Tracing the dynamics of competition: Evidence from company profits

This paper proposes a simple approach to analyzing pro¯t dynam- ics which allows for time-varying persistence of pro¯ts. The time se- ries model is a simple autoregressive process where the dynamics of the persistence parameter follow an autoregressive or random walk pro- cess. Using the longest time series available on pro¯ts for six US ¯rms (Archer-Daniels-Midland , Avon, Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson, WHX Corporation andWrigley), we analyze the dynamics of pro¯t persistence for the second half of the twentieth century.

The competitive environment hypothesis revisited: Nonlinearity, nonstationrity and profit persistence

Much empirical lierature dealing with the competitive environment hypothesis tends to find nonstationary behaviour and very high persistence in time series of company profits. We model profit time series using a simple time series model that allows for nonstationary behavior over subsamples, but overall mean reversion. Using a new dataset constisting of profits for more than 150 US companies over a time period of 50 years, we present statistical evidence that the high persistence observed in profits when using linear autoregressive models is often due to the misspecification of the data generating process.

Business cycle convergence in EMU: A first look at the second moment

We propose the analysis of the dynamics of the standard deviation of business cycles across euro area countries in order to evaluate the patterns of cyclical convergence in the European Monetary Union for the period 1960-2008. We identify significant business cycle divergence taking place in the mid-eighties, followed by a persistent convergence period spanning most of the nineties. This convergent episode finishes roughly with the birth of the European Monetary Union. A hypothetical euro area including all the new members of the recent enlargements does not imply a sizeable decrease in the optimality of the currency union. Finally, the European synchronization differential with respect to other developed economies seems to have been diluted within a global cycle since 2004.Business cycles, business cycle convergence, European Monetary Union

The Monetary Approach to Exchange Rates in the CEECs

A panel data set for six Central and Eastern European countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) is used to estimate the monetary exchange rate model with panel cointegration methods, including the Pooled Mean Group estimator, the Fully Modified Least Square estimator and the Dynamic Least Square estimator. The monetary model is able to convincingly explain the long-run dynamics of exchange rates in CEECs, particularly when this is supplemented by a Balassa-Samuelson effect. We then use our long-run monetary estimates to compute equilibrium exchange rates. Finally, we discuss the implications for the accession of selected countries to the European Economic and Monetary Union.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40028/3/wp642.pd

Groth effects of inflation in Europe: How low is too low, how high is too high?

This paper reassesses the impact of in°ation on long-term growth for a panel of 14 EU countries. While previous research focuses on a linear nexus or allows for a piecewise linear relationship with one single threshold, we take account of a more complex relationship. We use a theoretical framework that allows for an explicit distinction between level and growth e®ects of in°ation. The empirical estimates for the full EU sample con¯rm the hypothesis that the relationship between in°ation and growth is positive for very low in°ation rates (i.e. below an estimate of 1.6%), insigni¯cant thereafter and negative for high, two-digit in°ation levels. The estimate of the in°ation level that divides the insigni¯cant from the negative e®ect is found to be higher in the group of traditional cohesion countries than for the rest of the sample.

Interest Rate Pass-Through in New EU Member States: The Case of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland

The characteristics of the interest rate pass-through in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland are studied making use of autoregressive distributed lags (ARDL) models. Significant differences are found across market interest rates and countries concerning long-run elasticities of market interest rates to changes in the key policy rate. While the null hypothesis of complete pass-through cannot be rejected for any interest rate in Poland, deviations from complete pass-through are present for several interest rates in the Czech Republic and Hungary. Except for the case of the short-term loan rate for enterprises in Hungary, no significant deviation from symmetry in the speed of adjustment to equilibrium is found in the data.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40057/3/wp671.pd

Global Financial Crisis and the Puzzling Exchange Rate Path in CEE Countries

In the present paper we examine whether financial markets could have helped predict exchange rates in three selected Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies of the EU, namely the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, during the current financial crisis. To this end, we derive risk-neutral densities from the implied volatilities of FX options, which approximate market expectations about exchange rate developments. Based on these risk-neutral density estimates, we then assess the out-of-sample predictive power of indicators. The forecasting results suggest that models based on FX options are inferior to the random walk in terms of the forecasting error, confirming a stylized fact about the short-term forecasting of exchange rates. Yet, we also find that, for the Czech Republic and Poland, risk-neutral densities contain useful information on the direction of change of the exchange rate.Options, implied volatility, risk-neutral density, exchange rate forecasting, Bayesian model averaging, subprime crisis, emerging markets

The Economic transmission of fiscal policy shocks from Western to Eastern Europe

This paper studies the transmission of a foreign fiscal policy shock (assumed to be generated in Germany) to key macroeconomic variables in five Central and Eastern European economies (CEE-5). We use quarterly data from 1995 to 2009 and estimate an open economy structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) model identified by imposing reasonable restrictions on contemporaneous responses in the system. Our model is able to identify well-known episodes of fiscal policy action in the countries under review. We find that a foreign fiscal shock affects domestic fiscal variables and vice versa, highlighting the importance of cross-country coordination of fiscal policies within the EU. All the CEE-5 respond to a fiscal expansion abroad with fiscal easing at home (more strongly on the public spending than on the revenue side). We find negative cross-border fiscal spillovers for Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, while in Poland and Hungary, output reacts positively to a fiscal expansion in Germany. For domestic fiscal shocks, which we also explore, we find Keynesian responses in Hungary and Slovakia, while non-Keynesian responses are present in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia. Our results imply that “one-size-fits-all” policy recommendations would be too simplistic for the CEE-5; a deeper understanding of the reasons for cross-country differences in response to fiscal shocks is required to be able to provide adequate information to policymakers in these countries.fiscal policy; cross-border spillovers; fiscal multiplier; foreign shock; structural vector autoregression; Central and Eastern Europe; Germany

Non-Linear Exchange Rate Dynamics in Target Zones: A Bumpy Road towards a Honeymoon - Some Evidence from the ERM, ERM2 and Selected New EU Member States

This study investigates exchange rate movements in the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) of the European Monetary System (EMS) and in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM-II). On the basis of the variant of the target zone model proposed by Bartolini and Prati (1999) and Bessec (2003), we set up a three-regime self-exciting threshold autoregressive model (SETAR) with a non-stationary central band and explicit modelling of the conditional variance. This modelling framework is employed to model daily DM-based and median currency-based bilateral exchange rates of countries participating in the original ERM and also for exchange rates of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia from 1999 to 2004. Our results confirm the presence of strong non-linearities and asymmetries in the ERM period, which, however, seem to differ across countries and diminish during the last stage of the run-up to the euro. Important non-linear adjustments are also detected for Denmark in ERM-2 and for our group of four CEE economies.target zone, ERM, non-linearity, SETAR

Non-Linear Exchange Rate Dynamics in Target Zones: A Bumpy Road Towards A Honeymoon Some Evidence from the ERM, ERM2 and Selected New EU Member States

This study investigates exchange rate movements in the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) of the European Monetary System (EMS) and in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM-II). On the basis of Bessec (2003), we set up a three-regime self-exciting threshold autoregressive model (SETAR) with a non-stationary central band and explicit modelling of the conditional variance. This modelling framework is employed to model daily DM-based and median currency-based bilateral exchange rates of countries participating in the original ERM and also for exchange rates of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia from 1999 to 2004. Our results confirm the presence of strong non-linearities and asymmetries in the ERM period, which, however, seem to differ across countries and diminish during the last stage of the run-up to the euro. Important non-linear adjustments are also detected for Denmark in ERM-2 and for our group of four CEE economies.target zone, ERM, non-linearity, SETAR.