Import prices and pricing-to-market effects in the euro area

Pricing-to-market (PTM) behaviour implies that exporters adjust their prices to the prevailing prices in their export markets. For the importing country, PTM effects can be interpreted as a measure of the stability of domestic prices against foreign price and exchange rate developments. PTM behaviour can be attributed to the level of competitiveness and price stickiness in the importing country. This paper investigates PTM behaviour in the euro area from the importing country's perspective, for both individual countries and the euro area as a whole. Analysis firstly involves the estimation of PTM effects in the five largest euro area countries. Secondly, PTM effects in the euro area as a whole are estimated to be slightly higher than one half. The results from illustrative simulations suggest that the increase in euro-area inflation during the first two years of monetary union can be largely attributed to oil price and exchange rate developments. JEL Classification: C32, E31, F14, F47euro area, exchange-rate pass-through, import prices, pricing-to-market

Modelling intra- and extra-area trade substitution and exchange rate pass-through in the euro area

The paper proposes a modelling approach for euro area goods and services trade volumes and prices on the basis of a break-down of trade data into their intra- and extra-area components. Using the evidence from the newly estimated trade equations, the paper gives new insights into two important issues. The first issue concerns the exchange-rate pass-through (ERPT) to euro area import prices. The second issue relates to substitution effects between intra- and extra-area trade. These issues are further elaborated through simulation analyses using the ECB’s area-wide model (AWM). The simulations illustrate the impact of external and domestic shocks to trade in the euro area, in particular on intra- and extra-area trade. The richer dynamics from this disaggregated perspective provide additional insights and elucidate transmission channels of shocks that are not detectable from an aggregate (i.e. total trade) perspective. For instance, one interesting finding is that an appreciation of the euro has a significant downward impact on intra euro area trade. JEL Classification: E31, F17, C5competitiveness and trade substitution, euro area, exchange-rate pass-through, Intra-/ extra-area trade, pricing-to-market

The German block of the ESCB multi-country model

The paper presents the German block of the ESCB multi-country model. It builds on previous modelling work on the Area Wide Model and other country blocks of the ESCB multicountry-model. Whilst being analogous to these models in following a common modelling approach and the same theoretical framework, the German model has also some unique features for instance with regard to the modelling of the investment components, imports and employment. The paper provides a brief overview of the theoretical framework of the model, its estimation results, and a discussion of the dynamic model properties. The model is primarily used for preparing quarterly projections for the German economy as well as for policy analysis. JEL Classification: C3, C5, E1, E2Germany, Macro-econometric Modelling

The gains from early intervention in Europe: Fiscal surveillance and fiscal planning using cash data

This paper does two things. First it examines the use of real time inter-annual cash data and the role of early interventions for improving the monitoring of national fiscal policies and the correction of fiscal indiscipline. Early warnings are important because they allow us to spread the necessary adjustments over time. Examples from Germany and Italy show that large corrections are often necessary early on to make adjustments later on acceptable and to keep debt ratios from escalating. There is a credibility issue here; we find the difference between front-loaded and back-loaded adjustment schemes is likely to be vital for the time consistency of fiscal policymaking. Second, without early interventions, the later deficit reductions typically double in size – meaning governments become subject to the excessive deficit procedure and significant improvement tests more often. Thus the budget savings from early intervention and the use of cash data are significant; in our examples they are similar in size to the operating budget of the department of housing and urban development in Germany. Similar results apply in other Eurozone countries. JEL Classification: E62, H50, H68additive vs slope adjustments, cash data, early warning, fiscal credibility, fiscal surveillance

The gains from early intervention in Europe: Fiscal surveillance and fiscal planning using cash data

oai:ojs2.journals.eurosci.net:article/2The use of real-time cash data allows us to make accurate intra-annual forecasts of an economy’s fiscal position, and to issue early warning signals for the need to correct fiscal imbalances. This paper shows how those signals can be used to design the necessary fiscal corrections, and discusses the gains that can be achieved from such interventions. Examples from Germany and Italy show that large corrections are often necessary early on to make adjustments later on acceptable and to keep debt ratios from escalating. There is a credibility issue here; we find the difference between front-loaded and back-loaded adjustment schemes is likely to be vital for the time consistency of fiscal policymaking. We also show that, without early interventions, the later deficit reductions typically double in size, meaning governments become subject to the excessive deficit procedure and significant improve-ment tests more often. Thus the budget savings from early intervention and the use of cash data are significant; in our examples they are similar in size to the operating budget of the department of housing and urban development in Germany. Similar results apply in other Eurozone countries

Competitiveness and the export performance of the euro area

Chapter 1 provides an overview and assessment of the price competitiveness and export performance of the euro area and the larger euro area countries, as well as an evaluation of how standard equations have been able to explain actual export developments. Chapter 2 carries out a constant market share analysis for the euro area and thereby sheds light on the reasons for movements in aggregate export market shares by looking at the sectoral and geographical composition of euro area exports. Chapter 3 looks at the evolution of the technological competitiveness of the euro area and major competitors – proxied by patenting activity and R&D expenditure – and analyses some structural indicators of competitiveness using survey data. Chapter 4 then looks at the impact of FDI on competitiveness and export performance. Finally, Chapter 5 summarises the main findings of the report, but also critically evaluates their importance and implications.

Real-time fiscal forecasting using mixed frequency data

The sovereign debt crisis has increased the importance of monitoring budgetary execution. We employ real‐time data using a Mixed Data Sampling (MiDaS) methodology to demonstrate how budgetary slippages can be detected early on. We show that in spite of using real‐time data, the year‐end forecast errors diminish significantly when incorporating intra‐annual information. Our results show the benefits of forecasting aggregates via subcomponents, in this case total government revenue and expenditure. Our methodology could significantly improve fiscal surveillance and could therefore be an important part of the European Commission's model toolkit