What drives housing price dynamics in Greece: New evidence from asymmetric ARDL cointegration

In this paper, we study the dynamics between house prices and selected macroeconomic fundamentals in Greece. The empirical analysis applies the asymmetric ARDL cointegration methodology proposed by Shin, Yu and Greenwood-Nimmo (2011) over the period from January 1999 to May 2011. The evidence suggests that ignoring the intrinsic nonlinearities may lead to misleading inference. In particular, the results reveal significant differences in the response of house prices to positive or negative changes of the explanatory variables in both the long- and short-run time horizons. The obtained evidence of asymmetry could be of major importance for more efficient policymaking and forecasting in the Greek house market.     

Is growth corrupted or bureaucratic? Panel evidence from the enlarged EU

This article aims at analysing the issue of conditional convergence in the new enlarged European Union (EU) over the period 1995–2012 by means of panel data techniques. We examined the issue of conditional convergence in the enlarged EU giving particular attention to the effects of corruption and bureaucracy on growth controlling for a widely used set of explanatory variables such as investment (domestic and foreign), human capital formation, inflation, general government final consumption and trade openness. Furthermore, we examine if growth responds differently to corruption and bureaucracy in the new EU members by means of two group-specific interaction variables to capture possible different responses to corruption and bureaucracy. The analysis reveals evidence of conditional convergence in the enlarged EU, with investment share, foreign direct investment, human capital, and country openness appearing as robust growth drivers. In contrast, inflation and government consumption rather hamper growth. Furthermore, the effects of corruption and bureaucracy on growth seem to differ across old and new EU members.     

Investigating the Dynamic Interaction between Military Spending and Economic Growth

The relationship and interaction of military spending and economic growth have been theoretically and empirically investigated since the 1970s but it still cannot provide conclusive evidence towards the direction and the quantification of the impact between the two magnitudes. The use of different data sets in terms of time periods, and number and geographic location of countries, different theoretical background leading to different econometric specifications, and single type of econometric methodology, make any comparison impossible. This paper looks into the dynamic interaction between military spending and economic growth during the period 1988–2013 that includes the recent years of economic crisis covering 138 countries without making any prior assumptions about the theoretical channels of influence, while not limited to a single estimation method but employing a wide range of methodologies in order to form a complete picture of the long‐ and short‐run interaction. Furthermore, as such interaction might not be linear, we create three groups of countries based on the countries' income developmental stage. Overall we find no evidence of long‐ and short‐run causality from the military spending to economic growth except for the developing countries (positive in the long run). However, from economic growth to military spending we find a positive impact for all groups except the least developed countries. We also notice the interaction was more prominent prior to the start of the economic crisis.     

Government spending and revenues in the Greek economy: evidence from nonlinear cointegration

This paper attempts to re-evaluate the long-run macroeconomic relationship between government revenues and expenditures of the Greek economy over the period 1999–2010. The empirical analysis applies the newly developed asymmetric ARDL cointegration methodology of Shin et al. (2011) which permits more flexibility in the dynamic adjustment process towards equilibrium, than in the classical case of a linear model. Our findings point towards the fiscal synchronization hypothesis, supporting evidence of asymmetric interactions between the two fiscal components in both the long- and the short-run time horizon. More particularly, in the long-run, the negative changes of expenditures dominate the response of revenues, while the opposite applies in the response of expenditures.     

Factors Affecting Cigarette Demand

This paper addresses the impact of smoking restrictions in workplaces and educational establishments, cigarette price measures and various psychosocial indicators on cigarette demand, controlling for demographic and socio-economic factors. The data used for the analysis are collected via questionnaire that was administered in personal-in home interviews. A two-part model of cigarette demand [Cragg, J. G. “Some Statistical Models for Limited Dependent Variables with Application to the Demand for Durable Goods,” Econometrica, 39, 5, 1971, pp. 829–44.] is estimated. According to the estimations, cigarette price measures do not influence cigarette demand. On the contrary, smoking restrictions in workplaces and educational establishments and most of the psychosocial variables are found to affect cigarette demand considerably.     

The dynamic linkages between economic growth,environmental quality and health in Greece

Increasing economic activity ignoring environmental quality may distort economic growth, leading to a negative rate. The expected deterioration of health in the near future may lead to further environmental degradation, with a continuation of a spiral-type path towards worsening growth and efforts to catch up with the developed economies. Τhis article examines the dynamic interdependence between economic activity, health quality and environmental degradation for Greece over the period 1960–2012. We employ Kuznets-type models and apply several co-integration techniques along with Granger causality tests. The results reveal strong causal effects, running from income towards CO₂ and infant mortality. In the multivariate context, a significant long-run impact is directed towards infant mortality, with economic growth performing rather exogenously.     

Dynamic Linkages between FDI Inflows and Domestic Investment: A Panel Cointegration Approach

This paper analyzes the dynamic relationship between FDI inflows and domestic investment for a panel of selected countries by means of panel cointegration and causality techniques. Specifically, the paper provides empirical evidence regarding the existence of possible crowding in or crowding out effects between FDI inflows and domestic investment, accounting for the location and the level of development of the host countries.The paper was presented at the International Atlantic Economic Conference in London, March 9–13, 2005. The authors wish to thank the participants of the Macroeconomic Topics session for their valuable comments on an earlier draft. We would also like to express our gratitude to G. Chortareas and G. Konteos for helpful comments and suggestions. Nevertheless, the usual disclaimer applies.     

Investigating Smoker's Profile: The Role of Psychosocial Characteristics and the Effectiveness of Tobacco Policy Tools

This article investigates smoker's profile by addressing the determinants of cigarette demand and providing a circumstantial exposition of the psychosocial characteristics that differentiate smoking patterns. At the same time, the impact of tobacco control policies on smoking rates and their effectiveness on decreasing cigarette consumption are also analyzed. Consumers are distinguished in four smoking groups in concurrence to smoking status, and dichotomous indicators are constructed to describe tobacco control policies, psychosocial, demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics. The empirical analysis estimates an ordered probit model with sample selectivity. The results indicate the absence of selectivity bias for cigarette consumption; hence, the subsample of smokers comprises a random independent sample and smoking participation and cigarette consumption form distinct stages of smoking behavior. Most of the psychosocial factors are found to be statistically significant in the econometric analysis, implying the main determinants of smoking behavior. In addition, total smoking bans in workplaces and educational institutions comprise efficient policy tools for decreasing cigarette demand, while partial smoking restrictions are accrued to be ineffective in reducing smoking participation.