Nonlinearity and stationarity of inflation rates: evidence from the euro-zone countries

Earlier studies hardly reject the hypothesis of a unit root in inflation. Few studies have examined the possibility of nonlinearity in inflation and tested nonlinear stationarity of the inflation rates. This study thus intends to fill the gap. This study utilizes the tests for nonlinearity along with the unit root tests that allow for nonlinearity in the variables to examine the stationarity of inflation rates of 12 European countries that formed the Euro Zone (EZ) later in the sample period. The results suggest that the majority of these countries’ inflation rates can be characterized by mean reversion during the floating exchange rate period. Many of them appear to be nonlinear stationary. This finding is essential in conducting applied economic studies for these countries, when constructing models whose validity relies on whether or not inflation is stationary. The results of this study also imply that shocks to inflation have a transitory effect on inflation in the euro area. Therefore, it would be less costly in exercising the policies of disinflation for the monetary authorities of the euro area than for those of the countries with nonstationary inflation.     

US inflation dynamics on long-range data

In this article, we evaluate inflation persistence in the United States using long-range monthly and annual data. The importance of inflation persistence is crucial to policy authorities and market participants, since the level of inflation persistence provides an indication on the susceptibility of the economy to exogenous shocks. Departing from classic econometric approaches found in the relevant literature, we evaluate inflation persistence through the nonparametric Hurst exponent within both a global and a rolling window framework. Moreover, we expand our analysis to detect the potential existence of chaos in the data generating process, in order to enhance the robustness of our conclusions. Overall, we find that inflation persistence is high from 1775 to 2013 for the annual data-set and from February 1876 to May 2014 in monthly frequency, respectively. Especially from the monthly data-set, the rolling window approach allows us to derive that inflation persistence has reached to historically high levels in the post–Bretton Woods period and remained there ever since.     

When Does an Inflation Target Yield the Second Best?

It is shown that an inflation target does not establish the second best if the central bank is independent and the government collects seigniorage revenues. To eliminate excessive inflation and ensure that stabilization is efficient, society should combine an optimal inflation target with a central bank that attaches less weight to inflation stabilization than the public does.     

Intersectoral wage linkages: the case of Sweden

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether wage-setting in certain sectors of the Swedish economy affects wage-setting in other sectors. The theoretical background is the Scandinavian model of inflation, which states that wage-setting in the sectors exposed to international competition lead wage-setting in the sheltered sectors of the economy. The Johansen maximum likelihood cointegration approach is applied to quarterly data on Swedish sector wages for the period 1980:1–2002:2. Different vector error correction (VEC) models are created, based on assumptions as to which sectors are exposed to international competition and which are not. Granger causality tests are then carried out in the different restricted/unrestricted VEC models to test for sector wage leadership. The Granger causality tests provide strong evidence for the presence of intersectoral wage causality, but no evidence of a wage-leading role for the internationally exposed manufacturing sector.      

20世纪90年代美国货币政策及对我国目前的启示

1993～2000年的美国和目前的中国都出现了高增长、低通胀的局面,一般认为美联储的货币政策为之作出很大贡献。本文在借鉴的基础上就我国目前在高增长、低通胀下的货币政策的几个主要问题提出建议。     

通货膨胀与中国宏观经济政策的困境

2008年,中国经济再度经历了通货膨胀.通货膨胀成因复杂,属于一种混合型通货膨胀.在物价上涨的表象下面,隐藏着经济制度的缺陷和经济结构的根本性失衡.受制度本身和一些内在因素的影响,宏观经济政策面临困境.必须采取短期和长期措施,在治理通货膨胀的同时,尽快转变经济增长方式,完善基本经济制度.     

我国通货膨胀的国际影响因素分析——基于结构向量自回归模型的实证研究

全球金融危机爆发以来,美元持续贬值引起国际原材料价格上涨和国际资本流动扩大.在全球流动性泛滥的背景下,我国通货膨胀屡创新高.文章从美元贬值导致的国际原材料价格波动、国内外利率因素、人民币预期升值三个角度,分别结合国内经济增长,探讨了国际因素对我国通货膨胀的影响.研究发现,国内经济的过热增长是我国通货膨胀的主导因素,但外部冲击特别是国际原油价格对我国通货膨胀的影响也不容忽视.我国不完善的汇率和利率机制,推动了外部因素对我国通货膨胀的冲击,国际因素对我国工业领域通货膨胀的影响相对消费领域而言偏高.     

The enlargement of the euro area: differences in relative inflation

This paper investigates the structural determinants of relative inflation (i.e. the inflation of non‐tradables vs tradables) in the context of overall inflation differentials in the EU. The analysis is based on the Bergstrand theoretical model. This framework incorporates three alternative hypotheses of relative inflation (Harrod–Balassa–Samuelson, relative factors endowment, and demand effects). Due to the lack of reliable data on capital stocks only a curtailed version of the model is tested here empirically. The various specifications of the model are estimated for the majority of EU countries, using the Pedroni panel group mean FMOLS estimator. In general, relative labour productivity and demand factors turn out to be significant and correctly signed, though evidence in favour of the latter effect seems to be less robust. In addition, differences in the determination of relative prices between the new and old EU Member States are found. They seem to be consistent with theoretical considerations and the transition phenomenon. The estimation results are very sensitive to the definition of non‐tradables. The paper also discusses policy implications for overall inflation, stemming from relative price models. It questions the usefulness of relative inflation models for the analysis of overall inflation differentials and practical policy decisions.     

Welfare effects of the euro cash changeover

Using merged data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), this paper applies a parametric difference-in-differences approach to assess the real effects of the introduction of the euro on subjective well-being. A complementary nonparametric approach is also used to analyze the impact of difficulties with the new currency on well-being. The results indicate a loss in well-being associated with the introduction of the new currency, with the predicted probability that a person is contented with his/her household income diminishing by 9.7 percentage points. We calculate a compensating income variation of approximately one-third. That is, an increase in post-government household income of more than 30% is needed to compensate for the clear decline in well-being. The reasons for the negative impact are threefold. First, perceived inflation overestimates the real increase in prices resulting in suboptimal consumption decisions. Second, money illusion causes a false assessment of the budget constraint. Third, individuals have to bear the costs from the conversion and the adjustment to the new currency. Moreover, it is thought that losses are higher for persons who have difficulties with the new currency. However, the impact of difficulties in using and converting the new currency is rather small, and the initial problems were overcome within one year of the introduction of euro cash.     

中国当前的通货膨胀及采购方略

近年来,在我国当前的通货膨胀及采购方略中,我国经济从通货紧缩走出后呈加速状态,已进入通货膨胀周期。本轮通货膨胀有我国国内经济原因,也有明显的成本输入特征。所以,在通货膨胀周期里,进行何种采购的方略尤为重要。