The Non-equivalence Revisited: Staggered Price and Wage Contracts

Abstract

Staggered wage-setting and price-setting have frequently been used to construct business cycle models that can replicate long-lasting real effects of monetary shocks. We examine how the two seemingly equivalent sources of nominal rigidities compare in generating persistence in real output following monetary expansion. We show that staggered wage-setting is in general better able to generate persistence, because it can lower the procyclicality of marginal cost considerably more than staggered price-setting does.     

Price adjustment after hyperinflation in Zimbabwe

This paper examines—post‐dollarization in Zimbabwe—the extent of price dispersion within Zimbabwe and between Zimbabwe and South Africa. We document the adjustment process, and the mechanisms of price adjustment after the introduction of the new currency system in Zimbabwe. We show that prices converged post‐dollarization. We argue that the fall in price dispersion is not a product or a Southern Africa region effect. Rather it is a Zimbabwe specific effect and given that price convergence happens quicker the closer the month is to the dollarization, we argue that the observed results are driven by the change in currency. Price dispersion happens faster between major cities and secondary cities, suggesting improvements in information and trade signals between major and secondary cities. These results suggest that the positive effects of a stable currency fall disproportionally on secondary cities, implying price stability not only has macroeconomic benefits, but also developmental benefits since secondary cities and rural areas are on average, poorer than main cities.     

Portfolio adjustment in open economies: A comparison of alternative specifications

Zusammenfassung Portfolio-Anpassung in einer offenen Volkswirtschaft. Ein Vergleich alternativer Spezifizierungen. — Dieser Aufsatz vergleicht zwei Spezifikationen eines Modells einer kleinen offenen Volkswirtschaft: Erstens eine Bestandsgr?Βen-Version, in der die Haushalte die gewünschten Verm?genswerte sofort nachfragen und zweitens eine Stromgr?Βen-Version, in der die Nachfrage eine allm?hliche Anpassung an den langfristig gewünschten Bestand an Verm?genswerten bewirkt. Die beiden Varianten werden bei festen und flexiblen Wechselkursen verglichen, beide jeweils unter der Annahme vollst?ndiger oder fehlender Kapitalmobilit?t. Sie zeigen unterschiedliche Anpassungsverl?ufe bei festen Wechselkursen, wenn das heimische Geldangebot endogen ist, und besonders, wenn es keine Kapitalmobilit?t gibt (wenn das heimische Angebot an Wertpapieren nicht endogen ist).

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Résumé L’ajustement de portefeuille dans des économies ouvertes: une comparaison de spécifications alternatives. — Cet article compare deux spécifications d’un modèle d’une petite économie ouverte: (1) une version de stock, dans laquelle les ménages entrent dans les marchés d’actif avec des demandes de stock immédiates d’actif et (2) une version de flux, dans laquelle ils entrent dans les marchés d’actif avec des demandes de flux reflétant un ajustement vers des demandes de stock à long terme d’actif. Les deux versions sont comparées sous des taux de change fixes et fléxibles chacune couplée avec une mobilité de capital parfaite ou pas une mobilité. Elles se conduisent d’une manière différente sous des taux de change fixes (si l’offre d’argent locale est endogène) et sont très per?antes s’il n’y a pas une mobilité de capital (si l’offre locale d’emprunts n’est pas endogène).

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Resumen Ajustes de portafolio en economías abiertas. Una comparaci?n de especificaciones alternativas. — Este artículo compara dos especificaciones de un modelo de una economía abierta pequena: (1) una version de stock, en la cual los presupuestos familiares entran en el mercado de activos con una demanda inmediata por activos y (2) una version de flujo, en la cual ellos entran al mercado de activos con demandas de flujo que reflejan un ajuste gradual a las demandas de stock por activos de largo plazo. Las dos versiones se comparan bajo tasas de cambio fijas y flexibles, cada una con movilidad perfecta de capital o no. Ellas se comportan en forma diferente bajo tasas de cambio fijas (cuando la oferta de dinero local es endógena) y son muy penetrantes cuando no hay movilidad de capital (cuando la oferta local de bonos no es endógena).

     

Money versus credit in the determination of output for small open economies

It is well known that in a small open economy where there is perfect substitutability between domestic and foreign assets and costless portfolio adjustment, the monetary authorities, pursuing an exchange-rate target, cannot control the money supply, but can influence the balance of payments through the use of domestic credit. It has been argued that domestic credit is therefore the relevant variable in output determination as well. This paper demonstrates, however, using a new classical structural model, that under the conditions that render the money supply uncontrollable, neither money nor domestic credit affects output.     

后危机时代辽宁外贸结构调整对策研究

国际金融危机以及由此引发的世界经济衰退,对辽宁省外贸发展战略提出了严峻挑战。尽管近期世界经济有回暖迹象,但全球需求市场仍然处于低迷状态。后危机时代,辽宁外贸如想保持增长态势,迫切需要加快转变外贸发展方式,制定和实施新的外贸发展战略。本文分析了后危机时代世界经济调整对辽宁外贸造成的影响,并提出促进辽宁对外贸易结构调整的相应对策和建议。     

Structural adjustment policies in developing economies

This paper examines structural adjustment policies in developing countries, undertaken with the purpose of regaining the growth path following internal and external shocks. The proposed policy package further aims at improving overall economic policies. Its components include production incentives, incentives to save and to invest, the choice of public investments as well as sectoral, budgetary and monetary policies. The interdependence of the proposed policy measure is also indicated and comments are offered on the international policy environment in which they operate.     

External adjustment

Gross stocks of foreign assets have increased rapidly relative to national outputs since 1990, and the short-run capital gains and losses on those assets can amount to significant fractions of GDP. These fluctuations in asset values render the national income and product account measure of the current account balance increasingly inadequate as a summary of the change in a country's net foreign assets. Nonetheless, unusually large current account imbalances, especially deficits, should remain high on policymakers' list of concerns, even, for the richer and less credit-constrained countries. Extreme imbalances signal the need for large and perhaps abrupt real exchange rate changes in the future, changes that might have undesired political and financial consequences given the incompleteness of domestic and international asset markets. Furthermore, of the two sources of the change in net foreign assets—the current account and the capital gain on the net foreign asset position—the former is better understood and more amenable to policy influence. Systematic government attempts to manipulate international asset values in order to change the net foreign asset position could have a destabilizing effect on market expectations. JEL no. F21, F32, F36, F41     

Monetary policy and dynamic efficiency in economies of overlapping generations

In an economy of overlapping generations, money, distinct from debt, provides liquidity and is dominated as a store of value. Nominal rates of interest that are low, but do not vanish, eliminate equilibrium allocations far from Pareto optimal allocations.     

国际油价波动对中国经济影响的评估

文章运用一般均衡分析方法,通过修正传统CGE模型关于完全竞争与固定规模报酬的不合理假设（此即我国能源市场中两个甚为重要却常被忽略的特性）,评估国际油价上涨对我国总体经济与产业的影响。研究表明,国际油价波动对我国经济冲击幅度的评估受到生产技术与订价行为设定方式的影响。只考虑非完全竞争而忽略规模经济时,冲击幅度与传统CGE相差不大,均明显低于同时考虑规模经济与非完全竞争市场结构时的冲击幅度。与国外文献在油价上涨初期所做的预测相比,本文结果较为缓和,显示由需求拉动的油价上涨,对我国实际GDP的冲击并不如预期中的严重。     

Portfolio modelling and growth in open economies

The standard BRANSON model is modified in a way which allows one to focus on the short term dynamics of foreign bonds markets, the money market and the stock market—or alternatively the oil market. This allows us to explain the dynamics of the exchange rate and the oil price within a portfolio choice model; also we identify critical expectation dynamics in a more conventional pricing approach to the oil market—expectations determine whether or not the oil market equilibrium is compatible with a stationary price or with sustained oil price inflation. Moreover, a straightforward innovative way to combine a portfolio approach with a growth model is developed. New results are obtained—through multiplier analysis—about the long term effects of changes in the savings rate, the process innovation rate, the product innovation variable and the money supply on the exchange rate and the stock market price; this raises many empirical issues. Finally, the analysis presented sheds new light on the global asset price dynamics in the context of the banking crisis. To the memory of Edward Graham, Petersen Institute for International Economics, Washington D.C.     

Forward rates as predictors of future spot rates in small open economies: The case of Kuwait

The relationship between forward and future spot rates appears to be the same for Kuwait as for larger developed countries. Bid-ask spreads do not appear to affect the relationship. But cointegration, unit root and frequency domain tests suggest that there may be a stronger long-run than short-run relationship.     

房价与地价关系及上海的数据检验

文章运用房地产经济学的理论对房地产发展中房价和地价的关系进行分析论证,阐明了长期中房价对地价的影响更加显著的机制.并且针对上海房地产业发展的实际情况,通过时间序列分析,对以上观点加以检验,得出短期内房价与地价互相影响而长期中房价影响地价的结论.     

房价与地价关系的国际比较研究

文章通过比较分析国内外地价占房价的比例发现,我国地价占房价的比重与土地资源相对富裕的欧美发达国家美国、瑞典比较接近,远低于土地资源相对稀缺的亚洲发达国家和地区。土地稀缺程度、经济发展水平、政府政策和城市规划是影响房价与地价关系的主要因素。     

股价和房价影响我国消费的比较分析

文章在持久收入假说（PIH）或生命周期理论（LCT）模型的框架下,运用Johansen协整检验、Granger因果检验和OLS回归方法对1997-2006年股价和房价影响我国消费的效应及其大小进行了实证研究和比较分析,结果发现资产的财富效应较弱且房价对消费的效应大于股价的效应,最后提出了相应的启示。     

双参考价格范围的价格判断模型构建

参考价格是消费者判断目标产品价格的依据,参考价格的形成模型有点模型、范围模型、范围频率模型等。这些模型都是建立在正常的消费环境和消费心理基础上,然而面对非正常的消费环境,消费者是如何进行目标产品价格判断的呢？文章将在回顾参考价格模型及价格判断模型的基础上,试图构建双参考价格范围的价格判断模型,以模拟消费者在正常心理和贪图便宜的非正常心理作用下的价格判断过程。     

反倾销出口价格调整研究

确定出口价格并进行相应调整是倾销认定的关键环节之一,调整方式有向上调整和向下调整两种,欧盟和美国在反倾销出口价格调整上的法律规定和实践各有不同,因而出口企业在对外贸易方式和国际贸易价格选择上应灵活应对。