Use of Statistics in the Monetary Policy of the Czech National Bank: The Case of a Country in Transition

In the presented text the authors judge the importance of statistics in the monetary policy of the Czech National Bank (CNB) over the course of the economic transformation process, with particular consideration of changing statistical needs and the possibilities and limits of statistical data exploitation in the monetary analyses. The importance of statistics lies on the level of collection and processing of statistical information and on the level of use of statistical methods to analyse data. Since the start of the 1990s the requirements for statistics were significantly influenced by monetary policy. In the period 1990–1997, monetary targeting was the primary influential factor. Since 1998, the monetary policy is influenced by inflation targeting. Statistical priorities switched from monetary data to economy and financial market data. Much progress has been made in the use of statistical methods for analysing data. Statistics available at present cover the CNB's standard monetary-policy requirements and are on par with those in developed countries. Its further development will reflect the standard changes taking place in the more advanced countries.     

Modeling society with statistical mechanics: an application to cultural contact and immigration

We introduce a general modeling framework to predict the outcomes, at the population level, of individual psychology and behavior. The framework prescribes that researchers build a cost function that embodies knowledge of what trait values (opinions, behaviors, etc.) are favored by individual interactions under given social conditions. Predictions at the population level are then drawn using methods from statistical mechanics, a branch of theoretical physics born to link the microscopic and macroscopic behavior of physical systems. We demonstrate our approach building a model of cultural contact between two cultures (e.g., immigration), showing that it is possible to make predictions about how contact changes the two cultures.     

中国宏观经济统计数据异常性和波动性特征的计量检验:1953～2001

对于宏观经济统计数据的异常性和波动性进行分析，已成为研究数据质量的最核心内容之一。本文从经济系统的角度运用随机方差扩大模型对我国36个宏观经济时间序列的数据质量进行了全面分析，发现了数据异常及波动的特点和规律。研究结论表明，大部分异常点的出现或多或少都是以聚集成堆的形式出现，它们之间有深刻的内在联系，异常点的出现大多与各种历史因素以及外部冲击有关；几乎所有的原始序列都有显著的偏度，过多的峰度也是明显的，因此它们被显著地拒绝认为服从正态分布；名义序列的特征在更大程度上受到异常点的影响。     

Memory recall errors in retrospective surveys: A reverse record check study

This paper reports on a study to compare self-reports during an interview with staff who attended a University health centre in Turkey, with the records of visits to the same health centre over the previous 12 months. Design of the study reflects the effects of importance of the event, duration since the event, frequency of the occurrence of the event, measurement scale of the event, and bounded and unbounded recalling. In order to assess the extent of recall error, responses to retrospective questions on health centre visits are compared with administrative records. Statistical models are proposed for short and long term human memory recall error effects on responses.     

管理学著作翻译须注重质量——《评估管理》等译文错误分析

管理科学堪称西方文化精华,翻译介绍管理学著作是一件非常有意义的事情。由于翻译介绍的管理学理论和方法极有可能被企业奉为圭臬,翻译必须十分慎重和注重质量。本文通过对一些错误译文的分析,希望引起出版和翻译界对译文质量的重视。     

宏观经济统计数据结构变化分析及其对中国的实证

对于宏观经济统计数据的结构变化进行分析已成为研究数据质量的核心内容之一。本文从经济系统的角度运用联合估计诊断模型对我国 3 6个宏观经济时间序列的结构变化进行了全面的分析 ,发现了数据异常的特点和规律。研究结论表明 :大部分异常点的出现或多或少都是以聚集成堆的形式出现的 ,它们之间存在深刻的内在联系 ,孤立的异常点不是我国宏观经济时间序列的主要特征 ;几乎所有的原始序列都有显著的偏度 ,过多的峰度也是明显的 ,因此它们被显著地拒绝认为服从正态分布 ;大部分变量的原始序列和异常点修正后序列虽然都呈现出非ARCH特征 ,但是ARCH2、ARCH4、ARCH8的P值却有一定程度的不同。     

The Austrian current account deficit: Driven by twin deficits or by intertemporal expenditure allocation?

The evidence presented in the paper rejects the twin deficit hypothesis for the Austrian current account balance during the last two decades. The results are based on an estimate of a vector error correction model including quarterly data for the current account balance and potentially relevant variables driving its dynamics. We compute the variance decomposition of the current account's forecast error and its generalized impulse responses to shocks in the innovations of the system. The results in favor of intertemporal expenditure reallocation cannot be reproduced within a second analysis including the current account and a measure of net output, however. The estimated implicit current account balance, interpreted as the discounted expected change in future net output, does not follow the actual behaviour of the current account. First version received: June 1999/Final version received: March 2001     

Monitoring the mean and the variance of a stationary process

We deal with the problem of how deviations in the mean or the variance of a time series can be detected. Several simultaneous control charts are introduced which are based on EWMA (exponentially weighted moving average) statistics for the mean and the empirical variance. The combined X − S² EWMA chart is extended to time series. Further simultaneous charts are considered. The comparision of these schemes shows that the residual attempt must be favored if a variance change is present.     

盾构机姿态参数测量技术研究

根据三点决定一个平面的原理,通过在盾构机中体上布置测量控制点,对其三维坐标进行测量;根据空间解析几何原理,推导出盾构机刀盘中心三维坐标以及俯仰角、横摆角、扭转角的计算方法。文章利用计算机的伪随机函数对盾构机姿态参数的测量精度进行了模拟评价,探讨了提高测量精度的方法。结果表明,盾构姿态参数的测量误差均服从正态分析;采用精度为3mm的激光经纬仪测量控制点坐标,得到的盾构姿态参数的误差范围比规范要求小得多。     

On estimating the reliability after sequentially estimating the mean: The exponential case

Sequential estimation problems for the mean parameter of an exponential distribution has received much attention over the years. Purely sequential and accelerated sequential estimators and their asymptotic second-order characteristics have been laid out in the existing literature, both for minimum risk point as well as bounded length confidence interval estimation of the mean parameter. Having obtained a data set from such sequentially designed experiments, the paper investigates estimation problems for the associatedreliability function. Second-order approximations are provided for the bias and mean squared error of the proposed estimator of the reliability function, first under a general setup. An ad hoc bias-corrected version is also introduced. Then, the proposed estimator is investigated further under some specific sequential sampling strategies, already available in the literature. In the end, simulation results are presented for comparing the proposed estimators of the reliability function for moderate sample sizes and various sequential sampling strategies.