Estimating money demand functions for South Asian countries

In this paper, we estimate a money demand function for a panel of five South Asian countries. We find that the money demand and its determinants, namely real income, real exchange rate and short-term domestic and foreign interest rates are cointegrated both for individual countries as well as for the panel, and panel long-run elasticities provide robust evidence of statistically significant relationships between money demand and its determinants. Our test for panel Granger causality suggests short-run causality running from all variables, except foreign interest rate, to money demand, and we find evidence that except for Nepal money demand functions are stable.      

Demand for money in Bangladesh: a cointegration analysis

The aim of this study is to estimate the demand for real broad (M2) money in Bangladesh using the most recently developed autoregressive distributed lag approach to cointegration analyses. The empirical results show that there is a unique cointegrated and stable long-run relationship among real per capita broad money demand, real per capita income, domestic interest rates and unofficial exchange rate (UM) premiums which act as a surrogate for foreign interest rates. With money as the dependent variable, the results show that the income and interest elasticities are positive while the UM premium elasticity is negative. These results suggest that distortions in the financial and foreign exchange markets should be reduced in order to increase financial saving or monetary accumulation. Our results also reveal that the demand for money in Bangladesh is stable despite the changes in financial and exchange rate policies between 1975 and 1995.     

The expectation hypothesis in emerging financial markets: the case of Malaysia

This article deals with the expectation hypothesis of the term structure of interest rates. It is argued that the rapid progress and financial market liberalization that is occurring in emerging financial markets could provide additional evidence for testing the expectation hypothesis. This article employs data from the Malaysian government securities market which represents one of the examples of an emerging financial market. Cointegration and error correction analyses show significant empirical validity for the expectation hypothesis. The long- and short-term interest rates are shown to be cointegrated and subject to a long-run equilibrium path. In addition to shedding some light on the experience of emerging financial market, this article explicitly identifies the process of adjustment towards the long run equilibrium. For the long-run, the results are in favour of the long-to-short version of expectation hypothesis with longer-term interest rates playing a greater role as equilibrium attractor. However, in the short run causal impact runs from short- to long-term interest rates. The empirical findings of the article generally support the proposition of expectation hypothesis.     

Interest rate dynamics and speculative trading in a fixed exchange rate system

Recent evidence provided by Diebold, Gardeazabal, and Yilmaz (1994) for the post-1973 floating rate period points toward the predictive superiority of a martingale representation of exchange rate evolution over that of an error correction model that assumes rates are cointegrated. This is an appealing result from the perspective of efficient assimilation of randomly arriving information. As a direct extension of informational efficiency in a fixed exchange rate regime, I show that information is processed and assimilated through the medium of interest rates. Specifically, I demonstrate that interest rates cannot be represented as a cointegrated system, even when the central bank is willing to establish its determination and resolve to maintain the fixed rate rule over a sustained and prolonged period of time. Evidence provided in this paper is for the interest rate behavior of the Saudi Arabian Riyal with respect to the eurodollar interest rate, the interest rate on the intervention currency.     

人民币汇率、资产价格与短期国际资本流动

本文基于1999年1月～2008年6月的月度数据,运用ARDL-ECM模型检验了人民币汇率、资产价格与我国短期国际资本流动的关系。结果表明,长期内,人民币汇率预期变化率和国内外利差是影响短期国际资本流动的显著因素,人民币汇率水平、国内股市收益率和房地产收益率并未对短期国际资本流动产生显著影响;短期内,人民币汇率、国内外利差和房地产收益率对短期国际资本流动有显著的滞后效应。     

The ‘compensation’ thesis,as exemplified by the case of the Chinese central bank

This paper extends the theory of demand-led money supply endogeneity to the case of an open economy with a fixed exchange rate. This theory is contrasted to the standard Mundell-Fleming view. In the compensation approach advocated here, central banks are able to set interest rates, even in a fixed exchange rate regime, either because there are automatic market mechanisms that will induce the private sector to act in such a way that changes in foreign reserves will be compensated by opposite changes in central bank claims over the domestic economy, or because the central bank will engage in endogenous sterilization operations in its efforts to enforce its benchmark interest rate. Analyzing the balance sheet of the Chinese central bank, we find that the large rise in foreign reserves on the asset side is compensated by large positive changes in items of the liability side, mainly bonds issued by the central bank. Foreign reserves are not cointegrated with the monetary base, meaning that there is no long-run relationship between foreign exchange reserves and the supply of base money. We also find no long-run relation between foreign exchange reserves and the consumer price index.     

Convergence within the EU: Evidence from Interest Rates

The economic and political changes which are taking place in Europe affect interest rates. This paper develops a two-factor model for the term structure of interest rates specially designed to apply to EMU countries. In addition to the participant country's short-term interest rate, we include as a second factor a 'European' short-term interest rate. We assume that the 'European' rate follows a mean reverting process. The domestic interest rate also follows a mean reverting process, but its convergence is to a stochastic mean which is identified with the 'European' rate. Closed-form solutions for prices of zero coupon discount bonds and options on these bonds are provided. A special feature of the model is that both the domestic and the European interest rate risks are priced. We also discuss an empirical estimation focusing on the Spanish bond market. The 'European' rate is proxied by the ecu's interest rate. Through a comparison of the performance of our convergence model with a Vasicek model for the Spanish bond market, we show that our model provides a better fit both in-sample and out-of sample and that the difference in performance between the models is greater the longer the maturity of the bonds.
(J.E.L.: E43, C510).     

THE TERM STRUCTURE OF INTEREST RATES IN DENMARK 1982–89: TESTING THE RATIONAL EXPECTATIONS/CONSTANT LIQUIDITY PREMIUM THEORY

In this paper we examine whether the rational expectations/constant liquidity premium-theory can explain the Danish term structure of interest rates during the 1980s. Three types of tests will be conducted: a single-equation regression test, a volatility-test, and tests based on a cointegrated VAR-model. All these tests remain valid even if interest rates individually follow non-stationary stochastic processes. In contrast to most other empirical studies of the term structure, the evidence generally supports the rational expectations/constant liquidity premium-theory.     

On the Transmission Mechanism of Monetary Constraints to the Real Side of the Economy

Contrary to the predictions of the theory underlying international finance, inflows of capital triggered by financial liberalisation have neither equalised real interest rates nor increased income growth in many emerging economies. We explain this puzzle by developing a model that combines the balance‐of‐payments constraint approach to economic growth with a less stringent version of the real interest rate parity hypothesis. The model’s foundations are based on robust empirical findings or well‐established macroeconomic models. We show that a perverse combination of income elasticities of demand for imports and exports generates slow income growth and high real interest rates. As domestic income grows and imports rise faster than exports, the real exchange rate is expected to depreciate in order to clear the balance of payments (or the foreign exchange rate market). An incipient capital outflow arises and interest rates increase. Faster adjustment in capital rather than in the goods market therefore generates a higher real interest rate differential between the domestic small open‐economy and the rest of the world. The long run analysis shows that a constant degree of risk aversion implies a positive equilibrium real interest rate differential that affects economic growth. A permanent increase in default risk driven by persistent current account imbalances thus impacts on long run growth. The model’s results are illustrated with evidence from the three major Latin America economies: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.     

利率平价关系不稳定条件下短期资本流动机制的运行

现代利率平价理论分无偏差预测理论与有偏差预测理论,两者对非抵补利率平价是否成立的观点截然相反。大量实证研究更多地表明在当今各种经济基本面、政策面及其不确定性预期等因素的影响下,利率平价关系日益呈现出不稳定性,在短期资本套利和套汇机制作用下,当期和未来短期资本流动方向均有不同变化。近几年来,我国短期资本流动发生较大波动,当前存在着短期资本重新转为大量流入的动向,政府需加强短期资本流动监控,以防遭受冲击。     

Monetary policy under a multiple-tool environment

Since the 2008 global financial crisis, central banks have been using a new set of policy tools in addition to conventional tools (such as short-term interest rates) to conduct monetary policy. This paper employs a methodology that captures 25 of these tools with a limited number of factors for Turkey. Due to a set of factors such as the high volatility of inflation, market-friendly financial architecture and its size, Turkey provides a unique environment to capture these factors and their effects on economic performance. The three factors identified here can be categorized as interest rate, central bank foreign exchange position and liquidity. The empirical evidence reveals that these three factors affect all the economic-state variables considered in the paper in different directions and magnitudes.     

Substitution,Income, and Intertemporal Effects In Currency-Substitution Models*

Empirical studies which aim to determine the extent of international currency substitution typically focus on the coefficient associated with the anticipated rate of depreciation of the domestic currency or on the foreign interest rate in the domestic money demand equation. an intertemporal optimizing model is used to obtain a money demand function which shows that the anticipated exchange-rate change and the foreign interest rate capture an income effect and an intertemporal income or substitution effect. Using these theoretical results, the findings from empirical studies are examined to show circumstances in which international currency substitutability may have been overstated or understated.     

我国短期外债问题研究

自2001年起我国短期外债快速增长,这可能是国际投机资本进入我国的表象之一,文章分析了目前我国短期外债的规模及结构及对我国经济的影响和潜在的威胁。并指出国家外汇管理部门采用一系列措施管理短期外债以严控国际投机资本的流入,措施是得当和必要的,但也是有限的。在开放的经济体下,只要汇差、利差及贸易顺差等因素存在,其所诱发的资本流动就不可避免,最终问题的解决还要靠国内经济结构、产业结构的调整,经济增长方式的转变,以实现国际收支平衡,同时在这个过程中完善汇率制度。     

Multilateral currency substitution and capital flows as sources of instability in the soe demand for money function — A case study

Using monthly data for Ireland we test the hypothesis that the combined effects of currency substitution and capital mobility renders the demand for money function subject to instability over time. The empirical evidence supports the view that both “the” expected exchange rate change, giving rise to currency substitution, and the latter as a component, along with “the” foreign interest rate, of the gross yield on foreign currency-denominated assets, giving rise to capital mobility, are important determinants of the domestic demand for money. Their inclusion as arguments yields a money demand function which is more stable than if they are (incorrectly) excluded.     

Interest Parity,Monetary Policy and the Volatility of Australian Short-Term Interest Rates: 1978–1982*

The period since the introduction of the Treasury note tender in December 1979 has been characterized by increased variability of Australian short-term interest rates. Using a methodology suggested by Evans, the increase in variability of the 90-day commercial bill rate is decomposed into that attributable to domestic monetary policy, seasonal influences, covered international interest rate movements and other miscellaneous influences. The results suggest that after December 1979 Australian short-term interest rates became more sensitive to surprises in the domestic monetary base, covered Eurodollar rate surprises and seasonal influences. Increased volatility of the covered Eurodollar rate also contributed to increased variance of domestic rates.     

Exchange market pressure and primary commodity – exporting emerging markets

This paper studies short-term sensitivity between exchange market pressure and various domestic and external factors in primary commodity-exporting emerging markets. The paper focuses on the top country-commodity groups in sugar, cereal, fuels, ores and coffee during the pre-peak and post-peak commodity price periods across floating and pegged exchange rate regimes, using the price of crude oil as a general benchmark. Employing a panel model and panel VAR analysis, the paper finds the heterogeneity of response patterns unique to country-commodity groups and exchange rate regimes. According to the results, in flexible regimes, volatility occurs via the foreign exchange market, interest rates, and domestic credit cycles, feeding into the social costs for structurally weaker economies. Hard exchange-rate pegs often result in a drain on international reserves as the terms of trade deteriorate following post-price peaks, leading to unpopular depreciation. These results accentuate concerns over uneven international trade patterns, an open economy’s short-term foreign exchange policy, and speculative capital flows. Such sensitivity has broad implications for macroeconomic balance and the sustainability of implied exchange rate targets in the presence of a foreign exchange constraint across emerging markets.     

Nominal term structure and term premia: evidence from Chile

The downwards trend exhibited in Chile’s nominal term structure since 2003 has been a common pattern shared by other developed and developing economies. To understand the behaviour of the nominal yield curve in Chile, we rely on an affine dynamic term structure model which allows the term structure to decompose into the expected short-term interest rate (related to the monetary policy expectation) and the term premium. We show that most of the fall of long-term interest rates as well as its dynamics are related to the term premium rather than the expected short-term interest rate. Moreover, we find evidence that term premium is driven primarily by the US term premium and domestic nominal uncertainty derived from expected inflation.     

UNOFFICIAL EXCHANGE RATES IN BANGLADESH: A COINTEGRATION ANALYSIS

This article estimates a structural model for unofficial market foreign exchange (forex) rates (E U ) and examines the stability of the forex market in Bangladesh using an autoregressive distributed lag approach to cointegration analysis on quarterly data from 1976Q2–1995Q2. It also compares the in-sample and out-of-sample (from 1995Q3–1999Q2) forecasting performances of the structural model with other timE-series models. With E U as a dependent variable and official exchange rates (E O ) , money supply (M) , the difference between foreign and domestic interest rates (I) , forex reserves relative to imports (Q) and political along with some structural factors (D85) as explanatory variables, a multivariate cointegrated relationship is found in which E O , Q , and I cause an appreciation and M and D85 cause a depreciation in E U . These results imply that the overvaluation of the official exchange rate, increases in money supply, the paucity of official forex reserves, and structural factors are the main causes for the creation of the unofficial market for forex in Bangladesh. Results also reveal that the forex market in Bangladesh is stable during the sample period. The structural model performs well in in-sample prediction, and the random walk model performs best in out-of-sample forecasting.     

Budget deficits,short-term real interest rates and the specification of expected inflation: an empirical investigation

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate whether empirical estimates of the effects of budget deficits on short-term real interest rates are sensitive to the choice of the expected inflation variable. Survey data on expected inflation and the rational expectations method described by Mishkin (1981) are used to construct two measures of the short-term real interest rate. Results for two previous studies on this deficit-interest rate relationship are re-estimated using these measures of expected inflation and the interest rate variables. Additional results reported in this paper further indicate that empirical estimates of the interest rate effects of budget deficits are sensitive to the choice of the expected inflation variable. In addition to the choice of the inflation variable, a number of other robustness tests are included. We are able to conclude that (1) increases in budget deficits do not generally raise short-term real interest rates and (2) short-term real interest rates are not independent of the expected inflation variable.

The rate of interest is always based upon expectation, however little this may be justified by realization. Man makes his guess of the future and stakes his action upon it … Our present acts must be controlled by the future, not as it actually is, but as it appears to us through the veil of chance (Fisher, 1907, p. 213).     

THE TEMPORAL CAUSALITY BETWEEN FISCAL DEFICITS AND INTEREST RATES

Conventional wisdom suggests that higher government fiscal deficits cause higher (long-term) interest rates. Much empirical work—generally standard ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis—has examined this issue and has produced mixed findings. Even if these standard OLS studies conclude that deficits and interest rates are related, they do not answer the question of which came first—the higher deficit or the higher interest rate? A few studies have used Granger causality to consider the question of temporal causality, generally with short-term interest rates. Tliis paper employs the relatively new cointegration and error-correction methodology to reexamine the temporal causality between fiscal deficits and interest rates—both long term and short term. This study finds evidence that federal deficits cause the long-term interest rate.