Business Cycle Asymmetries: International Evidence

This paper uses the Triples test of Randles et al. (1980, Journal of the American Statistical Association, 75, 168–172) to detect asymmetries in U.S. as well as international GDP fluctuations. The test does not detect any asymmetry in the distribution of the U.S. GDP, which is consistent with previous empirical findings. However, significant asymmetries are found in international data. Detection of asymmetries is a first step toward model-selection process such that stylized facts can be replicated. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: E3, E32, C14.     

Vertical Specialization and International Business Cycle Synchronization*

We explore the impact of vertical specialization—trade in goods across multiple stages of production—on the relationship between trade and business cycle synchronization across countries. We develop an international business cycle model in which the degree of vertical specialization varies with trade barriers. With perfect competition, we show analytically that fluctuations in measured total factor productivity are not linked across countries through trade. In numerical simulations, we find little dependence of business cycle synchronization on trade intensity. An extension of the model to allow for imperfect competition has the potential to resolve these shortcomings.     

国际贸易与中国的实际经济周期——基于封闭与开放经济的RBC模型比较分析

本文先确定中国宏观经济波动的特征事实:消费波动与产量高度相关、投资波动大于产出的波动、净出口与GDP呈反周期变化。然后分别用封闭经济模型、小国开放经济模型和考虑了政府购买冲击的小国开放经济模型对中国经济进行实证检验。研究发现,封闭经济模型仅能解释产出、消费和投资波动的48.26%、24.39%和98.50%;而小国开放经济模型分别可以解释68.70%、69.51%、98.50%和TB/GDP率的97.42%;考虑了政府购买的小国开放经济模型的解释程度分别是83.91%、81.95%、99.63%和TB/GDP率的209.68%。比较分析表明开放经济模型比封闭经济模型能较好地解释中国的经济现象,并且随着政府购买引入到开放经济模型,该模型对经济的解释能力显著提高,说明这一模型更符合中国经济的特征事实。     

Business Cycle Synchronization in the Enlarged EU: The Role of Bilateral Trade and FDI

The aim of this paper is to investigate the determinants of business cycle (BC) synchronization across 21 (old and new) countries of the enlarged European Union (EU). It utilizes international data to evaluate the linkages among bilateral trade in goods, bilateral foreign direct investment (FDI) flows and BC co‐movements. The paper contributes to the current literature by examining the relationship using the latest available data (sample range: 1998–2011), and thus taking into account the European sovereign debt crisis period. It also examines the role of FDI, which though increasingly important in the flows of international production factors, is currently neglected by the literature. Preliminary results show that FDI has no direct effect on BC synchronization while international trade helps to synchronize BCs but only before the recent financial crisis (pre‐2008) and only for the traditional EU countries.     

刍论电子商务与国际贸易业务流程转型

通过对电子商务及国际贸易基本流程的介绍,归纳出国际电子商务使国际贸易业务流程面临的转型.     

Trade Integration and Business Cycle Convergence: Is the Relation Robust across Time and Space?*

In this paper we investigate the relationship between trade intensity and the business cycle correlation using a panel data set taken from 24 countries over the period 1959–2003. Most previous studies did not account for the possibility that the business cycle correlation may be influenced by unobservable country‐pair specific effects. Our estimates, using both fixed‐ and random‐effects methodologies, suggest that trade intensity and the business cycle correlation are positively related to one another. However, detailed investigation shows that this relationship exists mainly for the European countries.     

Inventories and the Business Cycle*

This paper examines the relationship between the inventory cy and the business cycle using both macroeconomic and survey da It is argued that over the past decade and a half, the changes inventory management have reduced the amplitude of the inventc cycle. The paper also argues that the behaviour of inventories consistent with demand shocks being an important source of business cycle fluctuations.     

Foreign Aid and the Business Cycle

This paper documents empirical regularities in the foreign aid flows to developing countries over three decades. In spite of a large body of literature on foreign aid and its impact on recipients, surprisingly little is known about its business cycle characteristics. The authors show that for the vast majority of African recipients, aid flows are a major source of income that is highly volatile and, most importantly, overwhelmingly procyclical. For recipients outside of Africa, there is a similar—if somewhat less pronounced—pattern of aid procyclicality. In contrast, there is little evidence of aid procyclicality with the business cycle of donors. In light of the very high volatility of output in developing countries, the procyclicality of foreign aid flows from the recipients' perspective raises serious questions related to their welfare and growth.     

Public Employment and the Business Cycle*

We add a public employment sector to the basic search and matching model in order to study the business cycle impact of public wage and employment policies. The government is assumed to follow exogenous rules for public wages and employment calibrated to match some cyclical features of US policies. These features include a positive public wage premium and mildly procyclical public wages and employment. We find that the presence of the public sector increases the volatility of employment and output.     

Endogenous Money Supply and the Business Cycle

This paper documents changes in the cyclical behavior of nominal data series that appear after 1979:Q3 when the Federal Reserve implemented a policy to lower the inflation rate. Such changes were not apparent in real variables. A business cycle model with impulses to technology and a role for money is used to show how alternative money supply rules are expected to affect observed business cycle facts. In this model, changes in the money supply rules have almost no effect on the cyclical behavior of real variables, yet have a significant impact on the cyclical nature of nominal variables.Journal of Economic LiteratureClassification Numbers: E32, E42, E50.     

Social Security Contributions and the Business Cycle

We investigate business cycle dynamics of social security contributions (SSC), by far the largest labor tax distortion in the OECD. In most countries, we find a negative covariation of SSC tax burdens with levels and growth of GDP at business cycle frequencies and lower. In detrended data, a decline of GDP of 1% is associated with a 0.05-0.2 percentage point increase in the aggregate SSC burden, measured as a fraction of the wage bill. For most countries, average marginal SSC rates exceed, but track average rates. Changes in average SSC tax burdens are largely due to adjustments in statutory tax schedules rather than cyclical shifts in earnings distributions. Our findings are consistent with Esping-Andersen's (1990) typology of social welfare states. In some countries, SSC rates co-move with measures of the “labor wedge” (Chari et al. 2007, Brinca et al. 2016).     

The Trade Cycle1

Abstract

The long-run relationship between polity change and economic growth has been considered by a number of researchers, yet no clear consensus has emerged concerning the causal link between these two important measures of progress. This study used various estimation methods based on different assumptions of the unknown error structure to investigate this relationship in 154 countries from 1961 to 2007. First, we found no globally significant relationship between polity change and economic growth. However, we found several significant relationships at the local level, including (a) a positive relationship in the 1980s and in Africa and (b) a negative relationship in the 1970s and in Europe. Second, we found that previous economic growth hinders democracy, albeit slightly; in contrast, the influence of democracy on economic growth is negligible.     

Upper Secondary School Completion and the Business Cycle

Previous evidence suggests that enrollment in post‐compulsory education increases (decreases) in cyclical downturns (upturns). However, little evidence exists on whether enrollment is successfully transformed into completed education. This paper adds to the literature by analyzing the relationship between completion of upper secondary education and regional unemployment using Norwegian regional panel data on students graduating from compulsory school between 1981 and 2004. We find robust evidence that completion rates are countercyclical. Our results suggest that poor labor‐market conditions when starting upper secondary education have a lasting effect and motivate students to stay in school and graduate.     

Business Cycle Correspondence in the European Union

This paper examines whether there exists a close correspondence in the business cycles of the EU economies. We focus on the timing and magnitude of business cycles and propose criteria for defining close correspondence. We suggest that any correspondence that does exist is confined to the EU core and that, contrary to some of the existing literature, there exists a clear core-periphery distinction. This makes us less optimistic about the prospects for EMU if it is not accompanied by institutional arrangements that take into account the differences between EU economies.     

试论国内区际贸易与对外贸易利益的关系

对外贸易的发展理应建立在国内区际贸易充分开展的基础上。国内区际贸易的开展对对外贸易利益的取得具有重要的意义。我国改革开放过程中的国内市场分割现象,使得国内区际贸易滞后于对外贸易快速发展,并制约了对外贸易利益最大化的实现。本文的政策结论是通过加快改革逐步实现国内经济市场化和一体化以提高外贸利益。     

Business Cycle Volatility in Germany

Abstract. Stylized facts suggest that output volatility in OECD countries has declined in recent years. The causes and the nature of this decline have so far been analyzed mainly for the United States. In this paper, we analyze whether structural changes in output volatility in Germany can be detected. We report evidence that output volatility has declined in Germany. It is difficult to answer the question whether this decline in output volatility reflects good economic and monetary policy or merely ‘good luck’.     

Predicting UK Business Cycle Regimes

This paper uses logistic regression to construct a one‐quarter ahead prediction model for classical business cycle regimes in the UK. The binary dependent variable is obtained by applying simple mechanical rules to date turning points in quarterly real GDP data from 1963 to 1999. Using a range of real and financial leading indicators, several parsimonious one‐quarter‐ahead models are developed for the GDP regimes, with model selection based on the SIC criterion. A real M4 variable is consistently found to have predictive content. One model that performs well combines this with nominal UK and German short‐term interest rates. The role of the latter emphasises the open nature of the UK economy.     

经济周期非对称性研究述评

经济周期非对称性在计量经济学及统计方法的推动下得到越来越多的研究。近几十年来,研究集中在陡峭型和深度型(急剧型)的非对称性上。应用政策经济学的兴起,使得对经济政策的研究与非对称性结合起来,为人们重新思考政府政策提供了理论的证据。本文按照这些线索展开综述,期望通过对已有文献的梳理,为人们从更深的层次理解中国的经济波动以及中国的市场体制改革提供一个有益的视角。