Saving dynamics in the Asian countries

This paper investigates empirically the factors that have influenced the savings behavior in the fast growing Asian economies—Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. Both the short and long-run movements of savings are modeled during the 1960–1997. The empirical results of the analysis based on time series data may be summarized as follows: (i) foreign savings deters domestic saving both in the short and long run; (ii) savings does not Granger cause economic growth, except for Singapore; (iii) the effect of interest rate on saving in Asian countries is inconclusive and it reflects the extent of financial liberalization adopted in these countries; and (iv) in the long run the causality runs from foreign to domestic savings.     

Causal Relationship between Domestic Savings and Economic Growth: Evidence from Seven African Countries

This paper utilizes cointegration and the vector error‐correction model (VECM) to explore the causal relationship between economic growth and growth rate of domestic savings for Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia. Specifically, three analyses were undertaken. First, the time series properties of economic growth and domestic savings were ascertained with the help of the augmented Dickey–Fuller unit root procedure. Second, the long‐run relationship between economic growth and growth rate of domestic savings was examined in the context of the Johansen and Juselius (1990) framework. Finally, a Granger‐causality test was undertaken to determine the direction of causality between economic growth and growth rate of domestic savings. The results indicate one order of integration [I(1)] for each of the series. The results of the cointegration tests suggest that there is a long‐run relationship between economic growth and growth rate of savings. The results from the Granger‐causality tests indicate that contrary to the conventional wisdom, economic growth prima facie causes growth rate of domestic savings for most of the countries under consideration.     

中国转轨时期金融深化与经济增长关系实证分析

文章采用协整检验与基于VAR模型的Granger因果关系检验,分析了改革开放以来我国金融深化与经济增长之间的关系.研究表明,金融深化与经济增长既存在长期的稳定关系,也存在双向因果关系.因此,在促进我国经济增长的战略中,要充分重视金融深化因素的作用.同时通过聚类分析表明,我国金融深化进程以1991年为界限划分为前后两个阶段,在前一个阶段中经济增长主导金融深化,而在后一个阶段中金融深化主导经济增长.     

金融摩擦下利率市场化改革对经济增长的影响研究

当前我国正面临经济增长放缓、流动性趋紧、利率居高不下的复杂局面,如何推进利率市场化改革以维护金融稳定、促进经济增长是重要的课题。文章构建包含金融摩擦因素的经济增长模型,并选用1980—2013年的数据进行实证检验。研究认为,利率变化对储蓄的影响是正向的,对投资的影响在2000年前后由正转负,与经济增长长期负相关,随着利率市场化改革的深入,利率的经济增长弹性呈增大趋势。未来利率市场化改革的重点,在短期应稳健审慎推进存款利率上限放开,在长期应优化金融市场结构畅通利率微观传导机制。     

Re‐Visiting Financial Development and Economic Growth Nexus: The Role of Capitalization in Bangladesh

This paper revisits the relationship between financial development and economic growth in Bangladesh by incorporating trade openness in production function using quarter frequency data over the period of 1976‐2012. We applied combined Bayer–Hanck cointegration approach to examine cointegration among the series. Our empirical evidence suggests that development of financial sector facilitates economic growth but capitalization impedes it. In addition, trade openness stimulates economic growth. Labour is also positively linked to economic growth. The vector error correction model Granger causality results divulge that financial development causes real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth, and resultantly, real per capita GDP growth causes financial development in a Granger sense. The results also show that trade and labour Granger cause economic growth. The findings of the paper provide insights for policymakers to use financial development and trade openness as a tool for sustained economic growth in the long run. The paper also suggests policymakers to utilise capitalization in a way that is beneficial for economic growth of Bangladesh.     

服务业FDI自由化与我国经济福利关系实证分析

本文利用我国1985~2005年数据对服务业FDI自由化与福利效应之间的关系进行实证分析发现:服务业FDI自由化在长期内有利于我国经济福利的改善,但短期内对我国经济福利的影响不显著。同时发现,服务业FDI自由化不是我国经济福利增加的Granger原因,而我国经济福利增加却是服务业FDI自由化的Granger原因。     

How does the US credit crisis affect the Asia–Pacific economies?—Analysis based on a general equilibrium model

The current financial crisis differs from most post-war recessions in that the balance sheets of both households and banks have been severely damaged, which could lead to structural changes in the behavior of households. Therefore, it may exert some far-reaching effects on regional economies in the short run as well as in the medium term. This paper studies these effects using a multi-country dynamic structural model. In the short run, the US credit crisis weighs heavily upon the Asia–Pacific economies through financial linkages in addition to the traditional trade channel due to the deepening global financial integration. The relative importance of various financial channels differs notably across economies. While stock market contagion is more important for advanced economies, flight to quality across borders plays a key role in less developed economies. From a medium-term perspective, changes in the US household behavior caused by the credit crisis can help correct global imbalances, but the effectiveness hinges largely upon how long US households can maintain a reasonably higher savings rate. In addition, although the declining American public savings rate may not exert material impacts on the global imbalances, it can darken regional growth prospects due to a potentially higher world real interest rate.     

LONG‐RUN DETERMINANTS OF SAVINGS RATES IN WAEMU COUNTRIES: AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT FROM ARDL BOUNDS TESTING APPROACH

In this paper, we examine the long‐run determinants of savings rates for seven member countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union over the period 1970–2006. We use the bounds testing approach to cointegration developed by Pesaran et al. This methodology has several advantages with respect to other cointegration tests. The long‐run determinants of savings rate vary across countries. Results reveal that the financial liberalization process undertaken at the end of 1989 and the existing monetary policy have not been effective to increase the domestic savings rates within the area.     

China's economic development: does exchange rate and FDI nexus matter?

This study aims to investigate the relationship between China's exchange rate, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, and economic development. We applied the bound testing approach on aggregate level data from 1981 to 2013. The results showed that the Chinese economy benefitted from a lower exchange rate over this period, and that there was a direct link between FDI inflows and economic development on an aggregate level both in the long and short run. The results of the Granger causality test identified a long‐ and short‐run association among these variables. The GMM estimations with dummies for financial crises and RMB exchange rate policy fluctuations also confirmed the growth enhancing impact of the exchange rate and FDI inflows. To promote sustainable economic development in the future, China should focus on improving the levels of domestic investment and human capital, as well as supervising the level of openness and capital controls.     

中国经济周期波动中冲击构成的实证分析

利用SVAR模型对中国经济周期波动中冲击构成进行分析,同时运用ADF单位根检验、Granger因果关系检验、脉冲响应和方差分解等计量经济方法研究了产出、利率和财政支出与我国宏观经济波动的关系。研究结果表明：利率外生于系统,但产出和财政支出互为格兰杰因果关系;我国的货币政策在长期非中性,它可以直接影响到产出和其他实际变量;产出对源于产品市场的需求冲击和产品的供给冲击的响应均是正向的;经济周期波动中供给冲击所占比重小于需求冲击所占的比重。     

资本账户开放的门槛效应及路径研究

文章基于70个国家面板数据,实证检验了开放资本账户的增长效应。研究结果表明,资本账户开放具有国别差异,高收入国家开放资本账户的增长效应显著大于中低收入国家。在引入制度质量、货币政策、财政政策、对外开放度和金融发展5个初始条件指标建立动态门槛模型,研究发现,资本账户开放对经济增长的影响是非线性的,初始条件较低时资本账户开放不利于经济增长,当初始条件越过门槛值后,资本账户开放表现出积极的增长效应。结合跨境资本异质性和门槛效应,进一步发现开放直接投资的门槛最低,经济效应最大;开放债务投资的门槛最高,经济效应最小;开放股权投资的门槛效应介于前二者之间。经验分析为中国资本账户开放条件以及路径提供了参考。     

Effects of financial reform on business entry in sub‐Saharan African countries: Do resource dependence and institutional quality matter?

This paper examined the effects of the financial liberalization strategy adopted on the African continent over 25 years ago in promoting new business entry using data from 22 sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries in 2006–2017. Results from the dynamic generalized method of moments models show that: financial development via a policy of financial liberalization does not have a uniform effect on entrepreneurship; the interest rate gap significantly undermines the entrance of new firms; the ratio of broad money/gross domestic product (GDP) was positive and statistically significant while real interest rate had mixed findings; interactive effects of interest rate spread and real interest rate with regulatory quality was negative; the interaction of interest rate spread and real interest rate with natural resources confirms its destabilizing effect, although there was evidence suggesting that natural resources do not directly undermine entrepreneurship growth. Other results show real GDP and private credit have a significantly positive effect, and the cost of getting electricity significantly undermines entrepreneurship. The study calls for the need to deepen the financial sector though targeted reforms across SSA countries to reap its growth‐inducing effects on economic outcomes, while promoting institutional quality and efficient use of natural resources to achieve a non‐declining infusion of SMEs on the continent.     

福建省经济增长的金融支持研究

一个地区的经济增长和金融发展之间存在密切的关系。本文在已有理论和文献的基础上,采用协整分析和格兰杰因果检验对1980年到2012年福建省经济增长和金融发展之间的关系进行研究,发现福建省经济增长和金融发展之间存在相关性,福建省经济增长和金融发展互为Granger因果关系。通过分析实证研究的结果,为福建省推动金融深化,促进福建省下一阶段的金融发展与经济增长之间保持良性互动,提供有价值的政策建议。     

Testing price-exchange rate noncausality: Results from a vector error correction model

Previous tests of the martingale property of the exchange rate have examined the random walk property of the exchange rate or have tested for Granger causality of the exchange rate by macroeconomic variables. Interestingly, if purchasing power parity (PPP) holds in the long run, causality tests should be conducted by estimating a vector error correction model which includes price levels. This paper conducts exchange rate causality tests employing vector error correction models and finds evidence that the Swiss exchange rate is Granger caused by lagged deviations in PPP and, hence, is Granger caused by prices.     

BANKING SECTOR CONTROLS AND FINANCIAL DEEPENING: A STRUCTURAL ERROR CORRECTION MODEL FOR TUNISIA

The aim of this paper is to investigate empirically the effects of several types of banking sector controls on financial deepening in Tunisia. The hypotheses addressed in this study are discussed within the general framework of the McKinnon/Shaw approach and the monopoly bank model. A structural error correction model in Ericsson's (1995) sense has been specified and used to estimate the effects of financial repression in Tunisia over the period 1961–2000. The main empirical finding suggests that, in the long and short terms, financial repression has had significant and negative effects on financial development, independently of its well‐known influence via the level of the real interest rate. This finding shows a contrast with the prevalence of financial market imperfections, but it is consistent with traditional literature on financial liberalization. In addition, this paper shows that financial deepening and per capita income are jointly determined since they both appear not to be weakly exogenous with each other.     

利率管制、LPR与完全市场化下的货币政策传导机制:理论对比与实证检验

2019年8月,中国人民银行正式启用修订后的贷款基础利率（LPR）,标志着中国利率市场化改革步入收官阶段。这使得有关利率市场化能否保障货币政策有效性并从根本上改善货币政策传导效率的探讨再度成为焦点。鉴于此,文章构建了DSGE模型和TVP-VAR模型,详细对比了不同市场化程度下利率政策的有效性和传导效率,主要得出以下三点结论：第一,随着市场化程度的不断加深,产出、通胀与企业价值对利率调控的反应愈加敏感,表明利率市场化改革能够优化利率的宏微观传导效率;第二,模拟分析显示,完全市场化将会大幅降低利率政策的宏观传导效率,同时还可能诱发逆向选择并导致微观传导渠道失灵,因此货币当局仍应对利率完全市场化持必要谨慎;最后,实证检验结果表明,LPR的推出进一步提高了利率传导效率,这说明在完全市场化的初级阶段,采取LPR等过渡元素逐渐加强市场定价主导地位不失为双轨合一过程中的有益尝试。     

Analyzing the Dynamic Relationships between Physical Infrastructure,Financial Development and Economic Growth in India

This paper investigates the dynamic relationships between physical infrastructure, financial development and economic growth in the case of India, using the autoregressive distributed lag and the Toda–Yamamoto causality approach for the period 1980 to 2016. A physical infrastructure index and a financial development index are constructed using the principal component analysis. The empirical results suggest that physical infrastructure has a positive effect on economic growth both in the long run and short run, whereas financial development, although significant, has a weak impact on economic growth. The causality test supports a bidirectional causal relationship between infrastructure development and economic growth, while it finds unidirectional causation running from economic growth to financial development. As India is aiming for higher growth for a sustained period, our results suggest that there is a need for government intervention in expanding the physical infrastructure and this, in turn, could lead to economic growth as well as financial sector development.     

Financial Liberalization and Stock Market Efficiency: Causality Analysis of Emerging Markets

This paper studies the long- and short-run relationship between financial liberalization and stock market efficiency. It expands the extant body of knowledge by investigating Granger causality relationship applying mean group, common correlated effect mean group and common correlated effect pooled estimator to balanced panel data for 27 emerging markets over the period 1996–2011. We find evidence of financial liberalization Granger causes stock market efficiency, which is consistent with liberalization leads to efficiency hypothesis. Subsequently, our work makes a fresh contribution to the literature by focusing on informational efficiency of stock markets rather than financial development. Furthermore, we find that a negative long-term relationship between financial liberalization and stock return autocorrelation coexists with a positive short-term relationship between the two. The findings that financial liberalization, which has a deteriorated effect on stock market efficiency in the short-run, but positive impact in the long-run, allow us to draw an analogy similar to the J-curve hypothesis.     

Challenges and opportunities in El Salvador's financial sector

The formal financial sector has expanded rapidly in postwar El Salvador, encouraged by premature financial liberalization and a remittance windfall, exceeding commercial banks' capacities to lend prudently. The counterpart of this spurious financial deepening is a shallow financial market for smaller firms, which reflects both difficult real conditions for small urban and agricultural enterprises, and the unfortunate effects of the credit-channeling model characterizing development banks and most nongovernment organization projects. This model discourages the growth of small-scale institutions that can fund themselves from local resources, and limits the ability of small producers to accumulate financial savings.     

Trade liberalization and income inequality: The case for Pakistan

Trade liberalization policies have been adopted by many developing countries to increase economic growth and reduce poverty. While the positive relationship between trade liberalization and economic growth is generally well accepted, the impact of trade liberalization on poverty and income inequality is still unclear. The objective of this paper is to use real data and real trade agreements of the state of Pakistan, to examine the predictions made by trade models about the impact of trade liberalization on income inequality. To illustrate, the impacts of several alternative bilateral and regional free trade agreements are simulated on household income and income inequality in Pakistan. The results show that trade liberalization does not always lead to a decline in income inequality in the short run. Trade agreements that do improve income equality, favor agriculture and often hinge on a decline in urban and non-farm household income. In the long run, changes in income equality are more positive, suggesting that efforts might best be applied towards improving the mobility of labor and capital.