THE COMPLEX RESPONSE OF MONETARY POLICY TO THE EXCHANGE RATE

We estimate a flexible non‐linear monetary policy rule for the United Kingdom to examine the response of policymakers to the real exchange rate. We have three main findings. First, policymakers respond to real exchange rate misalignment rather than to the real exchange rate itself. Second, policymakers ignore small deviations of the exchange rate; they only respond to real exchange under‐valuations of more than 4% and over‐valuations of more than 5%. Third, the response of policymakers to inflation is smaller when the exchange rate is over‐valued and larger when it is under‐valued. None of these responses is allowed for in the widely used linear Taylor‐type rules, suggesting that monetary policy is better analysed using a more sophisticated model, such as the one suggested in this paper.     

Nonlinearities and the Business Cycle in Spanish Imports: A Smooth Transition Regression Approach

Traditional specifications about imports have their foundations on the symmetry of the cycle. However, the wide debate about the asymmetric character of the cycle has aroused much interest in nonlinear dynamics due to the cyclical state of the economy. Economic theory maintains a linear long-run relationship linking imports, GDP and relative prices. This paper analyzes whether short-run deviations from this equilibrium display any kind of nonlinear behavior related to the state of the cycle. Nonlinearities will be captured by an error correction smooth transition regression (STR). Empirical evidence, focused on Spanish imports of goods, supports that short-run deviations of this variable from its linear equilibrium state display a nonlinear behavior. As it is demonstrated, this evolution is caused by the cyclical state of the economy. A previous version of this article has been presented at the 65th International Atlantic Economic Conference (Warsaw, Poland, April 9–12, 2008). The authors would like to thank the conference participants and an anonymous referee for their comments.     

“Si él lo necesita”: Gypsy fairness in Vallecas

“Si él lo necesita” (if he really needs it) was the most common argument given by the subjects who accepted the zero offer in the ultimatum game (strategy method) during experiments conducted among illiterate (adult) gypsies in Vallecas, Madrid. Interestingly the acceptance of the zero offer was not a rare case but, in contrast, was the modal value. This is even more remarkable if we consider that the 97% of the subjects proposed the equal split. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10683-006-9126-0. JEL Classification D63 · D64 · C93 · J15     

Core-stable rings in second price auctions with common values

In a common value auction in which the information partitions of the bidders are connected, all rings are core-stable. More precisely, the ex ante expected utilities of rings, at the (noncooperative) sophisticated equilibrium proposed by Einy et al. [Einy, E., Haimanko, O., Orzach, R., Sela, A., 2002. Dominance solvability of second-prices auctions with differential information. Journal of Mathematical Economics 37, 247–258], describe a cooperative games in characteristic function form, in spite of the underlying strategic externalities. A ring is core-stable if the core of this characteristic function is not empty. Furthermore, every ring can implement its sophisticated equilibrium strategy by means of an incentive compatible mechanism. An example shows that, if the bidders’ information partitions are not connected, rings may no longer be core-stable.     

On the informational role of term structure in the US monetary policy rule

This paper uses a structural approach based on the indirect inference principle to estimate a standard version of the new Keynesian monetary (NKM) model augmented with term structure using both revised and real-time data. The estimation results show that the term spread and policy inertia are both important determinants of the US estimated monetary policy rule whereas the persistence of shocks plays a small but significant role when revised and real-time data of output and inflation are both considered. More importantly, the relative importance of term spread and persistent shocks in the policy rule and the shock transmission mechanism drastically change when it is taken into account that real-time data are not well behaved.     

Human resources management in Spain: is it possible to speak of a typical model?

There is no shortage of literature studying the relationships between the various processes of human resources management, considered individually, and the strategy of the company. Nevertheless, studies that adopt a joint approach are scarce. In this study, working from the universalist, contingent and configurational perspectives, we seek to identify the possible existence of human resources management models and their links with the strategy of the company. Empirical analysis conducted with 130 industrial companies reveals three distinct models of human resources management but with behaviours independent of the strategies followed by the companies. At the same time we find, within each model, orientations of particular processes that are common among them and are thus characteristic of a universalist approach.     

How do employment relationships enhance firm innovation? The role of human and social capital

Aiming to explore the effect of human resource management on innovation, this study examined how employment relationships (ER), human capital and social capital work together in influencing innovation in a sample of Spanish firms. We defined an indirect effects model in which both human and social capital mediate between ERs and innovation. We also expected that social capital would enhance human capital. Tests on a sample of 160 innovative Spanish firms confirmed that ERs are not directly associated with innovation. Nevertheless, there is an indirect effect of the mutual investment employment model on innovation through human and social capital. Finally, we observed a positive effect of social capital on human capital.     

Perspectives on risk management in supply chains

Managing risk in supply chains is an important topic in supply chain management. The topic's importance is due to several industry trends currently in place: increase in strategic outsourcing by firms, globalizations of markets, increasing reliance on suppliers for specialized capabilities and innovation, reliance on supply networks for competitive advantage, and emergence of information technologies that make it possible to control and coordinate extended supply chains. This article identifies some important aspects of risk management in supply chains and summarizes the four articles that are in this special issue. This emerging area of research interest deserves considerable attention and it is our hope that the articles in this special issue would spur additional research on this important topic.     

Trade Policy in Lobbying Equilibrium: With Non‐Traded and Traded Final Goods and Intermediate Inputs

The paper derives trade policies endogenously for final consumption and intermediate input industries in the presence of a non‐traded sector. Contrary to what the existing literature suggests, results show that there is no definite relation between lobbying status and the direction of trade policy of an industry. Trade protection of an industry depends on how its consumption (horizontal) and production (vertical) linkages with other industries reinforce or cancel out its lobbying efforts. To cite a few results, (i) an organized industry may face trade tax, whereas an unorganized one may obtain protection; (ii) an organized downstream industry may not be able to impose trade tax to an unorganized upstream industry, (iii) an organized upstream industry may not hurt unorganized downstream industry, (iv) lobby for non‐traded industry alone can influence trade policies, and (v) lobby for traded industry affects the size of the non‐traded sector in the economy.     

State of the “life span revolution” between 1980 and 2000

Using data for 163 countries, state of the “life span revolution” over the period 1980–2000 is studied in terms of measures of cross-country inequality and through least-squares and quantile-regression estimation of simple convergence models. Four main points are noted. First, dynamics of the cross-country distribution of life expectancy during these 20 years seem markedly different from those for the preceding decades: instead of the sharp “convergence” noted until the 1980s, there is lack of convergence and an indication of “divergence”. Second, the divergence is particularly marked during the 1990s. Third, spread of HIV/AIDS has probably been a significant factor in generating divergence during the 1990s. Fourth, besides the sizable temporal heterogeneity, quantile-regression estimates of convergence models reveal a substantial heterogeneity across the top and the bottom quartiles within each period.