A Bayesian Approach to Double Bounded Contingent Valuation

In this paper we propose a Bayesian approach to model double bounded contingent valuation data. The double bounded elicitation method is interpreted as a two tier iterated process in which the subject is allowed to have a second thought about his/her valuation for the environmental good. Prior information is modelled from the answers to the first dichotomous choice question. The model is Quasi-Bayesian (Q-B) in that the prior distribution refers to mean willingness to pay while the likelihood function refers to the proportions of a multinomial distribution. This model is applied to empirical data from a contingent valuation survey involving the valuation expressed by European tourists for access to natural areas in the Canary Islands. Results show that point estimate of consumer surplus computed with the Q-B model does not differ substantially from single bounded model estimation. In addition, double bounded seems to be quite robust to the choice of the prior model of willingness to pay responses. Comparison with open ended suggests that the Q-B model might be useful to control for strategic response and starting point biases.     

What Caused the Asian Crises: An Early Warning System Approach

We estimate a simple probit model of the probability of balance-of-payments crises over a panel of developing countries through 1995. We then forecast crisis probabilities for 1997. We find that a simple model composed of four traditional macroeconomic variables and one 'second generation' variable performs well in predicting the Asia crises. The Thai and Malaysian crises had predominantly first-generation features, while the crises in Korea and Indonesia are, to some extent, predictable largely on the basis of our second-generation variable.
(J.E.L.: F31, F47).     

A Bayesian Approach To Testing for Markov-Switching in Univariate and Dynamic Factor Models

Though Hamilton's (1989) Markov-switching model has been widely estimated in various contexts, formal testing for Markov-switching is not straightforward. Univariate tests in the classical framework by Hansen (1992) and Garcia (1998) do not reject the linear model for GDP. We present Bayesian tests for Markov-switching in both univariate and multivariate settings based on sensitivity of the posterior probability to the prior. We find that evidence for Markov-switching, and thus the business cycle asymmetry, is stronger in a switching version of the dynamic factor model of Stock and Watson (1991) than it is for GDP by itself.     

A Fiscal Theory of Currency Crises

An exchange rate crisis is caused when the fiscal authority lets the present value of primary surpluses, inclusive of seigniorage, deviate from the value of government debt at the pegged exchange rate. In the absence of long-term government bonds, the exchange rate collapse must be instantaneous. With long-term government bonds, the collapse can be delayed at the discretion of the monetary authority. Fiscal policy is responsible for the inevitability of a crisis, while monetary policy determines its characteristics, that is, the timing of the crisis and the magnitude of exchange rate depreciation.     

货币危机传染理论评析

本文首先界定了货币危机传染及其经济表象 ,然后比较分析了各种货币危机传染模型。而根据众多的实证研究结论 ,也可以证明货币危机传染理论模型的有效性。     

The Macroeconomic Consequences of Mixing Sunnis and Shias: A Bayesian Errors-in-Variables Approach

How damaging is the Sunni/Shia split to the economies of Islamic countries? Is it better to be one or the other? Or is it better to have an even balance between the two? Answering these questions is complicated by the fact that the data are often missing or imprecisely measured. We employ the technique of Bayesian data augmentation to circumvent these two problems, and find that properly controlling for these features in the data leads to drastically different conclusions than what is found using ordinary least squares. We find that there is nothing in the differential nature of Sunni or Shia Islam to make one more economically prosperous than the other. Nor do we find any support for the popular hypothesis that Sunnis and Shias cannot mix.     

A Model of Crises in Emerging Markets

This paper presents a perfect foresight model of speculative attacks on emerging markets. Credit constrained governments are assumed to have two objectives: to accumulate liquid assets in order to self-insure against shocks to national consumption and to insure poorly regulated domestic financial markets. This policy regime generates endogenous fiscal deficits defined to include the growth of contingent liabilities. The model sets out a sequence of yield differentials consistent with capital inflows followed by anticipated speculative attacks. The model suggests that a common shock generated capital inflows to emerging markets in Asia and Latin America after 1989.     

银行危机与货币危机共生性关系的实证研究

1 997— 1 998年的亚洲金融风暴中 ,银行危机与货币危机的同时爆发 ,即共生性危机的发生引发国际社会与学术界对这种现象的重新思考 :这种共生性现象是否确实具有普遍性 ?从理论的角度来看 ,银行危机与货币危机之间的确存在着一定的联系 ,但到目前为止 ,很少有研究从实证的角度来证明这种联系的确存在。正是基于此 ,本文从实证的角度出发 ,旨在揭示出银行危机与货币危机之间的确存在着相互影响 ,换言之 ,共生性危机的发生是具有显著性的。具体来说 ,本文以 1 975— 2 0 0 0年期间 53个国家危机的发生情况为研究对象 ,分别运用频率分布、信号法 ,以及概率回归模型来分析两种危机的共生性 ,并得到非常一致的结论 :在新兴市场国家中 ,银行危机与货币危机之间的确存在着明显的相互关系 ,同时银行危机更趋向于作为货币危机即将发生的同步或预警指标 ,而反之则不然。     

对金融危机风险传染效应的比较研究——基于静态与动态copula函数的分析

随着国际经济一体化程度的提高,一国经济的突发性事件导致国际金融市场间关联程度发生变化,甚至对世界范围内的经济产生传染效应.本文运用Skew t-GARCH模型处理了时间序列数据表现出来的尖峰、波动性和厚尾等特性,并结合静态和动态copula函数方法,比较了近20年两次金融危机前后美、中两国三个金融市场间相关结构的变化,从而对金融风险的传染效应和传染途径进行了对比分析.     

Predicting the Crises of the Greek Drachma

The paper investigates the role of fundamentals in the speculative episodes experienced by the Greek drachma during the 1990s, and examines whether the openness of the Greek economy has altered the role of fundamentals in the likelihood of a currency crisis. An interesting aspect of the empirical analysis is that the crises are related significantly to macroeconomic fundamentals of the Greek economy. The analysis shows that the openness of the Greek economy has introduced new elements and concerns in the predictability of speculative attacks on the drachma.     

The Workout of Banking Crises: A Macroeconomic Perspective

This paper provides a macroeconomic perspective for governmentinterventions in banking crisis. Such crisis occur when a largenumber of banks fail to meet capital requirements or are insolvent.Using a macroeconomic model with financial intermediation, ouranalyis suggests that strict enforcement of capital-adequaterules suffices in prosperous periods. Capital requirements serveas an indicator for crises interventions in critical stateswhich may require interest rate intervention and restructuringof the banking industry. These policies can be reinforced byrandom bailouts and temporary financial relief, with a largepercentage of the costs being covered by current and futureowners of banks. (JEL D41, E4, G2)     

A structural Bayesian VAR for model-based fan charts

Inflation forecast uncertainty is of importance for a wide range of agents in the economy, central banks in particular. Ways to describe and account for this uncertainty in a consistent manner have received increasing attention of late, in part due to the growing number of inflation-targeting central banks. This article develops a large structural VAR for the Swedish economy and estimates it in a Bayesian framework. The methodology permits not only structural interpretation and analysis but offers a natural way to formalize forecast uncertainty, as the posterior predictive density from the model has the interpretation of a fan chart.     

关于第一第二代货币危机的理论分析与政策建议

20世纪90年代汇率危机频繁发生，极大地冲击了一些汇率目标区，使固定汇率难以维持，汇率危机的发生并非偶然，在资本管制放松，资本流动规模日益庞大的情况下，只要经济出现某种失衡或政策控制出现明显的漏洞，都将可能引起投机制资本对固定汇率的冲击。文章首先分析第一代货币危机（克鲁格曼模型）的条件和过程，即国内信用扩张的情况下投机导致的外汇储备资产流失，直至货币当局宣布放弃固定汇率，其次，分析第二代资本危机的基本特征和条件，再次，就多重均衡条件下政府的福州损失比较进一步分析汇率危机发生的隐含条件；最后就可避免危机的发生提出一些相关的政策建议。     

Intelligence, Human Capital, and Economic Growth: A Bayesian Averaging of Classical Estimates (BACE) Approach

Human capital plays an important role in the theory of economic growth, but it has been difficult to measure this abstract concept. We survey the psychological literature on cross-cultural IQ tests and conclude that intelligence tests provide one useful measure of human capital. Using a new database of national average IQ, we show that in growth regressions that include only robust control variables, IQ is statistically significant in 99.8% of these 1330 regressions, easily passing a Bayesian model-averaging robustness test. A 1 point increase in a nation’s average IQ is associated with a persistent 0.11% annual increase in GDP per capita.     

A characterization of virtual Bayesian implementation

We provide a characterization of virtual Bayesian implementation in pure strategies for environments satisfying no-total-indifference. A social choice function in such environments is virtually Bayesian implementable if and only if it satisfies incentive compatibility and a condition we term virtual monotonicity. The latter is weaker than Bayesian monotonicity—known to be necessary for Bayesian implementation. Virtual monotonicity is weak in the sense that it is generically satisfied in environments with at least three alternatives. This implies that in most environments virtual Bayesian implementation is as successful as it can be (incentive compatibility is the only condition needed).     

金融危机下农村合作金融发展的出路

金融危机的持续蔓延给中国的金融界敲响了警钟。在金融危机之下,如何以自身定位积极应对,破解发展瓶颈,践行社会责任,实现稳健可持续发展,支持地方经济又好又快发展,成为当前农村合作金融面临的重要课题。农村合作金融是农村金融的主力军,由社员群众人股组成,实行民主管理,以“立足地方,服务三农”为宗旨,遵循“自主经营、自担风险、自负盈亏、自我约束”。