Interest rate determination in India: domestic and external factors

This paper examines the determinants of interest rates in India in the post-reform period in the context of a model that takes into account both domestic and external factors. The short- and long-run behavior of interest rates (commercial paper rate, 3-month Treasury bill rate, 12-month Treasury bill rate) is studied. The empirical results are robust across interest rates and indicate the existence of a cointegrating relationship between real interest rates, real government expenditure, real money supply, foreign interest rates and the forward premium. The estimations also show that movements in interest rates are Granger caused by both domestic and external factors.     

India's demand for international reserve and monetary disequilibrium: Reserve adequacy under floating regime

The main aim of this study is to investigate India's demand for international reserve by focusing on the role of national monetary disequilibrium and to present new benchmarks for assessing the adequacy of international reserves. We assessed India's position in terms of reserve adequacy and found that India is well placed and has sufficient stock of international reserves to meet the minimum adequacy requirements. Also, the results reveal that the central bank is holding substantial excess reserves and the related opportunity cost (1.5% of GDP) appears to be quite considerable. Further, the estimates of reserve demand function suggest that scale of foreign trade, uncertainty and profitability considerations play significant role in determining India's long-term reserve demand policies. More importantly, validating the monetary approach to balance of payment, our results show that national monetary disequilibrium does play a crucial role in short-run reserve movements. An excess of money demand (supply) induces an inflow (outflow) of international reserves with an elasticity of 0.56 which also implies that Reserve Bank of India responds to correct the domestic money market disequilibrium; and did not just leave it completely on the mercy of reserve inflows.     

Interest rate pass-through in the Euro area during the financial crisis: A multivariate regime-switching approach

In this paper we use a Markov-switching vector autoregressive model to analyse the interest rate pass-through between interbank and retail bank rates in the Euro area. Empirical results, based on monthly data for the period 2003–2011, show that during periods of financial distress bank lending rates to both households and non-financial corporations show a reduction of their degree of pass-through from the money market rate. Significant sectoral heterogeneities characterise the transmission mechanism of monetary policy impulses, with rates on loans to non-financial firms being more affected by changes in the interbank rate than loans to households, both in times of high volatility and in normal market conditions.     

Portfolio stock adjustment and the real exchange rate: The Dollar-Mark (DM) and Mark-Sterling

The advent of “freely floating” exchange rates in the 1970's coincided with the emergence of what is known as “monetary” or “asset” models of exchange rate behavior where exchange ratesmove to equilibrate demand for stocks of monies. The fundamental monetary model assumes purchasing power parity holds in the long-run, and therefore exchange rates are determined by the same factors that determine relative prices, to wit, money stocks, real incomes, and nominal interest rates. Though early proponents of the monetary view clearly emphasized its long-run nature, empirical testing has by and large neglected this caveat. Thus a model developed for long-run equilibrium exchange rates has instead been tested many times over on short-run equilibrium rates. The latter require a distinct model of their own. This paper develops a short-run equilibrium exchange rate model based on deviations of the short-run exchange rate from its long-run equilibrium. The model differs in that all variables are cast in real terms. It also differs in that the monetary and current account exchange rate versions are shown to be subsets of the more general wealth/portfolio framework used here. The present model considers, in addition to stocks of monies, stocks of foreign assets, and stocks of domestic wealth.     

Discounting health and money: New evidence using a more robust method

This study compares discounting for money and health in a field study. We applied the direct method, which measures discounting independent of utility, in a representative French sample, interviewed at home by professional interviewers. We found more discounting for money than for health. The median discount rates (6.5% for money and 2.2% for health) were close to market interest rates, suggesting that at the aggregate level the direct method solves the puzzle of unrealistically high discount rates typically observed in applied economics. Constant discounting fitted the data better than the hyperbolic discounting models that we considered. The substantial individual heterogeneity in discounting was correlated with age and occupation.     

中国长期货币需求函数的实证分析

在量化和加入制度性变量基尼系数RG、货币化系数RM、内源融资比例RIF建立中国长期货币需求函数的基础上 ,对函数进行了包括总量和结构问题的分析 ,并进一步应用建立的计量模型分析中国目前的经济形势。提出了当前不宜于再大幅下调利率 ;加快农村社会保障制度建设 ;货币供应必须考虑货币化进程因素 ;加大对中小企业的金融支持 ,放宽对贷款利率的限制 ;当前的货币供给应适度 ,必须考虑其滞后效应 ;运用财政政策作用于结构性变量以改变货币供求关系等观点     

Credit union loan rate determinants following the 2008 financial crisis

Previous studies show that a variety of institutional and market variables influence cross-sectional variation in the interest rates that credit unions charge on loans. This study examines the behavior of loan interest rates using nationwide credit union data for the fourth quarter of 2009 in the United States. Results from this sample of more than 6,700 individual credit unions corroborate earlier research indicating that credit union competition tends to suppress loan rates and that economies of scale exist at these financial intermediaries. In contrast to prior studies, however, credit unions with higher net worth ratios are found to charge higher interest rates on loans.     

North-South relations: Alternative policy simulations for the world economy in the 1980s

This article makes projections of the world economy in the North-South context for the period 1981–1990 using a latest global version of a macroeconomic model named FUGI-GNEM type IV 011–62. The model classifies the world into 62 countries/regions, where the North-South interdependence is incorporated into an integral part of the world economy through international economic linkages. Based on alternative simulations, the author presents future images of the North-South interdependent world economy through changes in economic growth rates, employment, wages, prices, money supply, interest rates, public finance, trade, capital movement, international balance of payments, foreign exchange rates, etc., in each country or region. The model forecasts that the real economic growth of the developing countries as a whole in the 1980s will likely be around 4%–7% annual rate according to alternative policy scenarios.     

International transmission of monetary and global commodity price shocks to Turkey

This paper explores the international transmission mechanisms on the macroeconomic and monetary variables of Turkey and hence proposes some particular policy implications. The effects of monetary shocks stemming from the U.S. and the European area, and global commodity price shocks are investigated using a structural vector auto-regression (SVAR) approach. For the analysis, we use monthly data from 2002M01 to 2016M06 and we analyze the transmission mechanism in Turkey using two different SVAR model specifications. Our results reveal that shocks coming from the U.S. and the Euro area lead to significantly different responses on industrial production, consumer prices, real effective exchange rates, and the domestic interest rate, with the Euro area monetary expansion having more explicit and positive effects on the real economy. The global commodity price shocks affect the Turkish macroeconomic variables in a similar but much less powerful fashion than that of the U.S. monetary expansion. As our empirical findings point out that the Turkish economy is vulnerable to global monetary and commodity price shocks. This vulnerability necessitates moving to a sustainable growth path consistent with a sustainable current account balance and a sustainable private and government debt coupled with a strengthened macroprudential regime and comprehensive structural reforms.     

Effects of fiscal policy on the U.S. economy: Empirical estimates of crowding out

This study examines the short-and intermediate-run effects of a permanent reduction in U.S. personal income taxes on interest rates, output, prices, exchange rates, and the current account, holding government spending and money growth fixed. The theoretical analysis suggests that interest rates and domestic consumption will rise but that net exports and interest-sensitive expenditures will fall. Also, the foreign currency value of the dollar will rise except possibly when output increases due to positive supply-side effects or to elimination of unemployment. These theoretical conclusions are essentially confirmed by simulations using the Federal Reserve Board's MPS quarterly econometric model and its multicountry model.     

Global imbalances, exchange rates adjustment and the crisis: Implications from network analysis

The persistence of global imbalances remains a potential source of instability for the international economic system, which ought to be tackled in order to exit from the current crisis in a better position. This paper shows that the complexity of the global network of trade imbalances has increased over time in terms of the number of countries involved and of the heterogeneity of their conditions. These findings imply that orchestrating a global exchange rate adjustment plan, as done in the 1980s to tackle a similar problem, is certainly more difficult than it was 20 years ago. We also show, however, that the uncoordinated movements in bilateral exchange rates occurred since the early 2000s did not go in the direction of reducing bilateral imbalances. Rebalancing the world economy, thus, seems to require a rich set of coordinated policy actions and economic changes, involving adjustments in both exchange rates and real variables, which are heterogeneous at the country level. We argue that, provided some conditions are satisfied, the variegated effects of the ongoing financial crisis, and the policy responses this has induced, may help the global and bilateral rebalancing process.     

The determinants of the benchmark interest rates in China

This paper empirically investigates the determinants of the two key benchmark interest rates in China using an array of constrained ordered probit models for quarterly frequency data from 1987 to 2013. Specifically, we estimate the behavioral equation of the People's Bank of China that models its decision-making process for revisions of the benchmark deposit rate and the lending rate. Our findings imply that the PBC's policy decisions are better understood as responses to changes in inflation and money growth, while output gaps and the exchange rate play negligible roles. We also implement in-sample fit analyses and out-of-sample forecast exercises. Our empirical findings show robust and reasonably good performances of our models in understanding dynamics of these benchmark interest rates.     

The Irish macroeconomic response to an external shock with an application to stress testing

The Irish economy has recently endured a period of turbulence as a result of the collapse of the domestic property market bubble and the onset of the global financial crisis. There are two critical vulnerabilities in the Irish economy at present. The first is the potential for sluggish economic growth due to a slowdown in external demand, which impacts on the government's ability to meet budgetary targets. The second concern relates to the financial stability of the banking system given the escalating mortgage crisis. Our results show that Irish economic growth is highly sensitive to the performance of its trading partners and any international slowdown will hinder Ireland's growth prospects. The model used suggests that the appropriate policy response is to pursue further gains in competitiveness. We estimate the impact of an external slowdown on mortgage delinquency using a new dataset on the loan books of the commercial banking sector. The results suggest that a negative one standard deviation shock to US GDP growth leads to an increase of 1600 in the number of mortgages in arrears for at least 90 days. Arrears are driven by unemployment and negative equity in the model. We discuss policies to contain the mortgage crisis by improving these intermediate target variables.     

The effectiveness of monetary policy in small open economies

This paper examines the relative effectiveness of the use of direct and indirect monetary policy instruments in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, by estimating a restricted Vector Autoregressive model with Exogenous Variables (VARX). The model captures the dynamic interaction of the key sectors in the economy and it accounts for the fact that the banking system in those countries is characterized by high levels of excess reserves. Also, the study assumes that the central bank conducts monetary policy using a Taylor-type rule, and it evaluates the effects of a reserve requirement policy. The results show that although a positive shock to the policy interest rate has a direct effect on commercial banks’ interest rates, there is a weak transmission to the real variables. Furthermore, an increase in the required reserve ratio is successful in reducing private sector credit and excess reserves, while at the same time alleviating pressures on the exchange rate. The findings therefore indicate that central banks in small open economies should consider using reserve requirements as a complement to interest rate policy, to achieve their macroeconomic objectives.     

Interest rate setting at the ECB: Individual preferences and collective decision making

We investigate whether the members of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank take into account the specific economic conditions of their states of origin, to set the interest rates for the euro area. Testing the national-based view against the Europeanist perspective is a challenging issue, because voting inside the Governing Council is secret, and the final outcome depends both on the individual preferences and the procedures followed by the Governing Council to arrive at a decision. Accordingly, we model interest rate setting as a two-stage process: first, each member of the Governing Council sets his/her preferred rate, and next the Governing Council meets and decides the actual figure. Our empirical analysis shows that domestic developments play a major role in determining the preferred interest rate of the each member; and that some members exert agenda setting power, that precludes some interest rate policies to be considered at the meeting.     

Financial liberalization and long-run stability of money demand in Nigeria

A stable money demand function is essential when using monetary aggregate as a monetary policy. Thus, there is need to examine the stability of the money demand function in Nigeria after the deregulation of the financial sector. To achieve this, the study employed CUSUM (cumulative sum) and CUSUMSQ (CUSUM of square) tests after using autoregressive distributive lag bounds test to determine the existence of a long run relationship between monetary aggregates and their determinants. Results of the study show that a long-run relationship holds and that the demand for money is stable in Nigeria. In addition, the inflation rate is found to be a better proxy for an opportunity variable when compared to interest rate. The main implication of the study is that interest rate is ineffective as a monetary policy instrument in Nigeria.     

Interest rate policies and inflation in interdependent economies: Recent policy dilemmas

This paper examines Federal Reserve Board policies that are premised on a negative short-run association of interest rate movements and the rate of inflation. In particular, econometric evidence is provided, supporting the view that tighter monetary policy appears to raise inflation rates in the short run. Conversely, it is demonstrated that easier monetary policy does not necessarily raise inflation rates in the short run. In the case of uncoordinated monetary restrictiveness, interest rate competition among major countries can produce higher inflation and lower growth than was originally intended.     

SPECIAL ISSUE： DISTRIBUTION OF NATIONAL INCOME IN A TRANSITIONAL ECONOMY Exploring high saving rates in China： an analysis based on the 1992-2003 China flow of funds accounts

本文以国家统计局公布的1992—2003年中国资金流量表为基础，从收入分配和部门储蓄倾向两个方面对居民、企业和政府等国内三个部门的储蓄率进行了比较分析。我们发现，尽管居民部门的储蓄率最高，但是，自1992年以来，它实际上呈逐步下降趋势，其主要原因在于居民部门获得的劳动报酬、财产收入和再分配收入均有所下降；企业储蓄率呈现缓缓上升趋势，主要原因并不在于企业盈利能力的提高，而在于其主要支出——对居民部门的劳动报酬支出和利息支出长期被稳定在较低的水平上；政府储蓄率在经历了上个世纪的低位徘徊之后，于2000年以后急剧上升，其主要原因在于，通过初次分配和再分配，政府的可支配收入在国民收入的分配中占据了越来越大的份额，同时政府部门的储蓄倾向也在不断提高。本文的政策建议是：为了实现以提高国内消费率为核心的经济发展战略，我国的经济运行应全面转向以改善收入分配结构、提高居民收入为重点的轨道上。为达此目的，加速财政政策向公共财政转型，增加公共支出和对居民的福利支出，在提高劳动生产率的基础上提高企业对劳动者的支付水平，应成为今后我国宏观调控的长期任务。     

我国利率市场化对经济生活影响的实证分析

在我国传统的经济生活中,利率是很稳定的因素,它不是根据市场调节的,所以对经济的影响并不明显。随着市场经济的完善,我国逐步实施稳健的货币政策,并以利率为操作工具对存贷款利息进行了多次调整,其作用程度也随之体现出来。为此中国人民银行提出利率市场化改革的总体思路,针对新形势下对利率的作用规律认识的要求,将中国改革开放以来的有关利率作用的规律进行实证分析。首先,全社会的金融化进程与真实利率之间正相关关系;其次,中国转轨经济时期利率对物价、M2、贷款等经济指标作用的改变;最后,将利率的直接作用与间接作用综合考虑形成对经济总量的影响分析。     

论当前中国利率政策取向

当前中国的利率政策面临着一个新的选择。本文对中国利率体制的建设和当前利率水平的确定和第8次降息效应的发挥等提供了新思路。指出 2 0 0 2年是中国利率市场化、遏制通货紧缩回头和促进经济增长的关键一年 ,应该掌握好政策的综合力度 ,以防止中国经济失去重大转机的风险 ,实现中国经济从重大转机到重大转折的转变