Occupational Gender Segregation in the Czech Republic (in English)

The authors use labor force survey data to provide a detailed description and an international comparison of the level and structure of occupational gender segregation in the Czech Republic during 1994–2004. Based on 1999 data, they find Czech occupational segregation to be close to the EU average, with the exception of young, highly educated Czech workers, who faced relatively high segregation. However, segregation has declined rapidly for young workers since 1999, mainly due to the increased representation of women within occupations, not the changing occupational structure.occupational gender segregation

Tracking monetary-fiscal interactions across time and space

The long-term fiscal outlook of most high-income countries is grim. Should independent central bankers be afraid of an unpleasant monetarist arithmetic, i.e., fiscal imbalances spilling over to monetary policy and jeopardizing price stability? To provide some insights, this paper tracks the interactions between fiscal and monetary policies in the data since 1980 for Australia, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In doing so it uses a combination of time-varying parameter vector autoregression with sign, magnitude, and contemporaneous restrictions identification. Unlike conventional approaches, this can capture changes in monetary and fiscal behavior that are gradual and differ across the two policies. Our results show that in the United States the degree of monetary policy accommodation of fiscal shocks (debt-financed government spending) increased gradually between the late 1980s and the 2008 crisis, i.e., over the whole tenure of Chairman Greenspan. In contrast, it seems to have decreased over this period in the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, and Canada. Our benchmark analysis and several robustness checks show that legislating numerical inflation targets may account for some of the country differences, presumably because they may shift the strategic power from fiscal to monetary policy. We conclude by considering the implications of our results for the long-term likelihood of an unpleasant monetarist arithmetic in the six countries.Web of Science14322716

Identification of Monetary Policy Shocks in Japan Using Sign Restrictions within the TVP-VAR Framework

This paper contributes to the discussion on the functioning of the monetary policy transmission mechanism in Japan during the past three decades. It extends the methodology of time-varying parameter vector autoregressions (TVP-VAR) by employing an identification scheme based on sign restrictions. This approach allows for an explicit account of the zero lower bound on the nominal interest rate. Results suggest differences in the transmission mechanism between the quantitative easing policy period and the periods when the call rate played the role of a monetary policy instrument. Monetary policy operating through call rate movements is found to influence output more than when it targets banksf balances held at the central bank. Monetary policy operating through quantitative easing is found to influence inflation, in sharp contrast to the previous literature.Structural vector autoregressive model, time-varying parameters, sign restrictions, unconventional monetary policy, zero lower bound

Inflation Persistence: Is It Similar in the New EU Member States and the Euro Area Members?

Inflation persistence has been put forward as one of the potential reasons of divergence among euro area members. It has also been proposed that the new EU Member States (NMS) may struggle with even higher persistence due to convergence factors. We argue that persistence may not be as different between the two country groups as one might expect. However, this empirical result can only be obtained if the adequate estimation methods, reflecting the scope of the convergence process the NMS went through, are applied. We emphasize that a time-varying mean models suggest similar or lower inflation persistence for the NMS compared to euro area countries while more traditional parametric statistical measures assuming a constant mean deliver substantially higher persistence estimates for the NMS than for the euro area countries. This difference is due to frequent breaks in inflation time series in the NMS. Structural persistence measures show that backward-looking behavior may be a more important component in explaining inflation dynamics in the NMS than in the euro area countries.inflation persistence, new hybrid Phillips curve, new member states, time-varying mean

Time Aggregation Bias in Discrete Time Models of Aggregate Duration Data

The paper focuses on the dynamics of unemployment in the Czech Republic over the period 1992-–2007. Unemployment dynamics are elaborated in terms of unemployment inflows and unemployment duration. The paper contributes to the literature dealing with discrete time models of aggregate unemployment duration data by accounting for time aggregation bias. Another innovation relates to the way we examine the impact of time-varying macroeconomic conditions on individual duration dependence and unemployment inflow composition. The estimation results suggest that both unobserved heterogeneity and individual duration dependence are present. The relative impact of the two factors on the aggregate duration dependence, however, changes over time. Next, seasonal effects on the individual hazard rate are detected. We do not find a significant role of macroeconomic influences. Finally, we demonstrate the profound influence of time aggregation of duration data on unemployment duration parameters for empirical data for France and the Czech Republic.Duration dependence, time aggregation bias, unemployment, unemployment duration.

Inflation Persistence in New EU Member States: Is It Different Than in the Euro Area Members?

Is inflation persistence in the new EU Member States (NMS) comparable to that in the euro area countries? We argue that persistence may not be as different between the two country groups as one might expect. We confirm that one should work carefully with the usual estimation methods when analyzing the NMS, given the scope of the convergence process they went through. We show that due to frequent breaks in inflation time series in the NMS, parametric statistical measures assuming a constant mean deliver substantially higher persistence estimates for the NMS than for the euro area countries. Employing a time-varying mean leads to the reversal of this result and suggests similar or lower inflation persistence for the NMS compared to euro area countries. Structural measures show that backward-looking behavior may be a more important component in explaining inflation dynamics in the NMS than in the euro area countries.Inflation persistence, new hybrid Phillips curve, new member states, timevarying mean.

The Role of Inflation Persistence in the Inflation Process in the New EU Member States

The aim of this paper is to compare inflation persistence between the New Member States (NMS) that joined the European Union in 2004 and 2007 and selected euro area members. If the levels of inflation persistence between the two groups are different, the NMS may encounter problems with fulfilling the Maastricht criterion on inflation and – after entering the euro area – with inflation divergence. We argue that the specific economic situation of the NMS in the last 15 years necessitates careful selection of inflation persistence measures. Two measures are estimated. The first one is based on a simple univariate statistical model of inflation with a time-varying mean. The second one assumes that inflation follows a fractionally integrated process and measures inflation persistence within an ARFIMA model. Statistical tests suggest that the model with a time-varying mean is preferable to the ARFIMA model for almost all countries. The estimation results show that inflation persistence is not an issue for all of the NMS. On the one hand, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Malta, Romania, and Slovakia exhibit persistence levels similar to those in the selected euro area countries. On the other hand, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia encounter a problem with high persistence stemming from both high intrinsic and high expectations-based inflation persistence.inflation persistence, new member states, time-varying mean, central bank credibility, ARFIMA model, Bayesian estimation, Kalman filter

Evaluating Changes in the Monetary Transmission Mechanism in the Czech Republic

We investigate the evolution of the monetary policy transmission mechanism in the Czech Republic over the 1996-2010 period by employing a time-varying parameters Bayesian vector autoregression model with stochastic volatility. We evaluate whether the response of GDP and the price level to exchange rate or interest rate shocks changes over time, with a focus on the period of the recent financial crisis. Furthermore, we augment the estimated system with a lending rate and credit growth to shed light on the relative importance of financial shocks for the macroeconomic environment. Our results suggest that output and prices have become increasingly responsive to monetary policy shocks, probably reflecting financial sector deepening, more persistent monetary policy shocks, and overall economic development associated with disinflation. On the other hand, exchange rate pass-through has weakened somewhat over time, suggesting improved credibility of inflation targeting in the Czech Republic with anchored inflation expectations. We find that credit shocks had a more sizeable impact on output and prices during the period of bank restructuring with difficult access to credit. In general, our results show that financial shocks are less important for the aggregate economy in an environment of a stable financial system.Monetary policy transmission, sign restrictions, time-varying parameters.

Inflation persistence: euro area and new EU Member States

Is inflation persistence in the new EU Member States (NMS) comparable to that in the euro area countries? We argue that persistence may not be as different between the two country groups as one might expect. We confirm that one should work carefully with the usual estimation methods when analyzing the NMS, given the scope of the convergence process they went through. We show that due to frequent breaks in inflation time series in the NMS, parametric statistical measures assuming a constant mean deliver substantially higher persistence estimates for the NMS than for the euro area countries. Employing time-varying mean leads to the reversal of this result and suggests similar or lower inflation persistence for the NMS compared to euro area countries. Structural measures show that backward-looking behavior may be more important component in explaining inflation dynamics in the NMS than in the euro area countries. JEL Classification: E31, C22, C11, C32C11, C22, C32, JEL Classification: E31, Keywords: Inflation persistence, New Hybrid Phillips curve, new Member States, time-varying mean

Are Bayesian Fan Charts Useful for Central Banks? Uncertainty, Forecasting, and Financial Stability Stress Tests

This paper shows how fan charts generated from Bayesian vector autoregression (BVAR) models can be useful for assessing 1) the forecasting accuracy of central banks’ prediction models and 2) the credibility of stress tests carried out to evaluate financial stability. Using unique data from the Czech National Bank (CNB), we compare our BVAR fan charts for inflation, GDP growth, interest rate and the exchange rate to those of the CNB, which are based on past forecasting errors. Our results suggest that in terms of the Kullback-Leibler Information Criterion, BVAR fan charts typically do not outperform those of the CNB, providing a useful cross-check of their accuracy. However, we show how BVAR fan charts can rigorously deal with the non-negativity constraint on the nominal interest rate and usefully complement the official fan charts. Finally, we put forward how BVAR fan charts can be useful for assessing financial stability and propose a simple method for evaluating whether the assumptions of banks’ stress tests about the macroeconomic outlook are sufficiently adverse.Bayesian vector autoregression, fan chart, inflation targeting, stress tests, uncertainty.