either missing or inadequately modeled in the in typical New Keynesian model.     

Inflation Expectations and Inflation Uncertainty in the Eurozone: Evidence from Survey Data

This paper uses the European Commission’s Consumer Survey to assess whether inflation expectations have converged and whether inflation uncertainty has diminished following the introduction of the euro in Europe. Consumers’ responses to the survey suggest that inflation expectations depend more on past national inflation rates than on the ECB’s anchor for price stability. Inflation expectations do not converge significantly faster than actual inflation rates. Regarding inflation uncertainty, the data indicate a relationship with country size following the introduction of the euro. This suggests that within EMU, inflation uncertainty may increase in countries that have a smaller influence on ECB policy. JEL no.  D84, E31, E58     

Inflation in South Africa: An Assessment of Alternative Inflation Models

We consider the relative empirical performance of a range of inflation models for South Africa. Model coverage is of Phillips curve, New Keynesian Phillips curve, monetarist and structural models of inflation. Our core findings are that the single most robust covariate of inflation is unit labour cost. We further decompose unit labour cost into changes in the nominal wage and real labour productivity. The principal association is a strong positive relationship between inflation and nominal wages, while improvements in real labour productivity report only a relatively weak negative association with inflation. Supply‐side shocks also consistently report an association with inflation. As to demand‐side shocks, the output gap does not return a robust statistical association with inflation. Instead, it is growth in the money supply and government expenditure which return robust and theoretically consistent associations with inflationary pressure.     

Inflation and Macroeconomic Instability in Madagascar

The relationships between inflation and macroeconomic instability are discussed analytically, using a simple monetary model with rational expectations, with an application to the case of Madagascar. The recent macroeconomic history of this country suggests that high inflation is correlated with high volatility of the inflation rate and the real effective exchange rate. The relevance of this observation is confirmed by an empirical analysis of the relationships between inflation, competitiveness and instability in Madagascar.