Inflation and real sectoral output shares: Dynamic panel model evidence from seven OECD countries

Models of the cost of inflation often conclude that inflation misallocates resources. For example, inflation may lead to an increase in the variability of relative prices and it is often claimed that this increase in variability leads to a misallocation of resources. This claim raises the following empirical question, does inflation alter the composition of real output; that is, does it change real output shares? We examine this question using dynamic panel data methods for nine sector panels each with seven OECD countries from 1970 to 2005. We find evidence that inflation changes the real shares of some sectors even when inflation is treated as endogenous.     

Misallocation and productivity in the lead up to the Eurozone crisis

We use Portuguese firm-level data to investigate whether changes in resource misallocation may have contributed to the poor economic performance of some southern and peripheral European countries leading up to the Eurozone crisis. We extend Hsieh and Klenow’s (2009) methodology to include intermediate inputs and consider all sectors of the economy (agriculture, manufacturing, and services). We find that within-industry misallocation almost doubled between 1996 and 2011. Equalizing total factor revenue productivity across firms within an industry could have boosted valued-added 48% and 79% above actual levels in 1996 and 2011, respectively. This implies that deteriorating allocative efficiency may have shaved around 1.3 percentage points off the annual GDP growth during the 1996–2011 period. Allocative efficiency deterioration, despite being a widespread phenomenon, is significantly higher in the service sector, with 5 industries accounting for 72% of the total variation. Capital distortions are the most important source of potential value-added efficiency gains, especially in the service sector, with a relative contribution increasing over time.     

Public policy and the creation of active venture capital markets

We assess the effectiveness of different public policy instruments for the creation of active venture capital markets. Our methodology focusses on ‘innovation ratios’, defined to be the shares of high-tech, and of early stage, venture capital investments. We study a unique panel of data for 14 European countries between 1988 and 2001. We have several novel findings. First, we find no evidence of a shortage of supply of venture capital funds in Europe, a result which questions the effectiveness of the most widely used policy for fostering active venture capital markets. We also find other policies to be effective. In particular, the opening of stock markets targeted at entrepreneurial companies has a positive, large effect on the innovation ratios. Reductions in the corporate capital gains tax rate increase the share of both high-tech and early stage investment. A reduction in labor regulation also results in a higher share of high-tech investments. Finally, we find no evidence of an effect of increased public R&D spending on the innovation ratios.     

市场分割与资源错配*——基于生产率分布视角的理论与实证分析

资源错配已成为新常态下制约经济增长的重要因素。现有文献主要从要素市场扭曲视角分析了资源错配问题,而对市场分割与资源错配的研究相对缺乏。本文试图从这方面进行探讨。理论部分将市场分割引致的制度性交易成本加入企业利润函数,分别讨论企业在省内和省外市场的生产行为和定价策略,通过垄断竞争局部均衡模型分析市场分割对资源错配的影响机制。实证部分利用中国工业企业数据库的大样本微观数据对上述机制进行计量检验,以各省市之间的运输成本作为市场分割的工具变量避免估计结果的内生性问题。本文研究发现,国内市场分割指数减少一个百分点可以使资源错配程度降低394%。因此,减少市场分割所引致的制度性交易成本对于深化供给侧结构性改革、提升资源配置效率具有重要政策含义。     

International trade and unionization: Evidence from India

We exploit exogenous variation in tariffs to examine the impact of import competition on unionization and union wages in a developing country. Using a combination of nationally representative household data (National Sample Survey Organization) and nationally representative industry‐level data (Annual Survey of Industries) from India, we find that net‐import industries that experienced larger cuts in tariffs also experienced larger declines in unionization. In addition, we find that these industries also experienced larger increases in union wages. These results are consistent with the predictions of an efficient bargaining framework that we extend to endogenize the union formation decision by allowing for a fixed cost of union formation. We also conduct a back‐of‐the‐envelope calculation to show that the total wage gains to unionized workers marginally exceed the total wage losses to deunionized workers.     

CALCULATING A PRICE INDEX FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN: IMPLICATIONS FOR MEASURING TRENDS IN CHILD POVERTY RATES

This paper investigates the effects of varying consumption patterns for families with and without children on measured trends in child poverty. We first use data from consumer expenditure surveys to calculate price indices by family type. We next examine the effect of using these group-specific price indices on measured trends in child poverty. Although we find that, all else equal, children increase the cost of living, our calculations indicate that on average families with children experienced relatively lower inflation rates than families without children during the 1968 to 1987 period. While this result suggests that estimates of child poverty rates calculated using an average price index may have over-stated secular increases in child poverty, we find that child poverty rates calculated using a price index specific lo families with children are not substantively different from those calculated using an average index for all families.     

ON THE ROLE OF CAPITAL GAINS IN SWEDISH INCOME INEQUALITY

Realized capital gains are typically disregarded in the study of income inequality. We show that in the case of Sweden this severely underestimates the actual increase in inequality and, in particular, top income shares during recent decades. Using micro panel data to average incomes over longer periods and re‐rank individuals according to income excluding capital gains, we show that capital gains indeed are a reoccurring addition to rather than a transitory component in top incomes. Doing the same for lower income groups, however, makes virtually no difference. We also try to find the roots of the recent surge in capital gains‐driven inequality in Sweden since the 1980s. While there are no evident changes in terms of who earns these gains (high wage earners vs. top capital income earners), the primary driver instead seems to be the drastic asset price increases on the post‐1980 deregulated financial markets.     

Productivity and convergence across U.S. States and industries

We examine the sources of aggregate labor productivity movements and convergence in the U.S. states from 1963 to 1989. Productivity levels vary widely across sectors and across states, as do sectoral output and employment shares. The main finding is the diverse performance of sectors regarding convergence. Using both cross-section and time series methods, we find convergence in labor productivity for both manufacturing and mining. However, we find that convergence does not hold for all sectors over the period. Decomposing aggregate convergence into industry productivity gains and changing sectoral shares of output, we find the manufacturing sector to be responsible for the bulk of cross-state convergence.     

Tax collection,the informal sector,and productivity

An important determinant of informality in a country is its tax enforcement capacity, which some authors argue further distorts the decisions of firms and creates inefficiency. In this paper, I assess the quantitative effect of incomplete tax enforcement on aggregate output and productivity using a dynamic general equilibrium framework. I calibrate the model using data for Mexico, where the informal sector is large. I then investigate the effects of improving enforcement. I find that under complete enforcement, Mexico's labor productivity and output would be 19% higher under perfect competition and 34% higher under monopolistic competition. The source of this gain is the removal of the distortions induced by incomplete enforcement of taxes. These distortions affect the economy in three ways: by reducing the capital–labor ratios of informal establishments; by allowing low-productive entrepreneurs to enter; and by misallocating resources towards low-productive establishments. As a result, TFP and capital accumulation are reduced, and hence output. I decompose the gains following the guidelines of five leading papers in the literature of resource misallocation across plants. I isolate the effects of pure factor misallocation, distorted occupational choices, capital accumulation, and complementarities. I also study marginal improvements in enforcement and find that there is an inverted-U relationship between the size of the informal sector and output. This reflects the fact that improving enforcement entails a tradeoff: more taxes vs. fewer distortions.     

Taxation and the stock market valuation of capital gains and dividends: Theory and emphirical results

Dividends seem to be more heavily taxed than capital gains. Why then do corporations pay dividends rather than repurchasing shares or retaining earnings? Either corporations are not acting in the interests of shareholders, or else shareholders desire dividends sufficiently for nontax reasons to offset the tax effect.In this paper, we measure the relative valuation of dividends and capital gains in the stock market, using a variant of the capital asset pricing model. We find that dividends are not valued differently systematically from capital gains. This finding is consistent with share price maximization by firms but inconsistent with the fact that most shareholderspay a heavier tax on dividends.We also show that the relative value of dividends provides an indirect measure of a marginal Tobin's q. The measured value of dividends relative to capital gains tends to be higher during prosperous periods, as is consistent with this interpretation. We hope that this time series on a marginal Tobin's q will prove to be useful in forecasting the rate of investment.     

Gains from commitment in monetary policy: Implications of the cost channel

Many empirical studies find robust evidence that marginal cost of production directly depends on the nominal rate of interest. This relationship induces a cost channel for monetary policy transmission. Although the empirical literature provides ample evidence for a cost channel, studies that evaluate the welfare gains from monetary policy commitment have so far entirely ignored its presence. This study shows that, overlooking the cost channel, one significantly underestimates the welfare gains from monetary policy commitment. I find that there is a robust positive relationship between the size of the cost channel and welfare gains from monetary policy commitment. Using a version of the new Keynesian model calibrated to the US economy, I find that failure to take into account the presence of a cost channel leads to an understatement of the gains from monetary policy commitment by an amount equivalent to a 0.48 percentage points permanent cut in quarterly inflation.     

The impact of cross-border acquisitions on target banks’ performance in an institutionally poor environment: Ukraine’s takeover wave

We investigate the impact of the 2005–2007 cross-border bank takeovers in Ukraine – a country with poor institutional quality – on the performance of the target banks. Because acquirers targeted mainly larger, less-capitalised banks, we control for selection bias by combining propensity score matching and a difference-in-difference methodology. We find that the cost efficiency of the acquired banks improved after takeover (because of a decreased reliance on deposits), but that neither their profitability nor their loan market shares increased. Overall, our findings tally only piecemeal with the existing multi-country studies for transition economies. This argues in favour of additional single-country research.     

参考价格分布和股票回报:基于处置效应的分析

本文的理论模型根据受处置效应影响的投资者的交易行为来求得股票的期望回报,表明不是单个指标变量,而是参考价格分布决定着股票的未来表现。本文的实证部分建立了测度参考价格分布形状的代理变量,验证了与理论模型一致的结果,即平均相对收益较高或者相对收益分布偏度越高的股票,下一期回报率越高。同时本文还证实了处置效应的非对称性,即影响获利股票预测的主要为分布的均值,而影响亏损股票的预测的主要是分布的偏度。     

资本误配置的影响因素初探

资本市场的各种不完美性会导致资本在企业间不能够以资本的边际产出相等的原则进行配置,从而产生资本误配置(capital misallocation)。本文通过研究中国制造业企业的固定资产投资行为,用模拟矩方法(Simulated Method of Moment,SMM),估计了不同所有制类型的企业的资本调整成本(adjustment cost)函数、投资不可逆(irreversibility)程度以及折现因子(discount factor)(用来计算边际利率)。我们发现,民营企业面临的边际利率要远远高于外资企业,而后者面临的边际利率又高于国有企业和集体企业。不同类型的企业面临差别利率是造成资本误配置的最重要因素,投资不可逆次之,资本调整成本则是相对次要但仍然不可忽略的因素。     

资源错配、要素市场总扭曲及福利损失测算*——基于单位要素成本的生产率分解视角

通过引入单位要素成本指标,本文对佩特兰和勒文叟汉（Petrin and Levinsohn）的生产率分解模型进行了拓展,［1］得到了一个更为准确的资源重置效应。利用2000—2007年中国规模以上制造业企业数据,经过测算显示,技术进步和要素市场总扭曲是生产率增长的主要来源;样本期间资源重置对生产率增长的平均贡献仅有324%,且日渐式微。然而资源错配造成的福利损失却依旧占制造业增加值的近2663%。这表明,在现有体制下通过市场自发调节促进要素合理配置的空间已经耗尽,经济结构呈现出一定的“固化”倾向,进一步的资源重置应来自对现有经济结构的改革,以缓解资源错配。本文最后通过测算各地区的资源重置潜力,为区域结构优化提供了一个量化参考。     

Tariff‐jumping FDI and domestic firms' profits

Abstract.  Studies of trade policy welfare effects often ignore the potential for tariff‐jumping foreign direct investment (FDI) to mitigate positive gains to domestic producers. Using event study methodology we find that affirmative U.S. antidumping decisions are associated with average abnormal gains of over 3% to a firm in the petitioning industry in the absence of tariff‐jumping FDI, but much smaller and statistically insignificant abnormal gains if there is tariff‐jumping FDI. We also find evidence that tariff jumping in the form of new plants or plant expansion has significantly larger negative effects on U.S. domestic firms' profits than other types of tariff‐jumping FDI. JEL Classification: F13, F23, L11     

去工业化、经济增长与区域协调发展——基于土地资源错配的视角

针对我国近年来的“去工业化”现象，本文通过280座城市的面板数据，以及城市地形和省级审批建设用地占比构造的工具变量，从土地资源错配视角考察了去工业化对经济增长和区域协调发展的影响。实证结果发现，在当前经济发展阶段工业化对经济增长仍然具有显著的积极影响，过快、过早地去工业化不利于保持经济持续增长和实现区域协调发展，而土地资源在地区间和部门间的双重错配是导致我国出现过早去工业化的重要原因。进一步的分析表明，较高的城镇化水平以及发达的生产性服务业有助于增强工业化对经济增长的推动效应。本文为新时期保持制造业比重基本稳定，推动我国经济持续稳定增长，推进区域协调发展以及促进土地资源优化配置提供了经验证据。     

Cost Savings and Productivity in the Railroad Industry

Railroad deregulation has had tremendous effects on the level of costs and productivity gains. I use an unbalanced panel of railroads from 1978 through 1989 to estimate a translog cost function. I find that initially cost savings from partial deregulation were modest. However, by 1989, I find that cost savings were tremendous, with costs being up to 40 percent lower than they would have been under regulation. I also find that while initial effects of deregulation on productivity gains were large, these effects have fallen through time, and currently are comparable to pre-deregulation levels.     

How important are dual economy effects for aggregate productivity?

This paper brings together development accounting techniques and the dual economy model to address the role that factor markets have in creating variation in aggregate total factor productivity (TFP). Development accounting research has shown that much of the variation in income across countries can be attributed to differences in TFP. The dual economy model suggests that aggregate productivity is depressed by having too many factors allocated to low productivity work in agriculture. Data show large differences in marginal products of similar factors within many developing countries, offering prima facie evidence of this misallocation. Using a simple two-sector decomposition of the economy, this article estimates the role of these misallocations in accounting for the cross-country income distribution. A key contribution is the ability to bring sector-specific data on human and physical capital stocks to the analysis. Variation across countries in the degree of misallocation is shown to account for 30–40% of the variation in income per capita, and up to 80% of the variation in aggregate TFP.     

Information aggregation in experimental asset markets in the presence of a manipulator

We study with the help of a laboratory experiment the conditions under which an uninformed manipulator—a robot trader that unconditionally buys several shares of a common value asset in the beginning of a trading period and unwinds this position later on—is able to induce higher asset prices. We find that the average price is significantly higher in the presence of the manipulator if and only if the asset takes the lowest possible value and insiders receive perfect information about the true value of the asset. It is also evidenced that the robot trader makes trading gains. Finally, both uninformed and partially informed traders may suffer from the presence of the robot.