The impact of offshore exchange rate expectations on onshore exchange rates: The case of Chinese RMB

This paper examines the impact of offshore RMB exchange rate expectations on onshore RMB (CNY) exchange rates. Employing data for the period of 2005–2018, we show that overall offshore market expectations influence onshore RMB rates, but this effect is significant only for the period after the “Second exchange rate regime reform” in 2010. The non-uniform nature of this impact is also confirmed by the existence of a threshold effect of the expectations in the same period. The study improves our understanding of how the offshore RMB market influences onshore RMB spot rates as a result of the marketization reform of the RMB exchange rate regime.     

Are the effects of minimum wage on the labour market the same across countries? A meta-analysis spanning a century

The effects of the minimum wage (MW) on the labour market have been studied for almost a century, but the results remain inconsistent. To review what is known until now, a global, multilingual database of 588 articles on MW effects is constructed spanning more than a century, from 1900 to 2020. Most of the studies belong to developed countries, and less than a third come from developing countries. The most researched subject during the period under review is the impact of the MW on employment, but the evidence is mixed independently of the country studied. Consequently, it is only possible to perform a meta-regression to suitably evaluate the impact of the MW on employment according to the number of studies collected on this topic. The meta-regression model is useful to explain the reasons for these differences. For this purpose, recently developed meta-analysis methods are implemented distinguishing between developed and developing countries. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis that reviews articles on the effect of MW without limits on the analysis period, the variables relative to the labour market or the countries under consideration. The results show a negative publication bias for developed countries but not for developing countries. The impact of the MW on employment is negative in both groups, adjusting for that bias. This adverse effect is small but robust. Characteristics related to the control variables, the demographic groups concerned, the methods implemented and the inclusion of local fixed effects, trend or time dummies account for the estimated employment effect. Public policy recommendations are proposed based on the studies reviewed.     

Monetary policy transparency in a forward-looking market: Evidence from the United States

Because unsatisfactory measures of the monetary policy transparency were used, the existing literature found mixed empirical results for the relationship between the monetary policy transparency and risk/volatility. This paper extends the literature by using a recently developed monetary transparency index [Kia’s (2011) index] which is dynamic and continuous. Furthermore, the existing literature ignores the fact that market participants can be forward looking and, therefore, not policy invariant. This study also finds that the agents in the market are not policy invariant and the more transparent the monetary policy is the less risky and volatile the money market will be.     

Black market exchange rate,currency substitution and the demand for money in LDCs

Mundell's conjecture in 1963 that the demand for money could depend on the exchange rate in addition to income and interest rate has received some attention in the literature by including the official exchange rate and estimating the money demand in a few developed countries. In less developed countries, since there is a black market for foreign exchange, it has been suggested that the black market exchange rate rather than the official rate should be the determinant of the demand for money in LDCs. This proposition is tested by estimating the demand for money for 25 LDCs using the bounds testing approach to cointegration. The main conclusion is that while in some LDCs, the black market rate enters into the formulation of the demand for money, in some others the official rate is the determinant. The black market premium also played a role in some countries.     

Does transparency of central banks communication affect credit market? Empirical evidence for advanced and emerging markets

This study examines the effect of the transparency of central banks communication on credit market. In particular, this study investigates how central banks’ effort to provide more detailed information about their objectives regarding the price stability (monetary policy transparency) and financial stability (financial stability transparency) policies are able to mitigate information asymmetry on credit market, through the net interest margin charged by the banks to engage in financial intermediation (credit spread). The findings denote central bank transparency is able to reduce the credit spread. Additionally, the evidence suggests the effect of central bank transparency on the credit spread is greater in emerging markets, where there is less information available on credit market. In brief, transparency in central banks communication is an important tool to mitigate the information asymmetry in the credit market.     

货币供应量变动对家庭风险资产持有比例的影响研究——基于利率渠道视角

构建跨期投资决策模型,运用CHFS微观数据和相关的宏观数据,基于利率渠道研究了货币供应量变动对家庭金融参与及风险资产持有比例的影响。理论分析表明,货币供应量增加导致货币市场利率降低时,各类风险偏好家庭的金融参与及风险资产持有比例均会提高。实证结果表明：货币供应量变动对货币市场利率的影响较弱,利率渠道可能存在堵塞;货币供应量变动通过利率渠道对风险喜好家庭的金融参与及风险资产持有比例有部分中介效应,但对风险规避家庭有完全中介效应。     

How does the money market development impact the bank lending channel of emerging Countries? A case from China

Transforming from quantitative-based instruments to price-based instruments is the primary goal of the monetary policy transformation in emerging economies. In essence, this process is gradually replacing the interest rate channel with the credit channel from the perspective of the monetary policy transmission mechanism, which is mainly achieved by promoting financial development to reduce the financial friction. However, there are opposite effects of financial development on the bank lending channel; thus, the topic is controversial. Using banks’ data from 2010 to 2018, this paper studies whether and how the money market development weakens the effect of the bank lending channel in China. The result shows that the mechanism through which the money market development influences the bank lending channel is realized by affecting the substitution elasticity of the asset and liability structure of banks’ balance sheets. Different from the theoretical expectation, the effect of the money market development on the bank lending channel is nonsignificant in China but appears to be weakened when the interest rate market-oriented reform is considered. However, further research based on structural analysis demonstrates that the money market development exerts heterogeneous effects on the bank lending channel under different types of sub-markets and different characteristics of the banks considered.     

Equity market and money supply spillovers and economic growth in BRICS economies: A global vector autoregressive approach

Previous studies report that private credit as a proxy of financial development contributes to economic growth in BRICS economies. This paper employs three additional measures of financial development, namely equity market, money supply and market capitalization, and further investigates cross-country evidence on the impact of equity market and money supply spillovers on economic growth in BRICS economies. Utilizing a Global Vector Autoregressive (GVAR) framework and quarterly data from 1989Q1 and to 2012Q4 from BRICS economies, we find that equity market and money supply variables do not predict the contributions of financial development in each BRICS member in boosting economic growth in the other member countries. However, market capitalization significantly influences economic growth. These results suggest that, besides private credit, market capitalization is another key channel of promoting growth in individual economies and the region. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

期房市场价格稳定效应分析及期房政策选择

回顾了商品房预售制度的起源及其在我国的发展,随后从理论层面分析了现房市场价格失效的原因及期房市场对现房市场价格稳定效应的作用机理.最后,结合其它国家和地区期房政策的实践经验,从调整和完善期房市场功能的角度,提出了弱化直接融资功能、发展间接融资功能、保护营销功能、发挥价格稳定功能等政策建议.     

Environmental strategy in the global banking industry within the varieties of capitalism approach: The moderating role of gender diversity and board members with specific skills

This research sets out to analyse environmental disclosure in the banking industry by considering the varieties of capitalism framework. This approach is concerned with the way companies interact strategically to resolve coordination issues arising from their operations, and it is supported by prior research. This is a fruitful perspective for exploring the association between country‐level factors and disclosure by firms, such as environmental reporting. This research is based on an international sample of countries operating in coordinated market economies (CMEs) and liberal market economies (LMEs). The results obtained show that financial institutions operating in CME countries are involved in more environmental matters than banks domiciled in LME countries. As regards the moderating variables, the evidence shows that women on the boards of banks in CME countries encourage the reporting of environmental information, as predicted. Nonetheless, and contrary to our expectations, members with specific skills on boards within CME cultures do not favour greater disclosure of environmental information compared with those on boards of banks operating in LME contexts.     

The effects of accounting regulations on stock valuation and volatility: Evidence from the banking industry

Banking regulators and market participants learn from price signals in the stock market (e.g., Flannery, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking 30: 273, 1998). Therefore, the system becomes more secure and developed as stock prices become more informative about banks’ financial conditions. Using a sample that includes major banks from 35 countries, this study investigates how accounting regulations affect bank stock valuation and volatility. The evidence suggests that bank stocks have higher valuation and lower volatility in countries that strictly regulate the quality of external audits and financial statement transparency. This study presents a comprehensive picture of the effects of bank accounting regulations on the stock market.     

Are unemployment rates in OECD countries stationary? Evidence from univariate and panel unit root tests

This paper revisits the dynamics of unemployment rate for 29 OECD countries over the period of 1980–2013. Numerous empirical studies of the dynamics of unemployment rate are carried out within a linear framework. However, unemployment rate can show nonlinear behaviour as a result of business cycles or some idiosyncratic factors specific to labour market (Cancelo, 2007). Thus, as a testing strategy, we first perform Harvey, Leybourne, and Xiao (2008) linearity unit root test and then apply the newly ESTAR nonlinear unit root test suggested by Kruse (2011). This test has higher power than conventional unit root tests when time series exhibits nonlinear behaviour. Our empirical findings provide significant evidence in favour of unemployment rate stationarity for 25 countries. For robustness purpose, we have also used panel unit root tests without and with structural breaks. The empirical results show that unemployment hysteresis hypothesis is strongly rejected, when taking into account the cross-sectional and structural break assumptions. Thus, unemployment rate is expected to return back to their natural levels without executing any costly macroeconomic labour market policies by the OECD’s governments.     

Wavelet coherence analysis of returns,volatility and interdependence of the US and the EU money markets: Pre & post crisis

This research analyse the US and the EU money markets interdependence from 2004 to 2018. The study explains to what extent the volatility of the chosen money markets instruments in two regions is inter-correlated before, during and after the financial crisis of 2008. We apply the econometric analysis and estimate time-series models of class GARCH to study the historical dynamics of interbank rates and bond returns. The study demonstrates that correlation between returns of analogous money market instruments in the EU and US is not stable over time. We find that correlation rises in periods when countries are exposed to the same external shocks as global financial crisis. Wavelet coherence analysis suggests that investors do not get any advantages of portfolio diversification investing only in US treasuries with different maturities for more than 256 days and do not get any advantages at all investing only in European bonds.     

Central bank disclosure as a macroprudential tool for financial stability

The Basel Capital Accord (pillar 3) states that disclosure of information (transparency) is essential to financial stability. This study analyzes, through inflation reports, the disclosure of information from the Central Bank of Brazil concerning the credit market. We consider credit risk and capital buffers as measures of financial stability in this analysis. Furthermore, in order to measure the perception of the monetary authority on the credit market, we built two indices based on the central bank’s communication on credit development. We performed a panel data analysis based on a sample of 125 banks for the period from June 1999 to September 2014 (7000 observations). The findings suggest that central bank communication regarding expectations concerning the credit market contributes to financial stability. Therefore, this kind of communication of central banks (about credit development) may constitute an important macroprudential tool to improve financial stability.     

A re-examination of housing bubbles: Evidence from European countries

This study uses data from six Eurozone countries and the United Kingdom between 1980Q1 and 2018Q4 to examine whether these countries had housing bubbles during the observed period. Whereas typical studies make strictly limited assumptions regarding interest rates, we make an unconventional argument for the necessity of testing the integration relationship between the price–rent ratio and the interest rate reciprocal to determine the existence of housing bubbles. To verify this study’s proposition, two housing bubble indicators were adopted to dynamically examine periods of housing bubbles in European countries by using a series of individual countries and panel data from Eurozone countries. According to the empirical results for individual countries, although the price–rent ratio indicates the occurrence of housing booms in the targeted countries, the evidence for housing bubbles is unclear. The dynamic bubble indicator revealed that housing bubbles occurred in France and Ireland within a short period in 1993Q3 and 2000Q2, respectively. Spain experienced two short-term housing bubbles in 1990Q1 and 2015Q1. The short-term bubbles signify that the housing markets were efficient. Once the price–rent ratio failed to converge toward the nominal interest rate, market traders’ rational behavior can immediately correct the short-term market divergence. The panel data of the Eurozone countries also reveals that simply using the price–rent ratio for examination may underestimate the correction of the housing markets. In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrate the importance of the interest rate in controlling the housing market.     

Contagion between real estate and financial markets: A Bayesian quantile-on-quantile approach

We study contagion between Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and the equity market in the U.S. over four sub-samples covering January, 2003 to December, 2017, by using Bayesian nonparametric quantile-on-quantile (QQ) regressions with heteroskedasticity. We find that the spillovers from the REITs on to the equity market has varied over time and quantiles defining the states of these two markets across the four sub-samples, thus providing evidence of shift-contagion. Further, contagion from REITs upon the stock market went up during the global financial crisis particularly, and also over the period corresponding to the European sovereign debt crisis, relative to the pre-crisis period. Our main findings are robust to alternative model specifications of the benchmark Bayesian QQ model, especially when we control for omitted variable bias using the heteroskedastic error structure. Our results have important implications for various agents in the economy namely, academics, investors and policymakers.     

A Meta‐Analytic Assessment of the Effect of Immigration on Wages

Abstract.  In our increasingly interconnected and open world, international migration is becoming an important socioeconomic phenomenon for many countries. Since the early 1980s, many studies about the impact of immigration on host labour markets have been undertaken. Borjas (2003 , The labor demand curve is downward sloping: reexamining the impact of immigration on the labor market. Quarterly Journal of Economics 118(4): 1335–1374) noted that the estimated effect of immigration on the wage of native workers varies widely from study to study and sometimes even within the same study. In addition, these effects cluster around zero. Such a small effect is a rather surprising outcome, given that in a closed competitive labour market an increase in labour supply may be expected to exert a downward pressure on wages. We revisit this issue by applying meta‐analytic techniques to a set of 18 papers, which altogether generated 348 estimates of the percentage change in the wage of a native worker with respect to a 1 percentage point increase in the ratio of immigrants over native workers. While many studies in our database employ US data, estimates are also obtained from Germany, The Netherlands, France, Norway, Austria, Israel and Australia. Our analysis shows that results vary across countries and are inter alia related to the type of modelling approach. Technical issues such as publication bias and quality of the estimates are addressed as well.     

Inflation targeting and expectation anchoring: Evidence from developed and emerging market economies

Inflation expectations can be inferred from treasury yields data. Previous studies utilizing such data have found evidence for the role of inflation targeting in anchoring inflation expectations in a number of developed market economies. The goal of this paper is to extend the evidence for emerging market economies. We estimate inflation expectations from nominal treasury yields data and infer the anchoring of inflation expectations from the sensitivity of inflation expectations to current inflation rates. Our analysis shows that the effect of inflation targeting is statistically significant in emerging market economies as well as in developed market economies and that the magnitude is marginally greater in the former. Our results are robust to alternative specifications.     

AGRICULTURAL PRICE INSTABILITY: A SURVEY OF COMPETING EXPLANATIONS AND REMEDIES

Abstract There are two explanations for agricultural price dynamics. One follows cobweb logic and models fluctuations driven by expectation errors but emphasises that these expectations create complex dynamics and possibly chaos. The other stems from the rational expectations tradition of dynamics driven by real shocks. The empirical evidence tends to support the latter, but is not conclusive. The rational expectations model generates an optimal dynamic path from which no improvement can be expected from public intervention. However, if we take account of all the potential market failures in agricultural markets, and especially in developing countries, this conclusion might require some qualifications, although an appropriate policy design for stability has still to be achieved. This paper surveys the positive and normative literature on agricultural prices, highlighting empirical evidence and identifying remaining unresolved issues.     

The relationship between oil prices,the stock market and the exchange rate: Evidence from Mexico

This paper analyzes the variables of oil price, exchange rate and stock market index to explain how they interact with each other in the Mexican economy. The examined period includes monthly data from January 1992 to June 2017. A Vector Autoregressive Model (VAR) is implemented that includes oil prices, the nominal exchange rate, the Mexican stock market index, and the consumer price index. Results indicate that the exchange rate has a negative and statistically significant effect on the stock market index; this indicates that an appreciation of the exchange rate is related to an increase in the stock market index. It is also found that the consumer price index has a positive effect on the exchange rate and a negative effect on the stock market index. The results also indicate that oil prices are statistically significant against the exchange rate, concluding that an increase in oil prices creates an appreciation of the exchange rate. In addition, the impulse-response functions show that the effects found tend to disappear over time.