Fiscal stimulus and labor market dynamics in Japan

The paper studies the effects of fiscal expansion on the Japanese labor market. First, using a structural VAR model, we find that the unemployment rate falls and employment rises following an increase in government spending. We also find that fiscal expansion affects flows in and out of unemployment. While an increase in government spending increases the job-finding rate, it reduces the separation rate. We then incorporate search and matching frictions into a standard dynamic general equilibrium model, and study whether the model can explain what we observed in data. While the model fails to predict the exact size of the impact of government spending shocks on the Japanese labor market variables, it can consistently capture the empirical pattern of responses of labor market variables to shocks.     

A history of aggregate demand and supply shocks for the United Kingdom, 1900 to 2016

This paper presents a history of aggregate demand and supply shocks spanning 1900 – 2016 for the United Kingdom. Sign restrictions derived from a workhorse Keynesian model are used to identify the signs of those shocks. We compare the 30 largest shocks implied by a vector autoregressive model in unemployment and inflation with the narrative historical record. Our approach provides a new perspective on well-known events in economic history. We highlight two episodes of particular interest: an aggregate supply shock in the late 1920s, which we attribute to changes in the bargaining power of labor, and positive aggregate demand shocks in the mid-1970s, which we attribute to fiscal policy.     

Optimum Currency Areas in Emerging Market Regions: Evidence Based on the Symmetry of Economic Shocks

This paper examines which emerging market regions form optimum currency areas (OCAs) by assessing the symmetry of macroeconomic shocks. We extend the output-prices-VAR framework by adding net exports and the real effective exchange rate as endogenous variables. Based on theoretical considerations, we derive which shocks affect these variables in the long run: shocks to labor productivity, foreign trade, labor supply, and money supply. The considered economies of Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, East and Southeast Asia, and South Asia, exhibit large enough shock symmetry to form a currency union; the economies of Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East do not.     

Females,the elderly,and also males: Demographic aging and macroeconomy in Japan

The speed and magnitude of ongoing demographic aging in Japan are unprecedented. A rapid decline in the labor force and a rising fiscal burden to finance social security expenditures could hamper growth over a prolonged period. We build a dynamic general equilibrium model populated by overlapping generations of males and females who differ in participation rate, employment type and labor productivity as well as life expectancy. We study how changes in the labor market over the coming decades will affect the transition path of the economy and fiscal situation of Japan. We find that a rise in the labor supply of females and the elderly of both genders in an extensive margin and in labor productivity can significantly mitigate effects of demographic aging on the macroeconomy and reduce fiscal pressures, despite their negative effects on equilibrium wages during the transition. The study suggests that a combination of policies that remove obstacles hindering labor supply and that enhance a more efficient allocation of male and female workers of all age groups will be critical to keeping government deficit under control and raising income across the nation.     

A Stochastic Simulation Model of an Optimum Currency Area

In this paper, we develop a two-country stochastic simulation model based on the theory of optimum currency areas, which studies the desirability of a monetary union. Extending the general equilibrium model of Ricci (1995), we introduce the intertemporal dimension, which allows to deal more accurately with labor mobility and shock dynamics. We analyse the importance of shocks asymmetries and investigate the role of labor mobility. Furthermore, we illustrate the influence of trade openness and the impact of a fiscal federalism system, assuming a specific transfer allocation rule based on the relative evolution of unemployment between the two countries.     

Policy Shocks and Macroeconomic Fluctuations in a Two‐country Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Model: Evidence from China*

In this paper, we construct a two‐country dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model to investigate the sources of business cycles in China and the contributions of policy shocks in economic fluctuations. The empirical results from Bayesian estimation show that, apart from the traditional supply and demand shocks, monetary and fiscal policy shocks also play important roles in determining China's economic fluctuations. In addition, we find significant feedback effects between monetary and fiscal policies in China, indicating that policy coordination is an important feature of China's monetary and fiscal policies. Overall, these results not only shed new light on the policy factors behind China's economic fluctuations, but also provide new evidence that is helpful for understanding the policy transmission mechanisms in China.     

Delegation and Fiscal Policy in the Open Economy: More Bad News for Rogoff's Delegation Game

This article studies the open-economy Rogoff delegation game, taking into account both intra-country and intercountry interactions between fiscal authorities and central banks. With representative bankers, the Nash equilibrium of fiscal and monetary authorities independently responding to supply-side shocks sees insufficient monetary adjustment and an imbalance towards fiscal stabilization if shocks are sufficiently symmetric; the opposite occurs if shocks are sufficiently asymmetric. Appointing conservative bankers shifts the fiscal–monetary balance away from monetary towards fiscal policy. Unilateral delegation benefits that country; but when all countries independently delegate, the outcome is only favorable if shocks are sufficiently asymmetric.     

Oil Price Shocks and the Credit Default Swap Market

We investigate the impact of supply and demand shocks in the global crude oil market on the CDX spread, in the context of a structural VAR model based on monthly data, over the period from November 2003 to October 2015. We find that the reaction of the CDX spread to changes in the real price of crude oil differs considerably depending on the sources of shocks. In the long run, crude oil supply shocks, aggregate demand shocks, and oil-specific demand shocks together account for nearly 90% of the variation of the CDX spread.     

Reactions to Shocks and Monetary Policy Regimes: Inflation Targeting Versus Flexible Currency Board in Sub‐Saharan Africa

The paper examines the monetary policy actions through which central banks in sub‐Saharan Africa have tried to eliminate the negative impacts of the shocks facing their economies. We compare two different monetary policy regimes: a currency board regime (in the CFA zone) and an inflation targeting policy regime (Ghana and South Africa) when central banks respond to demand, supply, and fiscal shocks. We extend the usual forecasting and policy analysis system models to replicate the economic features of these economies during the period 2002–12 and to evaluate the impact of several policies in response to these shocks. We find that both policies are inappropriate in helping the economies escape from the effects of negative demand shocks, both are essential when negative shocks to primary balance occur, while inflation targeting dominates the currency board regime as a strategy to cope with positive shocks to inflation.     

Fiscal Shocks and The Sectoral Composition of Output

We study the impact of shocks to different types of government spending on the sectoral composition of output for a panel of EMU member countries. We find that fiscal shocks lead to an increase in the relative size of the nontraded sector, with the impact varying across the different spending categories. There is typically no significant impact on the level of production in the tradables sector but the level of imports increases and the level of exports declines in most cases. Overall, the results show that fiscal shocks matter not only for aggregate variables but also for the sectoral composition of output. The sectoral output results are consistent with previous work concerning the impact of fiscal shocks on the real exchange rate and the relative price of nontradables.     

个人所得税政策调整影响及进一步改革建议

文章认为,2011年的个人所得税的政策调整,对我国经济生活的方方面面产生了较大的影响。对劳动力供给、个人投资和消费、国家财政以及社会分配等会产生有利的影响;对财政收入等会产生不利影响。同时也应看到,因调整未触及个人所得税转型等根本性问题,费用扣除不合理、分类分项扣除不公平和应对物价上涨乏力等关键性问题没有纳入调整视线,需要待时机成熟时进行相应的改革。     

政府财政政策对经济增长的影响——基于一个资本积累与创新相互作用模型的分析

政府财政政策对经济增长和社会福利的影响,是经济增长理论和宏观公共财政理论研究的重点,已经有大量的研究。本文在一个资本积累与创新相互作用的框架下内生化劳动力供给,假设政府通过征收平滑的收入税为公共支出融资,并且将政府公共支出区分为资本性支出和研发性支出,从而考察了税收和财政支出结构对经济增长的影响及其作用机制。研究发现,当政府通过征收收入税为生产性公共支出融资时,收入税税率与经济增长率之间存在一个倒U形的关系,从而回到了Barro(1990)的结论,尽管本文强调的政府财政政策作用于经济增长的机制与Barro(1990)差别较大;在基准经济(benchmark economy)的参数环境下,财政支出结构与经济增长率之间存在一个倒U型关系,从而经济中存在一个最优的财政支出结构。     

Fiscal Policy and Macroeconomic Stabilizations: What are the Gains from Cooperation?

In this paper we extend the open-economy stochastic framework of Obstfeld and Rogoff (Q J Econ. 117:503–36, 2002) to include distortionary taxation, when prices are flexible but wages are sticky. We use the model to analyze the optimal design of tax rules that respond to productivity shocks, under non-cooperation and cooperation between the fiscal authorities, and evaluate the gains from coordination. We show that, although monetary policy would be preferred to fiscal policy as a stabilization tool both under competition (Nash) and under cooperation, there is a role for procyclical fiscal stabilization in a monetary union where the monetary authority cannot respond to asymmetric shocks. Moreover, we show that in the Nash game there will be an incentive for the fiscal authorities to try to manipulate the terms-of-trade in their favor, and we estimate the potential gains from fiscal policy coordination. The size of the gains depends crucially on the value of the Frisch elasticity of labor supply. For lower values of the Frisch elasticity (more in line with microeconometric estimates) the gains are relatively small, but for more elastic labor supplies (more in agreement with the business cycle literature) the gains can be very large.

工资对个人劳动供给的非线性影响：部门市场化程度差异视角

从市场经济体制的建立到经济社会高质量发展，我国不同部门市场化程度有所差异，劳动供给的部门异质性随之体现。基于中国劳动力动态调查数据，结合汉森门槛回归模型和劳动供给模型，依托部门市场化程度的差异性，文章探讨了工资对劳动力个人供给的非线性影响及其部门异质性。主要得出以下研究结论：第一，我国市场部门与公共部门劳动力的个人劳动供给有所差异。第二，工资与个人劳动供给呈现非线性关系并且存在部门异质性。实证分析结果显示，工资对个人劳动供给的影响存在三个"突变点"，工资门槛均使得工资"激励效应"加强并呈现逐步增加的趋势。第三，劳动供给的工资门槛存在性别、城乡和行业异质性。第四，随着年龄增长、人力资本积累，个人劳动时间供给趋于降低，签署书面劳工合同使得市场部门劳动力工作时间显著增加，而政治面貌显著影响公共部门劳动供给。总体来看，无论是市场部门还是公共部门，我国劳动力个人供给曲线均未"向后弯曲"，国民经济高质量发展、改善收入分配格局、提升居民幸福感等议题需持续关注。     

THE CYCLICALITY OF MONETARY AND FISCAL POLICY IN SOUTH AFRICA SINCE 1994

This paper uses a structural vector‐autoregression approach to discuss the cyclicality of fiscal and monetary policy in South Africa since 1994. There is substantial South African literature on this topic, but much disagreement remains. Though not undisputed, there is growing consensus that monetary policy has contributed to the remarkable stabilisation of the South African economy over this period. The evaluation of the role of fiscal policy in stabilisation has been less favourable and there is little evidence that a countercyclical fiscal stance was a priority over this period. This paper considers these issues in an empirical framework that addresses some of the shortcomings in the literature. Specifically, it constructs a structural model in contrast with the reduced form models typically used in the South African literature, incorporates the dynamic interaction between monetary and fiscal shocks on the demand side and supply shocks on the other, and avoids controversy over “neutral” base years and the size of fiscal elasticities. The model confirms the consensus on monetary policy, finding it to have been largely countercyclical since 1994. On fiscal policy, this paper finds evidence of pro‐cyclicality, especially in the more recent period, though the policy simulations suggest that the pro‐cyclicality of fiscal policy has had little destabilising impact on real output.     

Pension systems and intragenenerational redistribution when labor supply is endogenous

In models with exogenous labor supply, a reallocation of fundsfrom a wage-related pension to a basic pension affects inequalitythrough changes in the pension paid, redistributing resourcesfrom the rich to the poor. We show that in a model with endogenouslabor supply, another effect is present: indeed changes of thebenefit formula have an impact on the labor/leisure choice.This effect goes in the opposite direction of the standard effectthat is also present in models with exogenous labor supply andit could be quite relevant, also depending on the differentassumptions on the working of the labor market. In particular,under specific assumptions on the utility and the productionfunctions, inequality is unaffected by a reallocation of fundstowards the basic pension. However this result changes if aminimum wage is introduced, since in this case inequality turnsout to be reduced.     

The impact of migration and remittances on labor supply in Tajikistan

Remittances from labor migrants abroad have become the largest component of financial flows to developing countries. While they are an important source of foreign currency for low-income countries, the impact of outmigration and remittances on the economic development of the sending country is ambiguous. To narrow this knowledge gap, this paper examines their impact on the domestic labor market, using the case of Tajikistan – a labor migrant contributor and remittance dependent country in Central Asia. Specifically, we estimate the impact of international migration and receipt of remittances on the labor supply decisions and employment of the family members left behind. To ensure rigorous inferences, we apply a control function approach using unique high-frequency household panel data. Our method enables us to correctly address the simultaneity of migration/remittance and labor supply decisions of the left-behind members. Our main estimates are that sending migrants reduces the labor supply of the left-behind members by 5.4 percentage points, and that receiving remittances reduces it by 10.2 percentage points, respectively. These findings suggest that the reservation wage effect of having a migrant member and receiving remittances is large and surpasses other positive effects they might have.     

Hours Worked and Permanent Technology Shocks in Open Economies

We use Structural Vector Autoregressions to study the impact of technology improvements on hours worked in the major seven countries. While previous studies estimate the response of labor input to permanent shocks to country-level labor productivity, we consider the response of labor input to aggregate-level labor productivity. Since labor productivities do cointegrate in the G7, the estimated responses should look very similar. They do not: for each country but Germany, the responses estimated using G7 labor productivity sizeably exceed those estimated using country-level labor productivity. These results also hold in larger SVAR models.     

Family size,labor supply,and job prestige: Evidence from three decennial censuses in China

This study investigates the relationship between family size and parents’ labor market performance, measured by labor supply and occupational prestige scores, based on three census waves in 1990, 2000, and 2010. To address the endogeneity problem of family size, we use the indicator of twins at first birth as an instrumental variable. Our results suggest that in nuclear households, family size affects the labor market performance only of mothers, not of fathers, with the negative effects fading and gradually disappearing over time. More specifically, an increase in family size decreases female labor supply in the 1990 wave, leads to lower prestige scores among working mothers in the 2000 wave, and has no impact on labor supply or occupational prestige scores in the 2010 wave. Our subsample analysis indicates that the negative effects of family size are more severe for parents of households with all children under seven years old and for husbands or wives with lower education level than that of their partners. In addition, we find that the negative effects of family size on parental labor market outcomes are not observed in extended households, especially when no grandparents are aged 65 years or older.     

生猪价格视角下肉类价格溢出效应研究

基于2016年5月至2021年6月的中国主要肉类的每周价格数据,构造整个市场内的溢出指数,研究突发事件冲击对肉类价格的时变性影响.结果表明,溢出指数可以准确捕捉突发事件对整个肉类市场的冲击强度和方向,但是价格波动的方向不同,价格传导的路径也不同.在非洲猪瘟造成猪肉价格上涨后,鸡肉作为猪肉的平价替代产品,吸收了猪肉价格剧烈波动的冲击.应以此为契机,健全市场波动风险预警机制,增强突发事件冲击的应对能力;健全积极主动的政策干预体系,保证市场供给稳定;激发同类产品发挥替代作用,减缓市场供需失衡的压力;多方面多渠道切实降低突发事件造成的价格冲击对肉类市场的影响.