On the Granger causality between median inflation and price dispersion

The Granger-causal relationship between the size and dispersion of fluctuations in sub-components of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) is examined using both in-sample and out-of-sample tests and data from January 1968 to December 2008. Strong in-sample evidence is found for feedback between median inflation and price dispersion; the evidence for Granger-causation from median inflation to price dispersion remains strong in out-of-sample testing, but is less strong for Granger-causation in the opposite direction. The implications of these results for the variety of price-level determination models in the literature are discussed.     

中国财政支出结构与经济增长的Granger因果关系分析

财政支出与经济增长之间有联系,那么,财政支出结构的变化是否会对经济增长起到显著的作用,它们之间的关系如何,就值得研究。可运用单位根、协整及Granger因果关系检验等计量方法,分析中国财政支出结构与经济增长的关系。     

Financial development and economic growth in Greece: an empirical investigation with Granger causality analysis

This paper empirically examines the causal relationship between the degree of openness of the economy, financial development and economic growth by using a multivariate autoregressive VAR model in Greece for the examined period 1960:I-2000:IV. The results of cointegration analysis suggest that there is one cointegrated vector among GDP, financial development and the degree of openness of the economy. Granger causality tests based on error correction models show that there is a causal relationship between financial development and economic growth, but also between the degree of openness of the economy and economic growth.     

Cointegration, causality and export-led growth in Mexico, 1895–1992

Cointegration and Granger-causality tests show that real exports and real GDP in Mexico over 1895–1992 were cointegrated and there was a significant and positive Granger-causal relationship running from exports to economic growth.     

Testing for Granger causality in heterogeneous mixed panels

In this paper, we propose a simple Granger causality procedure based on Meta analysis in heterogeneous mixed panels. Firstly, we examine the finite sample properties of the causality test through Monte Carlo experiments for panels characterized by both cross-section independency and cross-section dependency. Then, we apply the procedure for investigating the export led growth hypothesis in a panel data of twenty OECD countries.     

Casinos and political corruption in the United States: a Granger causality analysis

The commercial casino industry experienced an unprecedented expansion in the United States during the 1990s. As the industry has grown, so has the anecdotal evidence that links the casino industry with political corruption. However, there have been no empirical analyses of the issue. We use state-level panel data from 1985–2000 to posit a Granger causality analysis of the relationship between corruption convictions of state public officials and the predicted adoptions of casinos at the state level. We find evidence that predicted casino adoptions Granger cause corruption convictions. This finding is suggestive of a scenario of regulatory capture and may help explain why state-level gaming regulatory agencies have a history of softening gaming regulations after the initial introduction of casinos. Our study provides the first empirical evidence linking casinos to political corruption.     

Identification problems in Granger causality tests based on the net oil price increase

The net oil price increase is one of the most popular models used to study the relationship between changes in the price of oil and macroeconomic activity. The model postulates that an increase in the price of oil has negative consequences for the economy if the new price exceeds the maximum price observed over a reference period of arbitrary length. The relationship between the net oil price increase and other economic variables is often evaluated with Granger causality tests, the results of which are sensitive to the choice of the reference period. If the reference price is chosen to best fit the data, it becomes an unidentified nuisance parameter under the null hypothesis, causing standard tests to over-reject the null. This article proposes a simple method to obtain correct critical values. Using US data for the period 1954 to 2012, it is found that these corrected critical values reduce, but do not eliminate support for the proposition that the net oil price increase Granger causes real USGDP growth.     

基于VAR模型的广西保险发展与经济增长关联机制研究

改革开放30年以来,随着宏观经济的迅猛发展,广西保险业不断发展壮大。通过建立VAR模型,运用脉冲响应函数与方差分解的方法,分析了广西保险发展与宏观经济之间的关联机制。分析结果表明,广西保险发展与宏观经济增长之间存在明显的正相关关系;广西宏观经济增长是保险发展的Granger原因,但保险发展对宏观经济增长的作用不显著;广西宏观经济增长与保险发展之间的具体关联过程存在较大差异,人均可支配收入的增长对保险发展具有立竿见影的效果,而保险发展对经济增长的作用较为滞后,需经历两年的时滞后才开始发挥作用,且作用相对较弱。     

Changes in the relationship between short‐term interest rate,inflation and growth: evidence from the UK, 1820–2014

This paper examines the dynamic relationship between interest rates, inflation and economic growth using a long dataset for the UK. The approach adopted enables us to identify structural breaks in the dynamic system (vector autoregression (VAR)). We find interest rates respond much more strongly to growth and inflation over recent decades, and forecast error variance decomposition analysis indicates there is increasing interconnectedness between the variables in recent years. Economic policymakers need to carefully monitor the linkages between these variables and be prepared to adjust their monetary policy tools when faced with structural changes.     

A sneeze in the U.S., a cough in Japan,but pneumonia in Taiwan? An application of the Markov-Switching vector autoregressive model

This paper examines the lead–lag relationships among the output of Taiwan, Japan and the U.S. Three testing methods are employed: the traditional linear Granger causality test, Hiemstra and Jones' [Hiemstra, C., Jones, J.D., 1994. Testing for linear and nonlinear Granger causality in the stock price-volume relation. Journal of Finance 49, 1639–1664] nonlinear Granger causality test and Warne's [Warne, A., 2000. Causality and regime inference in a Markov-S switching VAR, Working Paper no. 118, Sveriges Riksbank, Stockholm.] Granger causality test under the Markov-Switching model. We find that the causal ordering is unclear and depends on the model we used. Because Markov-Switching model imposes few restrictions in estimation, we tend to use its estimated results but bear in mind that the evidence is sensitive. First, the common shock hypothesis is found that most probably exists between Taiwan and the U.S. Next, we conclude that Japan tends to lead Taiwan's output, to a certain extent. Last, there is no causal ordering between the U.S. and Japan economies.     

Innovation,financial development and economic growth in Eurozone countries

Using a panel vector auto-regressive model, we study interactions between innovation, financial development and economic growth in 18 Eurozone countries between 1961 and 2013. We focus on whether causality runs between these variables both ways, one way, the other way or not at all. Our empirical results show that development of the financial sector and enhanced innovative capacity in the Eurozone contributes to long-term economic growth in the countries in the region.     

Interaction between oil and US dollar exchange rate: nonlinear causality,time-varying influence and structural breaks in volatility

This article examines the nonlinear Granger causality and time-varying influence between crude oil prices and the US dollar (USD) exchange rate using the Hiemstra and Jones (HP) test, the Diks and Panchenko (DP) test and the time-varying parameter structural vector autoregression model. By applying the iterated cumulative sums of squares (ICSS) algorithm and the DCC-GARCH model, the effects of structural breaks in volatility of the two markets are also investigated. The empirical analysis indicates that, first, crude oil prices are the nonlinear Granger-cause of the USD exchange rate, but not vice versa. Second, the USD exchange rate exerts a stronger and more stable negative influence on crude oil prices in the short term, and the influence gradually weakens after 2012. Finally, ignoring structural breaks can increase the negative volatility correlation between the oil and USD exchange rate markets, which is particularly remarkable during the financial crisis.     

Financial variables and euro area growth: A non-parametric causality analysis

This paper investigates the predictive ability of financial variables for euro area growth through bivariate and multivariate non-parametric Granger causality tests. Apart from assessing the within-country forecasting ability of commonly-employed financial variables, such as the term spread, the stock market returns and the growth of real money supply, we also test for cross-country influences. In this way, we reveal the countries that are more useful in predicting growth in other member countries along with the ones that are more receptive to other countries' financial developments. Our results suggest that financial variables are useful leading indicators for euro area growth at a joint level, albeit at different horizons, ranging from one to six quarters. Our finding of overall increased levels of receptivity among member states provides useful information for policy makers, especially in the case of monetary union such as the euro area.     

The causal relationship between natural gas consumption and economic growth: evidence from the G7 countries

This article re-examines the nature of the causality between natural gas consumption and economic growth in G7 countries over the period from 1965 to 2011. We employ the Granger causality procedure proposed by Emirmahmutoglu and Kose (2011) which takes into account cross-sectional dependency and heterogeneity across countries. Our overall empirical results support the neutrality hypothesis for the panel while the individual country results confirm the same result with the exception of the case of UK, where the conservation hypothesis is confirmed, showing that GDP causes natural gas consumption in the country. These results make policies that promote the consumption of natural gas risk-free with regard to their effects to the economic growth and development levels.     

Exports and growth: Granger causality analysis on OECD countries with a panel data approach

This paper investigates the possibility of Granger causality between the logarithms of real exports and real GDP in twenty-four OECD countries from 1960 to 1997. A new panel data approach is applied which is based on SUR systems and Wald tests with country specific bootstrap critical values. Two different models are used. A bivariate (GDP–exports) model and a trivariate (GDP–exports–openness) model, both without and with a linear time trend. In each case the analysis focusses on direct, one-period-ahead causality between exports and GDP. The results indicate one-way causality from exports to GDP in Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Sweden, one-way causality from GDP to exports in Austria, France, Greece, Japan, Mexico, Norway and Portugal, two-way causality between exports and growth in Canada, Finland and the Netherlands, while in the case of Australia, Korea, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the UK and the USA there is no evidence of causality in either direction.     

Uncovering the interrelationship between the U.S. stock and housing markets: a bootstrap rolling window Granger causality approach

The purpose of this study is to investigate the time-varying interrelationship between the housing market and the stock market in the U.S. during the period of 1890–2013, by employing a rolling window subsample with a bootstrap Granger causality test. The rolling window allows for structural changes in the economy over time. Whereas previous studies have not identified a causal relationship between the U.S. housing price index and the SP500 stock price index, this new analysis is the first to identify certain periods wherein either the wealth effect or the investment effect can be observed.     

Monetary policy rules and directions of causality: A test for the euro area

Abstract

Using a VAR model in first differences with quarterly data for the euro zone, the study aims to ascertain whether decisions on monetary policy can be interpreted in terms of a “monetary policy rule” with specific reference to the so-called nominal GDP targeting rule (Hall and Mankiw, 1994 Granger, C.W.J. “Investigating Causal Relations by Econometric Models and Cross-Spectral Methods.” Econometrica, 1969, 37 (3), 424–438.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; McCallum, 1988 McCallum, B. “Nominal GDP Targeting”, Shadow Open Market Committee, October 21, 2011. [Google Scholar]; Woodford, 2012 Taylor, J.B., Williams, J.C. “Simple and Robust Rules for Monetary Policy”, NBER Working Paper No. 15908, April, 2010. [Google Scholar]). The results obtained indicate a causal relation proceeding from deviation between the growth rates of nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and target GDP to variation in the three-month market interest rate. The same analyses do not, however, appear to confirm the existence of a significant inverse causal relation from variation in the market interest rate to deviation between the nominal and target GDP growth rates. Similar results were obtained on replacing the market interest rate with the European Central Bank refinancing interest rate. This confirmation of only one of the two directions of causality does not support an interpretation of monetary policy based on the nominal GDP targeting rule and gives rise to doubt in more general terms as to the applicability of the Taylor rule and all the conventional rules of monetary policy to the case in question. The results appear instead to be more in line with other possible approaches, such as those based on post Keynesian analyses of monetary theory and policy and more specifically the so-called solvency rule (Brancaccio and Fontana, 2013 ———. Macroeconomics, 2nd ed., Pearson Education Company, ch. 30. [Google Scholar], 2015 Brancaccio, E. The Central Banker as “Regulator” of Conflict. In G. Fontana and M. Setterfield (eds.), Macroeconomic Theory and Macroeconomic Pedagogy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, 295–308.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). These lines of research challenge the simplistic argument that the scope of monetary policy consists in the stabilization of inflation, real GDP, or nominal income around a “natural equilibrium” level. Rather, they suggest that central banks actually follow a more complex purpose, which is the political regulation of the financial system with particular reference to the relations between creditors and debtors and the related solvency of economic units.     

The nonlinear dynamic relationship of exchange rates: Parametric and nonparametric causality testing

The present study investigates the linear and nonlinear causal linkages among six currencies denoted relative to United States dollar (USD), namely Euro (EUR), Great Britain Pound (GBP), Japanese Yen (JPY), Swiss Frank (CHF), Australian Dollar (AUD) and Canadian Dollar (CAD). The data spans two periods between 3/20/1991 and 3/20/2007. We apply a new nonparametric test for Granger non-causality by Diks and Panchenko [Diks, C., Panchenko, V., 2005. A note on the Hiemstra–Jones test for Granger noncausality. Studies in Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics 9 (art. 4); Diks, C., Panchenko, V., 2006. A new statistic and practical guidelines for nonparametric Granger causality testing. Journal of Economic Dynamics & Control 30, 1647–1669] and the linear Granger test on the return time series. To detect strictly nonlinear causality, we examine the pairwise VAR-filtered residuals as well as in a six-variate formulation. We find remaining significant bi- and uni-directional causal nonlinear relationships in the series. Finally, we investigate causality after controlling for conditional heteroskedasticity using a GARCH–BEKK model. Whilst the nonparametric test statistics are smaller in some cases, significant nonlinear causal linkages persisted even after GARCH filtering during both periods. This indicates that currency returns may exhibit asymmetries and statistically significant higher-order moments.     

Macroeconomic uncertainty,growth and inflation in the Eurozone: a causal approach

In this article, we evaluate the causal relationship between macroeconomic uncertainty indices, inflation and growth rate for 17 Eurozone countries on a county-level examination. In performing a series of linear and nonlinear causality tests, we find little evidence of a causal relationship between uncertainty and macroeconomic variables. Thus, macroeconomic analysis based on uncertainty indices should be treated with caution.     

Public Debt,Economic Growth and the Real Interest Rate: A Panel VAR Approach to EU and OECD Countries

ABSTRACT

We investigate the causal relationship between public debt ratios and economic growth rates for 31 EU and OECD countries. We estimate a panel VAR model that incorporates the long-term real interest rate on government bonds as a vehicle to transmit shocks in both the public debt to GDP ratio and the economic growth rate. We find no causal link from public debt to growth, irrespective of the levels of the public debt ratio. Rather, we find a causal relationship from growth to public debt. In high-debt countries, the direct negative impact of growth on public debt is enhanced by an increase in the long-term real interest rate, which in its turn decreases interest-sensitive demand and leads to a further increase in the public debt ratio.