Testing for external sustainability under a monetary integration process. Does the Lawson doctrine apply to Europe?
Monetary integration, and more specifically, the creation of a monetary union in Europe, raises new economic questions concerning its functioning and governance. In particular, we focus on the implications of high and persistent current account deficits for the economic performance of monetary union members in the medium term. Recent literature has argued that conventional measures of external sustainability are misleading because they omit the effects of capital variations on net foreign asset positions due to, among others, stock or debt market crises. In this paper we revisit external sustainability making use of the database developed by Lane and Milesi-Ferretti (2007) that includes the…
Unemployment Hysteresis in Transition Countries: Evidence using Stationarity Panel Tests with Breaks
The authors test hysteresis versus the natural rate hypothesis in unemployment using panel data for transition countries covering the period 1991:1–2003:11.The advantages of the stationarity tests applied is that they exploit the cross-section variations of the series and, additionally, allow for a different number of endogenous breakpoints in the unemployment series. They do not impose independence on the panel members, so that the critical values are simulated based on their specific panel sizes and time periods. The findings stress the importance of accounting for exogenous shocks in the series and give support to the shifting natural-rate hypothesis of unemployment for all the countries…
Short-term modified Phillips curves for the accession countries
This study uses NAIRU short-term measures obtained using univariate methods as a basis to analyse inflation developments in the eight Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) that joined the European Union in 2004 during the transition process. The results point to the role of short-term NAIRU as an attractor and support a shifting natural rate hypothesis for unemployment in these countries.
External imbalances from a GVAR perspective
In this paper we study the drivers governing external disequilibria through a Global VAR (GVAR) analysis applied to a group of 24 countries during the period 1972-2017. The GVAR methodology is particularly well suited for our research question. First, it permits to measure the effects of both, domestic and foreign country-specific shocks. Second, it allows to analyze not only the long-run relationships, but also the dynamics through generalized impulse-response functions. Third, it enables to test many hypotheses from a macroeconomic perspective and the existence of spillovers. Our results show evidence of international financial integration in terms of the fulfillment of the real interest …
Unemployment dynamics and NAIRU estimates for accession countries: A univariate approach
Abstract In this paper we test for hysteresis effects versus the natural rate hypothesis on unemployment rates of new members in the European Union (EU) using unit root tests that account for the presence of level shifts. In addition, we estimate the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU) from a univariate perspective. The precision of these NAIRU are investigated by studying two sources of inaccuracy that derive from the estimation of the break points, and the estimation of the autoregressive parameters. The results indicate up to four structural breaks in the NAIRU of transition countries that can be associated with institutional changes from implementing market-oriented …
The relationship between debt level and fiscal sustainability in organization for economic cooperation and development countries
In this article we unify the traditional approaches to testing for fiscal sustainability considering the stock-flow system that fiscal variables configure. Our approach encompasses previous ways of testing for sustainability. The results obtained for a group of 17 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries point to weak fiscal sustainability, as well as to the existence of cointegration between deficit and debt, confirming the relevance of the stock-flow approach. Allowing for structural breaks and multicointegration turns out to be of critical importance to assess whether the fiscal authorities apply their policies looking for sustainability and whether, simulta…
New Evidence of the Real Interest Rate Parity for OECD Countries Using Panel Unit Root Tests with Breaks
This paper tests for real interest parity (RIRP) among the nineteen major OECD countries over the period 1978:Q2-1998:Q4. The econometric methods applied consist of combining the use of several unit root or stationarity tests designed for panels valid under cross-section dependence and presence of multiple structural breaks. Our results strongly support the fulfillment of the weak version of the RIRP for the studied period once dependence and structural breaks are accounted for.
DOES REAL INTEREST RATE PARITY HOLD FOR OECD COUNTRIES? NEW EVIDENCE USING PANEL STATIONARITY TESTS WITH CROSS-SECTION DEPENDENCE AND STRUCTURAL BREAKS
This paper tests for real interest rate parity (RIRP) among the 17 major Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries over the period 1978:Q1–2006:Q1. The econometric methods applied consist of combining the use of panel data tests that are valid under cross-section dependence and the presence of multiple structural breaks. This feature is important because the misspecification errors due to not accounting for structural breaks and/or cross-section dependence can lead to misleading conclusions. Our results support the fulfilment of the weak version of the RIRP for short-term interest rate differentials once dependence and structural breaks are considered.
Global imbalances and the intertemporal external budget constraint: A multicointegration approach
Abstract This paper analyzes the external solvency of a group of 23 OECD countries for the period 1970–2012. The empirical strategy adopted underlines the increasing importance of the financial channel for the external adjustment as proposed in Gourinchas and Rey (2007) . We unify the traditional approaches to testing for external sustainability considering the stock-flow system created by the variables representing the external relationships of an open economy. External sustainability is tested using several types of cointegration and multicointegration tests. The results obtained point to weak sustainability in the flows analysis, whereas some degree of strong sustainability is found for …
Testing for hysteresis in unemployment in OECD countries. New evidence using stationarity panel tests with breaks†
This paper tests hysteresis effects in unemployment using panel data for 19 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries covering the period 1956–2001. The tests exploit the cross-sectional variations of the series, and additionally, allow for a different number of endogenous breakpoints in the unemployment series. The critical values are simulated based on our specific panel sizes and time periods. The findings stress the importance of accounting for exogenous shocks in the series and support the natural-rate hypothesis of unemployment for the majority of the countries analysed.
TESTING FOR REAL INTEREST RATE PARITY USING PANEL STATIONARITY TESTS WITH DEPENDENCE: A NOTE*
In this paper we test for real interest parity (RIRP) among the 19 major OECD countries over the period 1978:Q1–2006:Q1 using both short- and long-run definitions of interest rates. Once the independence hypothesis is rejected among these series, we test for RIRP using panel data unit root and stationarity tests based on common factor models that allow for pervasive forms of dependence. Our results indicate that there is no evidence in favor of the weak version of the RIRP since one of the common factors that have been estimated is non-stationary.