财政扩张与供需失衡:孰为因? 孰为果?

一般认为,在经济出现内需不足和供给过剩的失衡状态时,政府倾向于通过财政扩张来克服经济不景气,即经济失衡是因,财政扩张是果。而本文的研究发现,中国财政扩张也是经济失衡的重要原因,即财政扩张与经济失衡存在循环累积因果关系。原因在于:以带有累退性质的商品税为主的税制结构强化了居民消费约束,也促使国民收入分配向政府和企业倾斜;供需失衡容易导致政府扩大财政支出和实行增税政策,这将进一步强化供需失衡局面;尽管面临宏观经济失衡,但是政府调控经济的手段存在很强的工具性约束,短期看财政政策有助于带动经济增长,但是从长期看,消除危机的政策可能成为下一次危机的诱因。     

Institutional constraints,double imbalances and policy option—global financial crisis and China’s fiscal policy

With the enormous development of China’s economy, we re-implement the proactive fiscal policy not only to response to the global financial crisis, but also to take advantage of the opportunity to resolve the institutional constraints, transform China’s economic growth pattern, keep stability and promote the sustainable growth of the economy. So the goal of fiscal policy should weigh easing the economic crisis against long-term stability and the development of economy. The past experiences of fiscal policy practices in China indicate that the traditional simple counter-cyclical fiscal policy may be able to pull the economy out of recession, but it has little effect on automatic recovery of the economy. Therefore, the fiscal policies need to hang on the entire reform process and the whole economic structure adjustment. This paper firstly reveals the root of “double imbalances” and institutional constraints, then analyzes the paradox between such constraints, and discusses the space of positive fiscal policy.     

Macroeconomic Policies for Slovenia in the “Great Recession”

The paper analyzes the effects of different reactions of fiscal (and to some extent monetary) policies to the Great Recession in Slovenia. We use the model SLOPOL8.1, an econometric model of the Slovenian economy, to simulate the effects of the global crisis under the assumption of no-policy reactions, i.e. assuming that macroeconomic policies are conducted without attempting to deal with the effects of the recession. Moreover, we investigate whether (and if so, how) fiscal policy can reduce or even annihilate the macroeconomic effects of the recession. It turns out that in order to achieve reasonable rates of growth and of unemployment, a highly expansionary design of fiscal policies is required, which is neither realistic nor sustainable. There are strong trade-offs between countercyclical fiscal policies and the requirements of fiscal solvency. Acceptable fiscal policies are mildly countercyclical and are not able to shelter the Slovenian economy from the negative effects of a slump like that occurring during the Great Recession.     

Main Currents of Marxism

We present a three-fold test for sustainability on policies addressing environmental and natural resource management. The first — ecological holism — requires that management of natural systems not only ensure the long term viability of ecosystem functions and enhanced diversity of wildlife within that ecosystem, but also facilitate the provision of renewable energy and material resources. The second — community centeredness — is an assessment of the improvement (or reduction) in economic wellbeing of local populations measured by employment and income and in quality of life for the larger community resulting from that policy. The third — institutional legitimacy — evaluates the level of justice that a policy and its outcome(s) bring to the entire community (here, just policies will satisfy Rawls's "veil of ignorance" test). Three policies for National Forest management on Washington's Olympic Peninsula are examined and results are compared: the Northwest Forest Plan, the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Scenic Rivers Act of 2012 (Wild Olympics), and The Third Way (an alternative forest management option). Each policy satisfies the first test of ecological holism, but not in equal measures. Success in this regard can be differentially ranked because the relative impacts are not neutral. Both the Northwest Forest Plan and Wild Olympics fail the test of community centeredness. In contrast, The Third Way promotes community centeredness and ecological holism. We assert that, as a result, it would satisfy John Rawls's test for justice, and it is institutionally legitimate.     

结构式凯恩斯乘数理论与积极财政政策优化——基于消费矩阵的实证研究

2007年以来中国经济发展的外部环境急剧恶化,如何通过积极财政政策扩大内需成为当前最为关键的问题.国内外的经验和教训表明,积极财政政策发挥效应是有条件的,为了启动处于衰退中的经济,政府不仅需要采取扩张性的政策干预经济,而且由于各部门的乘数效应不同,政府更需要采取结构性的干预政策,通过对不同产业部门的不同支出以改进财政政策效率.文章回顾了国内外在结构式凯恩斯乘数理论领域的研究进展情况,认为结构式乘数的基础研究与应用实践,将为中国政府应对外部冲击和经济衰退风险提供更加科学的分析视角与更加丰富的决策手段.     

Trade Policy in Lobbying Equilibrium: With Non‐Traded and Traded Final Goods and Intermediate Inputs

The paper derives trade policies endogenously for final consumption and intermediate input industries in the presence of a non‐traded sector. Contrary to what the existing literature suggests, results show that there is no definite relation between lobbying status and the direction of trade policy of an industry. Trade protection of an industry depends on how its consumption (horizontal) and production (vertical) linkages with other industries reinforce or cancel out its lobbying efforts. To cite a few results, (i) an organized industry may face trade tax, whereas an unorganized one may obtain protection; (ii) an organized downstream industry may not be able to impose trade tax to an unorganized upstream industry, (iii) an organized upstream industry may not hurt unorganized downstream industry, (iv) lobby for non‐traded industry alone can influence trade policies, and (v) lobby for traded industry affects the size of the non‐traded sector in the economy.     

重要战略机遇期的中国经济结构调整--中国人民大学中国经济发展研究报告(2003-2004)

2003年中国GDP高速增长具有恢复性增长和补偿性增长性质,属于从经济萧条到经济繁荣的经济周期形态转换过程中的经济扩张初级阶段,总体上并不存在经济过热现象。中国宏观经济政策应该保持其连续性与稳定性,避免政策指导方针从计划经济时代的“速度饥渴”转变为市场经济时代的“速度恐慌”,发生非理性经济萧条。在2003—2004年间经济周期扩张初期,中国经济应该继续采取适度扩张的需求管理政策取向,通过增加国内投资需求,保持国民经济的持续快速增长,逐步建立以增加国内投资需求为轴心的宏观经济政策体系。     

OPENNESS AND STRUCTURAL LABOR MARKET REFORMS: EX ANTE COUNTERFACTUALS

In this paper we examine plausible macroeconomic responses to the ex ante (planned but not implemented yet) reforms in the labor market, taking a currently proposed Social Model in Lithuania as an example. We contribute not only to the current debate on the efficacy of announced structural reforms, but also to the literature on policy evaluation, by assessing reforms from a global perspective. Taking trade linkages and openness into account, we demonstrate macroeconomic reactions to shocks in unemployment benefits, active labor market policies, and tax wedge on the reforming economy. In particular, we show that the omission of an international dimension could lead to seriously biased results on policy effects for any open and small economy. Using a satellite model for the intermediate trade, we link the global framework with the sectoral extensive margin, which changes some of the results derived from the aggregate data. (JEL C33, C54, E62, J38)     

Regime-switching approach to monetary policy effects

Even though monetary policy has kept interest rates at historically low levels, the Japanese economy has experienced long lasting recessions since the 1990s. In this paper, Japanese data are employed to conduct an empirical analysis of changes in the effects of monetary policy on the real economy. It is found that monetary policy effects vary depending on the phase of the business cycle and the lending attitudes diffusion indices. More precisely, policy effects are larger in recession but diminish in extreme recession, and monetary policy is more effective when lenders’ attitudes are severe but less effective when they are excessively severe.     

The UK's monetarist experiment, 1979–1984

The paper provides an evaluation of the ‘monetarist experiment’ in the United Kingdom over the period 1979–1984. In the first half of the paper the distinctive character of the policies pursued in this period is outlined. In the second half, an econometric model, that of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (version 7) is used to calculate the contribution of the policies and of the parallel world recession to the domestic recession and to the fall in inflation. The results, which are comparable with those reported in earlier studies, suggest that fiscal and monetary policy was responsible for about a third of the recession, more than can be attributed to the world recession. Comparatively little of the decline in inflation in this period is attributable to policy.     

Two Dimensions of Convergence: National and International Wage Adjustment Effects of Cross-border Outsourcing in Europe

The paper proposes a distinction between the two dimensions of convergence—within and between countries—when analyzing the impact of cross‐border outsourcing on real wage rates in the EU‐15 and the CEEC. In the CEEC, international outsourcing has not affected the adjustment of average real wage rates at the manufacturing industry level, but it has led to a closure of the gap within a typical EU economy. Between‐country convergence is likewise fostered by cross‐border outsourcing, supporting the hypothesis that outsourcing facilitates international factor price equalization.     

Contemporary Economics and Policy Issues in the U.S.

This paper outlines a variety of contemporary policy issues facing the U.S. economy. These issues include impediments to sustained economic growth and reduced unemployment, such as tax uncertainty and ill-conceived federal income tax policies. In addition, it provides an overview of four studies that deal with such topics as budget deficits and reduced economic freedoms, the implications of raising property taxes as a source of funds for revenue-starved local governments, the regional impacts of the world-wide recession for a specific locality in the U.S., namely, Hampton Roads, Virginia, and the relationship between yield curve inversion and the incidence of recession.     

Why ‘Buy American’ is a bad idea but politicians still like it

Abstract When the world economy was recently hit by a severe recession, governments all over the world reacted by initiating stimulus packages. Some countries (among them, most notably, China and the US) tried to put special emphasis on their home industries by including ‘Buy National’ clauses into the stimulus package. By analyzing the dynamics of transitory changes of trade barriers as a short‐run response to an economic downturn, we show that beggar‐thy‐neighbour policies do not work. We then come up with two rationales that help us understand why countries nevertheless consider protectionism to be a good response to a recession: (i) the lobbying of domestic, non‐exporting firms, and (ii) the relationship between vulnerability, the degree of openness and loss aversion of consumers.     

Endogenous trade policy in general equilibrium: An interaction of redistribution rule,trade openness,and labor market condition

Using a general equilibrium framework, the paper derives trade policy endogenously for a small country. It shows that, contrary to the existing literature, a lobbying industry is not guaranteed trade protection; it may even face trade taxes. Besides lobbying, trade policy depends on other factors such as the trade revenue distribution rule, income distribution across groups, trade openness, factor substitutability in production, industry employment size, and labor market flexibility. The paper also shows that the observed phenomenon of government preference for import tariffs over export subsidies—a long overdue puzzle—is an inherent outcome of lobbying equilibrium. It also shows that trade policies such as import tariffs and export taxes that have the same impact on economic market—Lerner symmetry (1936)—are driven by the same forces in the political market.     

影响欧元区经济增长的因素分析

除2001年以外,欧元区的经济增长水平一直低于世界发达经济体。根本原因是其技术进步相对落后,劳动力市场僵化,失业率居高不下。以价格稳定为首要目标的单一货币政策,有利于其宏观经济稳定,但在一定程度上制约了经济的快速增长;共同财政纪律,有利于其经济顺利推进,但是削弱了各成员国运用财政政策抵御国内经济周期性振荡以及外部经济失衡的能力,尤其在经济衰退时期限制了各国利用扩张性财政政策刺激经济的手段。     

城市创新能否助力低碳经济发展——创新型城市试点政策对碳强度的影响评估及机制分析

创新是城市发展的力量之源，低碳是城市发展的必由之路。将创新型城市试点作为一项准自然实验，利用2005—2018年全国275个城市面板数据，采用多期双重差分方法，评估创新型城市试点对降低碳强度的政策效应及作用机制。研究发现：第一，创新型城市试点政策能够在降低碳强度的基础上推动低碳经济发展，各类试点政策的推动效果依次为碳排放权交易政策>创新型城市政策>智慧城市政策>低碳城市政策>环境保护重点监控政策；第二，创新型城市试点政策可以通过规模经济效应、技术进步效应与结构转型效应3条路径助力低碳经济发展；第三，城市特质会影响创新型城市试点政策效应发挥，创新型城市试点政策对碳强度的抑制效果呈现由东到西递增的地理空间差序格局、由高到低递减的城市等级差序格局，在人口规模与抑制效果之间呈现倒U型作用，并且资源型城市的抑制效果显著大于非资源型城市。     

Stock Market Responses Under Quantitative Easing: State Dependence and Transparency in Monetary Policy

This paper evaluates the effects of unconventional monetary policies adopted by the Bank of Japan from the year 2001 to 2006. A new measure is proposed to identify a nontraditional monetary policy shock from policy packages under the zero lower bound of short‐term nominal interest rates during the quantitative easing period, using data on intraday 3‐month Euroyen futures rates. We find that stock markets do not react to a policy surprise in an expected manner and negatively respond to a monetary easing surprise. Moreover, we find an asymmetric response during a boom and a recession and a nonlinear reaction because of increasing uncertainty concerning future inflation dynamics and the enhancement of monetary policy transparency. Our result suggests that it is difficult to implement unconventional monetary policy to manage agents’ expectations and a ‘lean against the wind’ policy to prevent asset bubbles, particularly at the zero bound.     

Will America create a Cold War with China

ABSTRACT

American policy towards China is now up for grabs, with hardliners and soft-liners battling for the upper hand. The hardliners view China as an existential threat to American security and interests. The soft-liners regard China as a powerful counterpart, on occasion friend, competitor, or adversary, but not an existential threat. In my view, the hardline approach – to be pursued through protectionist trade policies and aggressive technology policies — would prove disastrous, weakening the world economy and creating a self-fulfilling grave risk of future conflict.     

Macroeconomic stabilization in developing economies: Are optimal policies procyclical?

Many empirical studies provide evidence that macroeconomic policies as well as capital flows exhibit procyclical characteristics in developing economies. In particular Kaminsky et al. [2004. When it rains, it pours: Procyclical capital flows and macroeconomic policies. NBER Macroeconomics Annual, MIT Press] demonstrate that a large group of middle-income countries run contractionary policies and experience capital flight during times of recession. This paper investigates the role of international financial markets in explaining these macroeconomic policy and capital flow characteristics. An optimal fiscal and monetary policy problem is formulated and solved for a small-open economy that faces a country-specific interest rate spread in international financial markets. It is found that, in the presence of the country spread, optimal fiscal and monetary policies as well as capital flows are procyclical under a reasonable parametrization. Optimal policies and capital flows turn countercyclical in the absence of the country spread. This pattern is robust to a range of alternative model specifications.     

我国货币政策区域效应的度量与成因分析

本文利用时变参数状态空间模型估计了1985—2007年我国(及主要区域)的动态货币政策乘数,从新的视角论证了货币政策区域效应的显著存在性。此外,还从供给视角对货币政策区域效应的成因做了新的解释。研究表明,经济开放度、劳动生产率对货币政策区域效应有显著的正向影响,而地方政府行为对货币政策区域效应有显著的负向影响,这说明地方政府干预经济过多反而会削弱货币政策效力。