Relative Prices and Inflation Stabilization

When price adjustment is sluggish, inflation is costly in terms of welfare because it distorts various kinds of relative prices. Stabilizing aggregate price inflation does not necessarily minimize these costs, but stabilizing a well‐designed core inflation minimizes the cost of relative price fluctuations and, thus, the cost of inflation.     

Commodity Prices and the New Inflation

The intention of the article is to explore trends in economics and sociology, as well as other science disciplines, like history, psychology and anthropology, and investigate the interdisciplinary exchanges that have taken place, leading to convergences and divergences between academic subjects. The “imperialism of economics” is increasingly approaching traditional academic fields of history, psychology, and sociology. However, the article concludes that sociology’s public reputation may have declined, while simultaneously economics is shifting its attention to the social dimension of economic behavior and moving toward the other social sciences; a process which has been coined “social-scienciation.” The argument is that those developments can also be seen as chances to upgrade the social sciences “around” economics. The described process also aligns with recent talk about a need for interdisciplinary studies when this article adopts a different take on the issues of interdisciplinarity and embeddedness.     

Inflation, Shadow Prices and the EMU: Evidence From Greece

The paper examines whether inflation systematically distorts the informational content of price signals. A shadow cost function is specified, and the deviation of shadow from actual prices is modeled as a function of the level of economy‐wide inflation, as well as other conditioning variables like budget deficits and changes in inflation rate. It is found that inflation is associated with significant allocative costs in most Greek manufacturing sectors. Measures of cost gains resulting from Greece's convergence towards the EMU are provided and the policy implications are explored.     

Inflation and Relative Price Variability in a Low Inflation Country: Empirical Evidence for Germany

Abstract. The recent literature on the welfare cost of inflation emphasizes inflation's effect on the variability of relative prices. Expected and unexpected inflation have both been proposed to increase relative price variability (RPV) and, thereby, to distort the information content of nominal prices. This paper presents new evidence on the impact of inflation on RPV in Germany. Our results indicate that the influence of expected inflation disappears if a credible monetary policy stabilizes inflationary expectations on a low level. Yet the significant impact of unexpected inflation suggests that even low inflation rates can lead to welfare losses by raising RPV above its efficient level.     

A Case for a Partially Disaggregated Theory of Inflation

Approaches to economic development have overemphasized negative economic freedom for multinational corporations at the expense of a majority of the population in developing countries. An inevitable outcome has been the growth of informal sector and "vulnerable" employment in developing countries and entrenchment of existing inequalities. We argue that rather than an emphasis on negative freedom, an emphasis on using labor standards to facilitate positive economic freedom must occur. Labor standards do this not only through the "core" rights of union membership and collective bargaining, but also in addressing substantive ("non-core") rights at work (wages, working-time, etc.), thereby facilitating positive freedom.     

通货膨胀、信息搜寻成本与价格分散

在人们为了交易动机而持有实际货币余额中,至少有一部分是为了寻找较低价格而产生的对信息搜寻行为的一种投入。在这一假设下,通货膨胀和价格分散之间存在正的相互作用。许多实证研究都支持了这一观点。     

什么都涨,工资不涨?——价格刚性下通货膨胀对劳动收入比重的影响

什么都在涨,就是工资没有涨.工资的刚性,意味着通货膨胀的提高可以带来短期内实际工资下降、就业增加和产出水平的增加.如果就业效应占据支配地位,那么适度通货膨胀将有利于改善劳动收入比重.文章借鉴Calvo(1983)的随机定价模型,利用"从一般到特殊"的动态计量方法,实证研究了通货膨胀短期内对劳动收入比重的影响.研究显示:短期内,通货膨胀率每增长1%,可以推动劳动份额平均上升0.05%;长期中这一估计效应下降至0.03%.文章研究表明,劳动力市场工资调整的刚性可能是中国劳动收入比重下降的重要短期因素之一.     

Inflation Dynamics in India: Relative Role of Structural and Monetary Factors

This paper examines the relative role of structural and monetary factors in the variation of inflation in India over the period 1996–1997:Q1 to 2013–2014:Q4. The paper finds that both the monetary factors and the output gap has significant role. The role of the output gap in inflation is found more prominent than the monetary factors like broad money growth, interest rate and change in exchange rate. The depreciation of exchange rate and broad money growth stimulates inflation where as the interest rate is identified as an anti-inflationary monetary instrument. In view of a comprehensive policy for price stability, it is imperative to know the role of sectoral output gap in inflation. The paper, therefore, enquires the relative role of the primary, secondary and tertiary sector output gap in inflation. Output gap of each of these three sectors provokes inflation where the contribution of tertiary sector output gap is found to be the maximum followed by the primary sector and the secondary sector output gap. The prominent role of the output gap and comparatively passive role of monetary factors does not necessarily imply a non-effective monetary policy but suggests that controlling inflation only through the monetary management may not be effective.

     

Asset Prices and History: The Case of Austria

Historical events are reflected in asset prices. Looking at Austrian government bond prices traded on the Swiss stock exchange during WWII provides therefore a useful way of interpreting the importance the thousands of people directly and indirectly engaged in stock markets attributed to various war events. An econometric analysis of the relationship between government bond values and events in Austrian history reveals that some generally considered crucial events connected with WWII are clearly reflected in Austrian government bond prices. This holds, in particular for the beginning and the end of the war. The annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938 which seemingly looked as being overwhelmingly and passionately welcomed by the Austrian population negatively affected the evaluation of Austrian government bonds, i.e. it was considered to be to the disadvantage of Austria by the people who put their own personal fortune at risk.     

我国省份之间的要素流动和边际生产率的差异分析

本文讨论了我国各省份之间的生产要素配置的有效性问题。首先 ,在估计各省份的生产函数的基础上 ,给出了各省份资本存量和劳动的边际回报率的大小。其次 ,本文引入了刻划边际回报差异程度的指标———离差指标。通过分析发现 ,从 1 970— 1 989年 ,资本存量的边际生产率的差异水平在缩小 ,从 1 989年起 ,边际生产率的差异水平保持在一个稳定水平 ;劳动的边际生产率的差异从 1 970— 1 993年也在缩小 ,但是 ,从 1 994年开始 ,劳动的边际生产率的差异水平反而开始上升。最后 ,本文对出现的资本存量和劳动的边际回报率差异的变化趋势进行了初步的解释。     

Factor Mobility and Dispersion in Marginal Products: A Case on China

This paper examines the efficiency in resource allocation in China. We estimate production functions at the provincial level and use these functions to compute time series for marginal products of capital and labor. We found that dispersion in the marginal product of capital declined from 1970 to 1984 and then became stable afterward, whereas the dispersion in the marginal product of labor declined initially but the trend has been reversed since 1993. We argue that this reversal may indicate any of the following: (1) policy-driven labor migration adding to labor market inefficiency; (2) the presence of increasing returns in labor; and (3) both capital and labor having become mobile since 1993. Translated from the Economic Research Journal, 2004, (1) (in Chinese)     

Assessing the Impact of Changes in Petroleum Prices on Inflation and Household Expenditures in Australia

This article analyses the expected impact of a twofold rise in petrol prices on sectoral prices and household expenditures in Australia using 1996–97 and 1977–78 input-output tables.     

A Panel Smooth Transition Approach to Inflation and Relative Price Variability in China

This paper examines the relationship between inflation and relative price variability (RPV) by using provincial level data from China. The data contains three different inflation regimes and evidence of smooth transition is statistically prominent and the province‐specific time‐varying marginal impact of inflation on RPV varies substantially across inflation regimes. The inflation–RPV linkage is stronger when inflation is moderately high, but tends to fade out and might eventually disappear when inflation is steadily low. The policy implication of this result is that inflation targets should be set within a range in which the inflation–RPV link is the weakest (i.e. low‐inflation regime) to minimize undesirable price dispersion induced by inflation.     

What Weight Should be Given to Asset Prices in the Measurement of Inflation?

Besides the theoretical (Alchian/Klein, 1973) case for including asset prices in measures of inflation, there is also a practical case, that some asset prices, notably housing, are closely associated with the main trends in inflation, and via 'bubbles and busts' with output disturbances. Attempts to use the pure Alchian/Klein methodology in practice give excessive weight to unstable asset prices, but there are more appropriate weighting schemes, derived either from econometrically measured relationships or from final expenditures. Either way, the statistical treatment of housing is crucial, and is being discussed in Eurostat.     

Commodity Prices and the Dynamics of Inflation in Commodity‐Exporting Nations: Evidence from Australia and Canada*

A commodity‐price boom is under way. What does this boom mean for inflation in countries with substantial net commodity exports? The answer depends on movements in commodity prices, changes in foreign exchange rates and the determinants of domestic price inflation. We estimate equations to provide indications of the strength of each of these forces for both Australia and Canada. The results show that world commodity prices move pro‐cyclically with world industrial production and that rates of change in commodity prices are directly related to domestic inflation in both countries. However, there is an offsetting impact of exchange‐rate changes, which is strong enough in the case of Australia, but not Canada, to substantially eliminate the inflationary impact of a commodity‐price boom.     

外部资源价格冲击与中国工业部门通胀的内生关联研究

文章基于近年来国际资源市场价格激烈波动的现实背景,选择中国33个工业部门以构建反映部门间内在联系的全局向量自回归模型(GVAR),分析外部资源价格冲击对工业部门价格和产出波动的短期效应,继而通过分解各个工业部门的通货膨胀压力来源,探寻资源价格冲击的主要传导路径.研究表明:(1)国际原油价格冲击对能源、化工和基础原材料部门的价格和产出的短期影响较大,而国际工业原材料价格冲击的影响则集中在冶金和机械等工业部门;(2)外部资源价格冲击的影响存在滞后性,但并未产生第二轮通胀效应;(3)工业部门的通货膨胀压力存在显著的溢出效应,国际原油和工业原材料的价格冲击沿着产业链内在联系构成的固定路径进行传导.在GVAR模型中使用新的工业部门间关联权重后,上述结果基本稳健.文章的研究结论为政府有关部门应对国际资源价格冲击提供了一个细化的行业视角.     

Central Bank Independence,Inflation and Uncertainty: The Case of Colombia

Colombia undertook reform of its central bank in 1991, pushing it in the direction of greater independence. We find that this reform led to a significant decrease in the level of inflation, as well as inflation uncertainty, suggesting an increase in credibility. However, there has also been an increase in inflation persistence since reform. The lower mean but greater persistence of inflation indicates that central bank independence has shifted the Phillips curve inward but also flattened it, a result consistent with recent research for the Euro-zone and the United States. Finally, further analysis reveals that, in accordance with the Friedman-Ball hypothesis, higher inflation raises uncertainty in Colombia, but that uncertainty does not increase inflation.     

Gender Analysis of the Policy Responses to High Oil Prices: A Case Study of South Africa

ABSTRACT

The 2007–8 surge in oil prices has created concern about its impacts on poor and vulnerable populations in developing countries. Government management of the energy crisis was shown to be important in reducing adverse impacts. This study uses an applied general equilibrium framework to examine alternative policy and external shocks with the recent surge in oil prices in South Africa through a gender lens. Simulation results show that although the 2007–8 energy crisis contributed to slowing down South African gross domestic product (GDP) growth and reducing employment and earnings, the distributional impact between men and women has been neutral. This neutrality is driven by an increase in capital inflows, which has mitigated the exchange rate depreciation owing to the oil price hike. Without an increase in capital inflows, the crisis would have significantly depreciated the exchange rate and contributed to decreasing women's market opportunities and increasing women's workload as compared to men.