The international policy trilemma in the post-Bretton Woods era

The international macroeconomic policy trilemma suggests that despite the appeal of exchange rate stability, financial account openness and monetary sovereignty, these cannot be achieved simultaneously. Using elements of Euclidean geometry, this paper proposes a new method for testing the trilemma and finds considerable evidence in support of it. Further tests indicate that, on average, policy configurations are not on the trilemma constraint, i.e. there is a degree of ‘trilemma-ineffectiveness’, which is costly for real output growth and price inflation. It is shown that these costs are associated with limited exchange rate stability and financial account openness.     

Financial crises,exchange rate linkages and uncovered interest parity: Evidence from G7 markets

This paper examines the dynamic linkages among major exchange rates during the Global Financial Crisis and Eurozone Sovereign Debt Crisis. We extend the previous literature on volatility spillover linkages among the currencies by taking into account the uncovered interest-rate parity hypothesis for 2004–2015. The results indicate that the Canadian Dollar and Great British Pound were affected mainly by the US Dollar across the two crises due to strong financial and economic ties among the three economies, while the Japanese Yen shows evidence of a safe-haven currency. We also provide evidence of varying vulnerability of currencies to both crises, implying increased portfolio diversification benefits, since holding a portfolio with diverse currencies is less subject to systematic risk. These results show that the policy makers need to adopt a stricter form of monetary policy coordination among central banks, since the different vulnerability of currencies across turbulent periods reveals possible non-cooperative monetary policies.     

人民币汇率的长短期影响因素对比分析和汇率波动主导因素界定

论文采用2000-2013年间的月度数据,构建了马尔科夫区制转换模型,在此基础上研究了人民币汇率的长短期影响因素,实证结果显示,短期影响因素中国内通货膨胀、国际市场利率和国内利率的一个正向冲击在10个月的反应期内能造成人民币汇率升值或贬值的累积值分别达到约0．75、0．35和0．9。长期影响因素中贸易条件、货币供给和外汇储备的一个正向冲击在30个月的反应期内能造成了人民币汇率升值或贬值的累积值分别达到约5．5、5．5和16。然后结合模型区制间转换累积脉冲响应和模型区制时间分布可以确定我国某一时期汇率变动的主导因素。分析发现,2007年5月-2008年4月这一时期我国汇率升值变动主要由短期因素决定,2011年3月-2012年1月这一时期我国汇率升值变动却主要由长期因素决定,说明我国不同时期汇率变动趋势决定因素可能不一致。     

Downside and upside risk spillovers between exchange rates and stock prices

We examined downside and upside risk spillovers from exchange rates to stock prices and vice versa for a set of emerging economies. We characterized the dependence structure between currency and stock returns using copulas and computed downside and upside value-at-risk and conditional value-at-risk. We documented a positive relationship between stock prices and currency values in emerging economies with respect to the US dollar and the euro, with downside and upside spillover risk effects transmitted both ways. Finally, we also documented asymmetries in upside and downside risk spillovers and asymmetric differences in the size of risk spillovers when the domestic currency values against the US dollar and the euro. Our results, consistent with flight-to-quality phenomena, have implications for downside and upside risk management of international investor portfolios in emerging markets.     

Do exchange rate arrangements and capital controls influence international capital flows and housing prices in Asia?

This paper investigates the influence of international capital flows on housing prices in eight Asian countries, including China. We focus on determining whether exchange rate arrangements and capital regulations influence capital inflows and housing prices. Our results show that an arrangement to restrain the fluctuation of the exchange rate and capital controls has the potential to raise housing prices in Asia. The strong prospect of the Chinese yuan's appreciation also pushed up housing prices in China. Another expected reason for the increase in capital inflows into Asian markets is the expansion of global liquidity. Such capital flows often have a sensitive reaction to market sentiment, and an increase in asset market volatility caused by the liquidity squeeze decreases Asian housing prices. These results suggest the need to review capital controls and future exchange rate system options for Asian countries.     

The Renminbi as a Trading Currency: Evidence from Selected Countries Participating in the Belt and Road Initiative

This paper investigates the effects of the renminbi (RMB) exchange rate on trade prices and volumes in selected Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries in comparison with the effects of the US dollar. The stylized facts show that the RMB is underused in bilateral trade with selected BRI countries where intermediate goods dominate. By estimating the level of exchange rate pass‐through and trade volume elasticity, we find that the RMB is significantly correlated with the volume of imports in the sample countries, predicted by the producer currency pricing (PCP) paradigm. We also regroup intermediate and final goods between China and the BRI countries. The evidence shows that dollar fluctuation affects export volumes, reflecting the role of the US as a final goods destination, whereas the RMB exerts a significant impact on the volume of intermediate goods imported from China to the sample countries due to China's important position in global value chains.     

Reexamining the Exchange Rate Exposure Puzzle by Classifying Exchange Rate Risks into Two Types

The “exchange rate exposure puzzle” refers to the phenomenon in which the proportion of firms with significant exchange rate exposure tends to be lower than expected figures. Some studies use changes in exchange rate to indicate exchange rate risks relevant to firm value. However, a different measure of exchange rate risks, which is the volatility in exchange rate changes, can also affect the value of firms because exchange rate uncertainty can affect international trade and investments of firms. This study classifies exchange rate risks into two types, namely, changes in exchange rate and the standard deviation of exchange rate changes, and empirically examines exchange rate exposure of firms in 12 countries. The results suggest that the proportion of firms with significant exchange rate exposure increases substantially, and thus, weakens the exchange rate exposure puzzle when we also count the cases in which the standard deviation of exchange rate changes affects stock return significantly.     

An empirical analysis of the influence of macroeconomic determinants on World tourism demand

This paper considers three econometric models to determine the relationship between macroeconomic variables and tourism demand. Tourism demand is measured by the inbound visitor's population and also by on-the-ground expenditures. The database is an unbalanced panel of 218 countries over the period 1995–2012. There is evidence that an increase in the World's GDP per capita, a depreciation of the national currency, and a decline of relative domestic prices do help boost tourism demand. The World's GDP per capita is more important when explaining arrivals, but relative prices become more important when we use expenditures as the proxy for tourism demand. We cannot reject the hypothesis of a relative prices unitary elasticity of expenditures. Additionally, we have partitioned our data by income level and by Continent. Results are robust in the first partition, but less robust in the second, although the main conclusions still hold. Finally, we draw policy implications from our findings.     

Remodeling international tourism demand: Old theory and new evidence

The purpose of this study is to advance the tourism demand theory by excluding simultaneous effects of exchange rates and prices in empirical models, formulating an alternative pricing modus operandi consistent with recent research in the area, and demonstrating the efficacy of the use of an industrial production index (IPI) as a proxy for income. A panel fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) method is employed to estimate the inbound tourism demand for Turkey. Study findings suggest that the inclusion of exchange rates and prices, as mutually exclusive components, can be misleading; the IPI is not a good proxy for income; and country-specific coefficients need to be analyzed to accurately explain determinants of tourism demand for countries in the panel.     

劳动报酬上涨与中国国民储蓄率的演变趋势

资金流量表数据表明,劳动报酬上涨对2008年以来中国国民储蓄率产生了重大影响。本文据此提出了解释国民储蓄率演变趋势的劳动报酬假说,认为2008年以来的国民储蓄率持续下降是居民劳动报酬上涨推动的。具体来说,居民劳动报酬上涨的确定性和可预期性,增强了居民消费的过度敏感性,造成居民储蓄率下降;居民劳动报酬上涨导致企业支付劳动报酬占比上升,企业储蓄率下降;而企业支付劳动报酬占比上升又导致政府增加社会福利和公共服务支出,政府可支配收入比重和政府储蓄倾向下降,进而使得政府储蓄率下降。基于2008—2016年的省级面板数据,以最低工资标准作为工具变量进行实证检验,验证了上述假说。基于本文的理论假说和经验证据,我国国民储蓄率仍有进一步下降的空间。为了对冲储蓄率下降带来的影响,我国经济增长方式需要由投资驱动型转变为消费驱动型,当前稳增长政策的着力点需要由投资数量转变为投资效率。