Austerity,inequality, and private debt overhang

Using panel data of 17 OECD countries for 1980–2011, we find that the distributional consequences of fiscal consolidations depend significantly on the level of private indebtedness. Austerity leads to a strong and persistent increase in income inequality during periods of private debt overhang. In contrast, there are no discernible distributional effects when private debt is low. This result is robust to alternative identifications of fiscal consolidations, to different ways of defining periods of private debt overhang, and to controlling for the state of the business cycle and the level of government debt. We explore different channels through which our findings can be rationalized.     

Monetary policy volatility shocks in Brazil

This paper provides empirical evidence of the impact of changes in volatility of monetary policy in Brazil using a model where the time-varying volatility of shocks directly affects the level of observed variables. Contrary to the literature, an increase in monetary policy volatility results in higher inflation, combined with reduction in output. Qualitative differences of impulse responses functions are explained using a calibrated small-scale dynamic model, where the habit persistence in consumption, combined with the design of monetary policy, plays a key role in results. Firms tend to increase prices under higher volatility, in order to avoid costs of resetting over time. Working capital constraints amplify the effects of interest rate volatility shocks on prices.     

保护草原，需要加强生态地质环境管理

加强生态地质环境管理对于保护草原生态、防治沙漠化非常重要。为此,需要打破生态管理的条块分割,从草原生态系统的健康完整性出发,加强草原区大型工程活动和勘查采矿的生态地质环境保护工作。建议公共工程要模范依法采矿,不随意乱采土石破坏草原;道路工程等大型公益性基础设施建设应当力争实现挖方填方平衡利用;严格限制在沙质草原区取土取料,严格限制取用地下水;地表腐植土层资源化管理;落实生态地质环境保护与建设责任;妥善处理以往遗留的矿山生态地质环境问题;合理选择和布局草原区各类工业园区,以产业政策引导生态地质环境保护。此外,应将生态地质环境保护统一纳入常规国土资源遥感监测和评估管理体系。     

Positivity Conditions for a Bivariate Autoregressive Volatility Specification

We derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the positivedefiniteness of the predicted volatility matrix in a bivariateautoregressive volatility specification. These nonlinear inequalityrestrictions have strong implications in terms of causalitybetween volatilities and covolatilities.     

期货市场交易量与收益及波动关系的分位分析

采用分位数回归方法对上海期货市场铜、铝和燃料油期货收益及波动与成交量的动态关系进行实证研究。该方法允许估计不同分位的方程,从而得到条件分布的完整描述。结果显示上海期货市场期货价格收益具有异方差的特点;存在量价齐扬和量价背离现象;收益波动和成交量之间随着波动增大呈现逐渐加强的正向关系,从而说明我国期货市场信息传播符合混合分布假说。     

The effects of local govemment investment on economic growth and employment： evidence from transitional China

Based on the panel data of 28 provinces in the year of 1987-2001, this paper examines the effects of the local government investment on economic growth and employment. The empirical result shows that the local government investment plays a significant positive role in economic growth and employment. However, while the proportion of local government investment to GDP had a remarkable rise after 1998, the elasticity of local government investment on economic growth declined, which shows that there is a big room for raising the efficiency of local government investment. Moreover. the empirieal examination shows that although local government investment had positive effect on employment, the elasticity had a decrease after 1994 when the tax-sharing system reform was put into practice. This shows that the positive role of local government investment on employment is also limited This paper argues that the role of local governments as investors must be weakened, and local governments of different levels should lessen direct economic intervention and concentrate on public regulation.     

Assessing poverty-deforestation links: Evidence from Swat, Pakistan

This paper contributes to the debate on the links between poverty and forestry degradation; the view that due to poverty and the meeting of subsistence needs the poor use natural resources more intensively and hence cause them to degrade. Using the case of the forest rich Swat district, Pakistan, the paper addresses the issue empirically, historically, and institutionally. We do not find empirical support for the “poverty-environment nexus”, in that the poor and other income groups are equally resource dependent and also show that resource degradation is not associated with poverty. Our historical and institutional analyses provide alternative explanations for resource degradation. Selective and rotating ownership patterns, starting with the 17th century, provided limited incentive for resource conservation. It also created tension between de jure and de facto owners, that has persisted, and is one source of forest degradation. Ill-defined resource rights have also exacerbated the impacts of several other factors contributing to forest degradation which is compounded by poor management, corruption, and perverse incentives.     

我国权证对正股波动性影响的实证研究

选取我国市场的6只权证为研究对象,并以其日收益率和日均方差为指标,考察了我国资本市场中权证对正股波动性的影响。结论是:权证的上市对正股日收益率的影响并不显著,但对正股日收益率的波动性有显著影响,其中认购权证比认沽权证的影响更大。     

Evolution in games with a continuous action space

Allowing for games with a continuous action space, we investigate how evolutionary stability, the existence of a uniform invasion barrier, local superiority and asymptotic stability relate to each other. This is done without restricting the populations of which we want to investigate the stability to monomorphic population states or to strategies with finite support. The authors have benefitted from careful and precise comments by Gerard van der Laan, Jan van Mill, the editor and an anonymous referee. Matthijs van Veelen gratefully acknowledges financial support by the Netherlands’ Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).     

Structural Changes in Volatility of Foreign Exchange Rates after theAsian Financial Crisis

Regime-shift models of daily returns are estimated for the foreign exchange rates of the Asian currencies that suffered from drastic devaluation during the Asian financial crisis in 1997, and the change points are detectedfor their volatility structures. Furthermore, how the persistence in the volatility of their exchange rates changed after the crisis is examined.