Fractional cointegration and the term structure

According to the expectations theory of the term structure of interest rates, the yield spread between long-term and short-term interest rates is an optimal predictor of future changes in short rates over the long-run. Results concerning the empirical validity of this hypothesis are not unanimous. These contradictions may be due to the fact that the traditional concept of cointegration is too restrictive. We refer here to the concept of fractional cointegration introduced by Granger (1986). We study the expectations theory by testing for the existence of a (fractional) cointegration relationship between short-term and long-term interest rates. There is evidence of fractional cointegration between interest rates for the G7 countries, with the exception of Germany.First version received: July 2002 / Final version received: July 2003We thank two anonymous referees for very helpful and detailed comments.     

Interest Rates and Monetary Velocity in Australia and the United States*

Two problems have become evident in recent work on the demand for money. One is the implausibly long lags in the demand for money function, the other is a tendency for short-run instability during the 1970s. This paper argues that these problems stem from a point raised by Milton Friedman in 1959 but neglected subsequently: namely, the failure of reference cycles in interest rates to conform in timing with cycles in velocity. The cyclical association between interest rates and velocity is examined for both Australia and the US using cross-spectral methods, and evidence is found of the timing relationships which puzzled Friedman and led him to doubt that interest rates significantly affected the demand for money. After considering the implications of these findings, it is concluded that many models of the demand for money appear to be mis-specified, and the two problems mentioned above are symptomatic of this. A different approach to modelling the demand for money is outlined, in which a short-lead relationship in the money market is substituted for the long lags found by other researchers.     

中、英利率与证券价格关系的比较——基于1993-2005年数据的实证研究

本文通过对1993年8月-2005年4月中、英利率与证券价格关系的实证研究,探究两变量间短期动态均衡与长期相关关系,比较并分析两国异同点及其原因.结果表明,中、英利率与证券价格在长期中存在均衡关系,但二者相关程度不同,方向相反;两国在不同程度上都存在短、长期利率与证券价格间的因果关系.政策含义是,应加快中国金融行业的改革以建立并完善证券市场结构与体系,促进市场化导向利率的建立,并逐渐开放中国的证券市场使之融入世界金融市场.     

利率、魏克赛尔累积过程与资产价格

通货膨胀目标制的理论基础直接来源于魏克赛尔的累积过程理论。央行的利率政策不但会影响一般价格的上涨,而且会导致资产价格出现泡沫。现时的房产价格与未来的产出和通货膨胀关系密切,应该在CPI中给予一定的权重。低利率、低通胀和资产价格膨胀共存并不意味着累积过程理论失效,而是因为其反馈机制和通胀度量出现了问题。     

Saving,Lending and Interest Rates: A Critique (of the Model) of Financial Liberalisation in India

The case for financial liberalisation is founded on the neoclassical proposition that savings causes investment and that the interest rate tends to move to equate the two. We find little support for this thesis from the experience of India. Alternatively, we suggest that the Post Keynesian approach that includes the liquidity preferences of banks might be a fruitful way to examine the dynamics of an economy in transition.     

Exchange rate pass-through in New Member States and candidate countries of the EU

This paper studies the degree of exchange rate pass-through to the prices of imports of some New Member States (NMSs) of the European Union plus Turkey, coming from the euro area. I estimate industry-specific rates of pass-through across and within countries using the methodology proposed by Campa and González-Mínguez [Campa, J.M. and González-Mínguez, J.M. (2006). Differences in Exchange Rate Pass-Through in the Euro Area. European Economic Review, 50, 121–145.] which estimates the short- and long-run pass-through elasticities. I did not find evidence either in favour of the hypothesis of Local Currency Pricing (zero pass-through) or the hypothesis of Producer Currency Pricing (complete pass-through) for all the countries except for Slovenia and Cyprus. With reference to the results by industry, the lowest values for exchange rate pass-through are in Manufacturing sectors. However, I did observe a exchange rate pass-through decline through the pricing chain.     

中国利率期限结构的货币政策含义

本文采用Nelson-Siegel参数模型连续估计了中国利率期限结构曲线,实证了远期利率对未来即期利率的预测能力,分析了央行货币政策措施对利率期限结构的影响和实施效果,研究了利率期限结构与未来通货膨胀的关系。研究结果表明,中国利率期限结构能够为研究制定货币政策提供大量有用的信息。     

Endogenous Money,Fiscal Policy,Interest Rates and the Exchange Rate Regime: Correction

This note suggests two corrections that might usefully be made to the analysis in an earlier article with the same title. The corrections have no direct bearing on the original argument (which had to do with disputes about modern money theory, or MMT) but do seem important for the future development of an alternative monetary theory.     

Dynastic Inequality Compared: Multigenerational Mobility in the United States,the United Kingdom,and Germany

Using harmonized household survey data, we analyze long‐run social mobility in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, and test recent theories of multigenerational persistence of socioeconomic status. In this country comparison setting, we find evidence against a universal law of social mobility. Our results show that the long‐run persistence of socioeconomic status and the validity of a first‐order Markov chain in the intergenerational transmission of human capital is country‐specific. Furthermore, we find that the direct and independent effect of grandparents' social status on grandchildren's status tends to vary by gender and institutional context.     

Threshold cointegration and nonlinear adjustment between goods and services inflation in the United States

In this paper, we model the long-run relationship between goods and services inflation for the United States over the period 1968:1–2003:3. Our empirical methodology makes use of recent developments on threshold cointegration that consider the possibility of a nonlinear relationship between the two inflation series. According to our results, the null hypothesis of linear cointegration would be rejected in favor of a two-regime threshold cointegration model. Consequently, we could expect a cointegrating relationship only when the divergence between services inflation and goods inflation is above the threshold point estimate.     

利率与银行风险承担行为的实证分析

作为货币政策传导机制中的重要中介指标,利率对银行风险承担的影响形式和路径因各国经济金融制度不同而存在差异。以中国银行业为研究对象,选择16家上市银行为样本,就2002~2013年间利率对其风险承担行为的影响进行实证分析。研究结果表明:不良贷款率而不是风险资产比率更适合衡量银行风险承担行为;利率水平与不良贷款率之间的确存在着显著的反向变化关系;银行风险具有动态性和延续性;银行异质性与利率的交互作用尚没有对银行风险产生显著影响。     

当前宏观经济条件下加息政策的效应分析

2007年上半年的主要宏观经济数据显示,目前我国经济流动性过剩问题更加突出,"三过"问题不断交织,物价上涨压力不断加大.围绕这些问题,部分经济学家认为经济过热现象不断显现,加息已在所难免;而另一部分人则认为中国经济并不存在过热问题,只是投资分布不合理,加息并不能解决当前的问题.本文结合这两种观点,分析加息政策的效应,并提出对这一问题的相应看法.     

Endogenous Money,Fiscal Policy,Interest Rates and the Exchange Rate Regime: A Comment on Palley,Tymoigne and Wray

One of the main collective contributions of the various heterodox schools of monetary thought, such as circuit theory, Post Keynesian theory, modern money theory (MMT) and others, has been to stress the importance of the endogeneity of money via bank credit creation. It is necessary to stress the notion of a collective contribution because of the various claims and counter-claims to academic priority made in the literature. The recent exchange between T.I. Palley and E. Tymoigne and L.R. Wray in this journal provides a clear example of this. This response examines the differences between these writers in some detail.     

利率期限结构的马尔科夫区制转移模型与实证分析

本文在利率期限结构中通过纳入马尔科夫(Markov)区制转移,将传统CKLS模型推广到更为一般的状态相依的CKLS模型,并将之应用于对我国1996年1月至2006年3月银行间同业拆借市场六组不同到期日之月度加权平均利率的研究。通过模型估计和检验分析,我们发现在不同区制下不同到期日利率漂移函数和扩散函数均呈现非线性,其中漂移函数表现为强烈的随机游走过程或均值回归过程,而扩散函数表现为低波动状态或高波动状态。此外,结果表明不同到期日利率期限结构可由缩压的马尔科夫区制转移CKLS模型获得。     

Macroeconomic News and Stock Returns in the United States and Germany

Abstract. Using daily data for the January 1997 to June 2002 period, we analyze similarities and differences in the impact of macroeconomic news on stock returns in the United States and Germany. We consider 27 different types of news for the United States and 12 different types of news for Germany. For the United States, we present evidence for asymmetric reactions of stock prices to news. In a boom (recession) period, bad (good) news on GDP growth and unemployment or lower (higher) than expected interest rates may be good news for stock prices. In the period under consideration there is little evidence for asymmetric effects in Germany. However, in the case of Germany, international news appears at least as important as domestic news. There is no evidence that US stock prices are influenced by German news. The analysis of bi-hourly data for Germany confirms these results.     

A Comparison of Household Recycling Behaviors in Norway and the United States

This paper investigates empirically the determinants of household recycling in Norway and compares the results with a similar, recently published, study of households in the United States. The comparison focuses on the relative importance of user fees on waste disposal, community recycling programs, and socioeconomic factors. Both data sources are nationwide, material-specific, and at the household level. One major finding is that a disposal fee provides a significant economic incentive to Norwegian households, whereas its effectiveness in the United States is still up for debate. Providing households with convenient recycling options, such as curbside and drop-off recycling, appears generally effective, but less so in Norway than in the United States. Socioeconomic characteristics are less important predictors of behavior in Norway than in the United States. Qualifications on the comparison are provided throughout and two extensions for future research are suggested at the end.     

Yield spreads,currency movements,and recession predictability for southern border economies in the United States

Prior research establishes that the spread between long- and short-term bond yields often provides valuable information for predicting business cycle downturns. This study examines the predictive capacity of the yield spread for the United States metropolitan economies situated along the border with Mexico. Because of the location of these urban economies and various economic ties linking them with twin cities across the border, the Mexico yield spread, and the real dollar/peso exchange rate are also employed as potential recession predictors. Results suggest that a flattening of the yield curve for either country tends to increase the probability of recessions in border economies. Furthermore, declines in the real value of the peso, which are typically associated with greater cross-border manufacturing activity, are found to reduce recession likelihoods in the metropolitan economies examined on the north side of the international boundary.     

利率上调对中国住房市场影响的动态分析

构建一个简单的住房需求供给模型,从未预测到中国人民银行对利率上调和已预早测到中国人民银行要对利率进行上调两方面来分析利率上调对中国住房市场的影响。研究结果表明,利率上调通过影响住房市场供求和房租这两个途径来影响中国的住房市场,并且当住房价格上升过快时,利率上调可以作为一个调控中国房价的有效手段。