The Effect of Real Exchange Rate Volatility on the Trade of Educational Services

This article finds that high levels of real exchange rate volatility between two trading partners significantly decrease the amount of educational services traded. Many academic institutions are actively looking to expand exports of educational services as a means of increasing revenues. Internal policies that reduce real exchange rate uncertainty may help encourage trade of educational services between countries where volatility is high. The discovery that real exchange rate volatility serves as a significant barrier to attracting educational export opportunities to certain countries underscores an obstacle that should and/or could be addressed as academic institutions strive to expand their international enrollments.     

中日贸易与人民币汇率:实证分析

中日贸易与人民币汇率问题,其汇率变动对贸易收支的影响是值得怀疑的。在两变量模型中,1998～2003年月度数据计量表明,中日贸易与人民币汇率之间没有长期稳定的协整关系。并且,依据中日两国月度统计数据计量的结论是相一致的。在多变量模型中计量证实,日本对华贸易收支取决于日本总产出、日本进口关税、人民币对日元实际汇率,以及中国总产出等宏观经济变量,仅仅人民币对日元实际升值,只会对日本对华贸易收支产生不利的影响。政策建议是,中日两国应该采取贸易合作政策,这样中日双边贸易收支都将会得到改善。     

人民币实际有效汇率与中国工业制成品对外贸易平衡的长期关系分析

以双边名义汇率为基础 ,对 1978～ 1999年期间人民币的名义和实际有效汇率指数进行测算 ,利用协整技术分析中国工业制成品对贸易平衡指标与我国实际国内生产总值、国外实际收入及人民币实际有效汇率之间存在长期稳定的均衡关系 ,实际的人民币贬值改善了我国工业制成品对外贸易平衡状况。     

基于VAR模型的人民币有效汇率就业效应

基于向量自回归模型,对人民币实际有效汇率的就业效应进行实证分析,结果表明就业量和人民币实际有效汇率之间存在长期均衡关系,长期而言人民币实际有效汇率上升1%就业量将下降0.1821%。因此,人民币实际有效汇率的波动率对就业量仅存在微弱的负面影响。     

External adjustment in oil exporters: The role of fiscal policy and the exchange rate

After the decline in oil prices, many oil exporters face the need to improve their external balances. Special characteristics of oil exporters make the exchange rate an ineffective instrument for this purpose and give fiscal policy a sizeable role. These conclusions are supported by regression analysis of the determinants of the current account balance and of the trade balance. The results show little or no relationship with the exchange rate and, especially for the less diversified oil exporters, a strong relationship with the fiscal balance or government spending.     

中美贸易收支与人民币汇率关系

本文基于1994~2005年的年度数据,通过协整分析和Granger因果检验发现,人民币汇率升值对中美贸易收支从长期看有一定影响,但不是中美贸易收支失衡的主要原因,美国经济发展状况以及国内政策才是导致中美贸易收支顺差的主要原因。在当前经济形势下,中美贸易顺差依然是我国经济发展的重要引擎之一。所以,我们一方面要警惕美国经济下滑导致我国的出口下降,另一方面可以利用人民币当前小幅上涨的契机,调整我国经济结构,加快产业升级的步伐。     

Asymmetric effects of oil price changes on the balance of trade: Evidence from selected African countries

The main new contribution of this study was to delve into the asymmetric impacts of changes in oil prices on the trade balance in the framework of six major African economies. To tackle this topic carefully, we employ three measures of external balances—oil, non‐oil and total trade balances, and assess the asymmetric response of the external balances of those six economies to oil price changes in the short and long run. Like most previous studies, we first assume the impacts of oil price fluctuations to be symmetric and employ the linear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method to explore the topic. We then separate oil price hikes from oil price plunges and implement the non‐linear ARDL method to reveal that the price of crude oil has a vital role to play in the trade balances for those six African economies. Further, there is evidence of significant asymmetric impacts of oil prices typically on the oil trade balance of Africa's top oil producing countries. For the non‐oil and total trade balances, in contrast, there is little evidence of the asymmetry of oil price changes.     

交易成本与真实汇率的波动率——基于国际宏观经济模型的分析

文章重点论述了交易成本对真实汇率波动性的影响。基于Eaton和Kortum(2002)的思想,将两国和多国之间的Ricardian贸易模型进行改进,用于对宏观经济模型的分析,表明国家之间双边真实汇率的波动程度取决于各国生产力的比较优势和贸易国的交易成本。最后我们利用1980-2000年间巨大的跨境面板数据检验并支持了文章的这一结论。     

Unintentional drowning in urban South Africa: a retrospective investigation, 2001–2005

Drowning is a major public health concern in low- and middle-income countries. In South Africa there is sound information and an emerging knowledge base for drowning prevention. However, there remains a scarcity of analyses of drowning in the country. The purpose of this analysis was to quantify the magnitude and describe occurrence of unintentional drowning deaths in five major South African cities, recorded between 2001 and 2005 by the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System. Drowning in South African cities occurred at rates of between 1.4 and 2.7/100,000 population. The majority of drowning occurred among males, while the highest rates were observed among 0–4 year olds. Most drowning deaths occurred during recreational periods, over weekends and in the afternoon. Of adult drowning victims, 41.5% were alcohol-positive at the time of death. This study is based on one of only two known systematic sources of drowning mortality in Africa. It provides an indication of drowning rates in South African cities with young children and males at considerably more risk. The most likely locations for drowning varied from city to city. Among adult victims, especially men, alcohol is an important risk factor.