The golden rule of accumulation and the open economy

Summary This paper examines the factors which determine the volume of consumption per capita in a small open economy in the long run. The analysis is based on a neoclassical model. It is proved that-in general — Phelps' golden rule of accumulation does not hold for an open economy. This conclusion follows from the decline in the terms of trade, which is generated in an open economy by an increase in the share of investment. The influence of labour supply and world expenditure on the consumption per capita also depend heavily on the induced change in the terms of trade. The analytical results of the model are illustrated by means of a few numerical examples.This paper is written within the framework of the research program Possibilities and Limitations of National and International Economic Policy, code K.H.T. XIII-85-44.     

Betting on the EMS

Two speculative strategies within the European Monetary System are empirically evaluated. The potential profitability of speculating on a currency's devaluation at a realignment crucially depends on being able to predict timing and magnitude of the parity change. Such opportunity has been eliminated from the system since 1983. For the reverse strategy of borrowing low, investing high, the evidence since 1983 suggests significant profitable opportunities for the weaker EMS countries — Belgium, Denmark, France and Italy — unconditional on knowledge of the timing of realignments. We conclude that this is due to a peso problem type of premium.     

Toegepaste welvaartseconomie en de marginale kostenregel

Enkele opmerkingen naar aanleiding van F. Hartog, Toegepaste welvaartseconomie, Stenfert Kroese N.V., Leiden 1964 216 blz     

Problemen van planning op middellange termijn,gezien uit het gezichtspunt van het bedrijfsleven

Voordracht gehouden op 7 november 1964 in het kader van een door de Nederlandse Economische Hoogeschool te Rotterdam georganiseerde post-doctorale leergang over het onderwerp Problemen met betrekking tot de planning op middellange termijn in Europa.     

Forward exchange,short term capital flows and monetary policy

Summary This paper re-examines the relationships between short term capital flows and monetary policy, in the light of a new theoretical approach of the forward exchange market. They contend that the traditional forward exchange market theory is a misleading one as it fails to give all the importance it deserves to the distinction between covered and uncovered exchange transactions and to the actual role of the arbitrageurs. As a consequence of this analysis, they demonstrate that the problem of monetary management in an open economy must be dealt with in a way different from what has been usual, and they conclude that monetary policy, central banks' intervention on the foreign exchange market and direct controls on capital movements can still have some efficiency in the struggle against inflation, either of the domestic or the imported type.     

Shocks and the Viability of a Fixed Exchange Rate Commitment

The incentive to renege on a commitment to a fixed exchange rate is shown to be state contingent. A fixed exchange rate policy is not viable under unusual circumstances, and the incentive to violate the commitment is larger in the case of contractionary shocks than in the case of expansionary shocks. The possibility that the exchange rate regime is changed in unusual circumstances has significant effects also under normal circumstances, implying systematic devaluation expectations, excessive real wages and (ex post) real rates of interest, lower output and loss of reserves, which in turn reduces the incentive to initiate a fixed exchange rate policy. Moreover, policyshifts may be contagious among countries.     

Fiscal Discipline and the Question of Convergence of National Interest Rates in the European Union

In this paper, interest-rate convergence in Europe is related to the behavior of integrated federal political systems. Our main results are: Before the final fixing of exchange rates, national interest rates will converge toward the German bond yield in countries eligible to become EMU members in part because no-bailout clauses are not credible in the starting period of EMU. Should such clauses become more credible after 2002 because the EU government and its redistributive mechanisms remain weak, the market-discipline hypothesis has a greater chance to apply. But it may still prove unequal to the task of discouraging excessive fiscal deficits on its own.     

The Applied Cointegration Analysis for the Open Economy: A Critical Review

Most applied cointegration investigations for the open macro economy rely on error correction models to infer causality, predictability, market efficiency, dominance, and market segmentation. The error correction model is well defined only when cointegration is due to simultaneous common factors. When common factors are not explicitly described as in a latent common factor model, however, error correction models are misspecified. Researchers should therefore be careful in using the error correction model for cointegrated time series to ensure that they are indeed generated from simultaneous common factor models. Analysts should investigate the exact nature of both long-run and short-run relationships by presenting a full-fledged simultaneous equations model. Without such an explicit simultaneous equations model, the presence of cointegration will only uncover the existence of a long-run relationship, but not causality, predictability, market efficiency, dominance, or market segmentation. A best practice will be prescribed for the proper use and interpretation of cointegration application.     

Recente geschriften van J.-Ch. Snoy en M. Camps over de europese economische samenwerking

Jean-Charles Baron Snoy et d'Oppuers: Les Etapes de la Coopération Européenne et les Négociations relatives à une Zone de Libre Echange, Chronique de Politique Etrangére, Institut Royal des Relations Internationales, Brussel, september-november '59 (54 blz. plus 155 blz. bijlagen) La Négociation Européenne dans une Nouvelle Phase, Revue Générale Belge, Brussel, februari 1960 (18 blz.) Towards a European Solution, Lloyds Bank Review, London, juli 1960 (17 blz.)Miriam Camps: The Free Trade Area Negotiations, Occasional Paper No. 2, publication of Political and Economic Planning (PEP), Londen, april 1959 (51 blz.) Division in Europe, Occasional Paper No. 8, publications of PEP, Londen, juni 1960 (66 blz.) Britain, the Six and American Policy, Foreign Affairs, an American Quarterly Review, oktober 1960 (11 blz.) Four Approaches to the European Problem, Occasional Paper No. 12, publication of PEP, Londen, maart 1961 (26 blz.)     

Fiscal Pacts

Fiscal pacts have recently played important roles in stabilization policies, particularly in Latin America. The ability of pacts to achieve austerity is examined in a game of competition among pressure groups for fiscal influence. Coalitions can freely communicate about what strategies to play and make contingent threats to the strategies of others. The credibility of fiscal pacts (strong, coalition-proof and far-sighted strong equilibria) is shown to depend critically on how acquiescence to private sector pressure enters the government's payoff function. We interpret these results in the context of austerity successes and failures in Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina.     

Foreign Direct Investment and Real Exchange Rate Interlinkages

This paper examines theoretically and empirically the relationship between Foreign Direct Investment and the real exchange rate. It is found that in large countries with freely floating currencies, such as the USA, the UK and Japan, causality runs from the real exchange rate to FDI. These results are consistent with the predictions of models of financial behavior. Causality runs both ways in small countries with fixed or quasi fixed currencies, such as the EU countries. These results are consistent with models, which emphasize on trade integration. It is shown that a weaker euro will not have uniform effects on FDI inflows across the unified Europe.     

Testing Korteweg's rational expectations model for a small open economy

Summary Korteweg extended the Barro, Lucas, Sargent, Wallace type of rational expectations model to a small open economy. This paper tests Korteweg's model with Dutch data. A major error in the specification and estimation is pointed out and corrected: the differenced expected variables are not defined consistently. This error implies that Korteweg's and Bomhoff's previous empirical results on the model are invalid. The test results for the corrected model indicate that this model has to be rejected for The Netherlands. The restrictions implied by an extremely simple empirical alternative are, however, not rejected.I would like to thank Dr. Th.E. Nijman, Professors F. van der Ploeg, W.H. Buiter and J.J.M. Theeuwes and Dr. A. J. de Zeeuw for their stimulus and helpful comments on previous versions of this paper, and Professor P. Korteweg for his open-minded attitude towards this research. Responsibility for the contents remains, of course, with the author. Financial help, from the Stichting Bekker-La Bastide-Fonds and the Stichting A.A. van Beek-Fonds is gratefully acknowledged.     

William E. Simon's capacities' approach to liberty: An essay in economic citizenship

This paper discusses the philosophical underpinnings of William E. Simon's productive public service and his championing of liberty in economic citizenship and the furtherance of entrepreneurial capitalism in America. The discussion suggests that his understanding and advocacy of the instrumental role of liberty made him distinctive among policymakers and unique among political and social conservatives. Two central themes are highlighted: the principle of liberty and private initiatives to further the cause of liberty. Secretary Simon was a passionate advocate for individual liberty being ascribed the highest value in American political life and called for vigilance against the unnecessary intervention of the state in people's lives. He committed his intellectual and financial resources to the promotion of these ideals through significant initiatives in support of institutions including universities and colleges, foundations and community organizations, and groups that exhibited a strong belief in, and support of, the cause of liberty. This, Secretary Simon believed, would strengthen the free enterprise system and the spiritual values on which it rests.The overriding principle to be revived in American political life is that which sets individual liberty as the highest political value—that value to which all other values are subordinate and that which, at all times, is to be given the highest priority in policy discussions.William E. Simon A Time for Truth, 1978, p. 218.     

Asset stocks and flows in macroeconomic theory: Resolving the ambiguities in the general IS-LM model

Summary In this paper we have critically examined the macroeconomic model developed by Benavie as a generalization of the beginning-of-period model of Tobin and of Patinkin's end-of-period approach. We have focused our attention on the ambiguous effects on income of government spending changes and tax changes that result from this model. Our conclusions are twofold. First, with respect to the effects of government spending on equilibrium income, we find that, if the demand function for money is decreasing in the interest rate, then the effect of government spending onY is unambiguously positive for any value of. The ambiguity discovered by Benavie is a result of his implicit assumption that money has the characteristics of a Giffen good. Second, in the case of the tax ambiguity, we find the source of the problem to be in the particular formulation of Benavie's asset demand functions. Benavie specifies his asset demand functions in such a way that tax changes impinge directly on these demands. If both stock and flow demands depend upon gross income and not taxes, then there isno ambiguity with respect to tax changes regardless of the value of. However, if both stock and flow demands depend upon disposable income, and hence taxes, the effect of tax changes on equilibrium income becomes ambiguous, but again independently of the value of.     

ECB Foreign Exchange Intervention and the EURO: Institutional Framework,News, and Intervention

Using a unique intervention news data set, this paper investigates the impact of ECB intervention and intervention-related news (newswire reports) on the Euro exchange rate. A time-series study of news generated by ECB officials and market participants regarding intervention and the value of the Euro as well as an event study of firm reports of ECB intervention is conducted. Both studies find significant short-run effects on the Euro value, while only negative statements (official statements denying past intervention or ruling out future intervention) appear to have persistent effects.     

Real Impacts of Intra-European Exchange Rate Variability: A Case for EMU?

Intra-European exchange rate variability has significant economic costs. VAR causality tests show that higher short-run variability of exchange rates against other EU currencies was associated with higher unemployment, less employment, and lower investment for most EU member countries. Robustness tests show that this result holds up in the presence of both policy instruments that might have had an impact on exchange rate variability and cyclical variables that might have influenced labor demand. A model that incorporates the option value of waiting suggests that even short-term spikes in volatility exert a strong impact on investment and labor markets.     

A chaotic model of the exchange rate: The role of fundamentalists and chartists

A monetary model of the exchange rate is constructed in which fundamentalists and chartists interact. It is shown that the non-linearity of this speculative dynamics leads to chaotic motion of the exchange rate. The model is also capable of generating some of the stylized facts of exchange rate dynamics.     

Public pensions and political decision-making

Summary A simple decision-making model regarding the financing method and benefit level of a public old age pension is developed. In line with existing literature, the decision-making process is supposed to be in the form of direct democracy, initially, In order to apply the model to a situation of a representative democracy, to wit the Netherlands, five social groups are considered which may be assumed to influence the decisions taken by the government organization. The empirical results show unanimous support for the PAYG system actually chosen at the start of the pension scheme in 1956. The results are highly suggestive, furthermore, as regards the fact that the financing method of the pension scheme has recently become a parliamentary issue. If one endorses the view that long-term considerations should be given a more preeminent place in this context, which would demand a change of the decision-making structure in favour of the young, then the political support for such a change would seem to be present at the moment.The research reported in this paper is part of the project Economic Policy and Conflicts of Interests of the University of Amsterdam (PEPCI paper 85.03). Helpful comments by Professor P. Hennipman and by participants in the workshop on The Origin and Future of Social Security Schemes at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, December 13–14, 1984, in particular by Professor Charles Blankart, are gratefully acknowledged.     

Economische orde,economische politiek en sociale politiek

Naar aanleiding van een bundel opstellen van dr J. Zijlstra, Economische Orde en Economische Politiek, H. E. Stenfert Kroese N.V., Leiden 1956, 143 blz. en een bundel opstellen van dr G. M. J. Veldkamp, Economische Orde en Sociale Politiek, H. E. Stenfert Kroese N.V., Leiden 1957, 156 blz.     

Het Liquid Iteiskarakter Van Spaartegoeden

Summary Before 1964, the Netherlands Bank did not count savings balances at money-creating banks and savings banks as secondary liquid assets or secondary liquidity (that is, near-money). Secondary liquid assets comprise claims on the public authorities and money-creating institutions, so far as they are held by other than money-creating institutions, which can be converted in large amounts into money at relatively short term without much expense or great loss on the transaction, or which can be used at their par value to make payments in satisfaction of current tax assessments.However, towards the end of the 1950's it became apparent from the rising value of the velocity of circulation of savings balances at financial institutions that these assets were acquiring increased significance for current payments. In 1964, this phenomenon induced the Netherlands Bank to count a certain part of the savings balances — indicated as liquid savings balances — as secondary liquidity, whereas the remaining part (true savings balances) was not. The Bank did so for better being able to impute the responsibility for monetary disturbances to the various sectors of the economy.Savings balances acquiring increased significance for current payments is a result of increased competition among financial institutions for the savings of the households sector. This increased competition is due to the fact that the households feel the need of more services rendered by the financial institutions as their income rise. Nowadays those financial institutions whose balance sheets do not comprise an item Current Accounts permit households to use their savings balances for making current payments. On the other hand, there is a tendency towards creating new types of accounts that serve as current accounts for the households in particular. If this tendency is followed up, the liquid assets character of savings balances will grow weaker.Rede, uitgesproken bij de aanvaarding van het ambt van gewoon hoogleraar in de staathuishoudkunde aan de Nederlandse Economische Hogeschool te Rotterdam op 28 september 1967.