Search results

1 – 10 of over 2000
Article
Publication date: 6 May 2020

Moumita Basu and Ranjanendra Narayan Nag

This is a theoretical paper in the field of structuralist macroeconomics. The paper focuses on commodity price fluctuation which has emerged as one of the major macroeconomic…

Abstract

Purpose

This is a theoretical paper in the field of structuralist macroeconomics. The paper focuses on commodity price fluctuation which has emerged as one of the major macroeconomic factors with significant bearing on the relationship between the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper develops a dual economy model consisting of an agricultural sector and an industrial sector. The commodity price is subject to the fluctuations due to the fact that stock of primary goods is an asset which is sensitive to speculations. The paper considers a standard methodology of dynamic adjustment process involving change in stock of agricultural goods and price of agricultural goods under perfect foresight. The saddle path properties of the equilibrium are also examined.

Findings

The paper shows that the balanced budget fiscal expansion, capital account liberalization and the agricultural expansion lead to expansion of the industrial sector as well as level of employment. The increase in world interest rate may lead to contraction of the industrial sector and depress employment.

Originality/value

We will consider the openness of the economy in explaining how different macroeconomic policies and capital account liberalization generate multiple cross effects on the inter-connectedness between agricultural and the non-agricultural sector. The paper will discuss the issue of employment generation in conjunction with commodity price fluctuation. We depart from the literature by using Taylor rule under which interest rate is fixed by the Central Bank such that money supply becomes endogenous.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 47 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 June 2008

Deepak Nayyar

This essay aims to analyze the process of structural adjustment in developing countries. Its focus is on macroeconomic stabilization in the short‐term, but the analysis is…

1848

Abstract

Purpose

This essay aims to analyze the process of structural adjustment in developing countries. Its focus is on macroeconomic stabilization in the short‐term, but the analysis is situated in a wider context to consider how it relates to the implications of structural reform in the medium‐term and the prospects for economic growth in the long‐term.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper begins by setting out the contours of the orthodox, the Keynesian and the heterodox perspectives on stabilization and adjustment to highlight the differences. Such different perspectives on macroeconomic theory and policy, it suggests, are attributable to differences in objectives, assumptions and beliefs. These are made explicit.

Findings

The paper argues that the relationship between stabilization and growth is characterized by inter‐connections rather than trade‐offs and suggests that outcomes depend on modes of adjustment. It also provides a macroeconomic analysis of government deficits and public finances, which are critical in the process of adjustment. This highlights the macroeconomic significance of government deficits and points to the fallacies of deficit fetishism based on accounting frameworks. The intersection of economics and politics in the design and implementation of macroeconomic policies is also explored.

Practical implications

Going beyond a critique of orthodox stabilization programmes, it shows that there are alternatives in macro‐management for economies in crisis, for which it is necessary to shift the focus from the financial to the real economy, from the short‐term to the long‐term, and from equilibrium to development.

Originality/value

The paper develops a heterodox perspective on the macroeconomics of structural adjustment and public finances. And, it sets out an alternative framework which straddles time horizons, to understand the restructuring of economies over time.

Details

International Journal of Development Issues, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1446-8956

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 August 2019

Moumita Basu and Ranjanendra Narayan Nag

This is a theoretical paper in the field of international macroeconomics. The purpose of this paper is to focus on a dynamic interaction between current account imbalance and…

Abstract

Purpose

This is a theoretical paper in the field of international macroeconomics. The purpose of this paper is to focus on a dynamic interaction between current account imbalance and unemployment in response to some policy-induced shocks for a small open economy under a flexible exchange rate.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a two-sector framework: one sector is traded and another is the non-traded sector that is subject to an effective demand constraint. The current account imbalance arises due to the discrepancy between production of traded goods, household consumption of traded goods and government purchases of importables. The authors keep the asset structure simple by considering only domestic currency and foreign bonds that are imperfect substitutes. The paper considers a standard methodology of dynamic adjustment process involving change in foreign exchange reserves and exchange rate under perfect foresight. The saddle path properties of the equilibrium are also examined.

Findings

The results of comparative static exercises depend on a set of structural features of a developing country, which include asset substitutability, wage price rigidity and sectoral asymmetries. The paper shows that expansionary monetary policy, balanced budget fiscal expansion and financial liberalization have an ambiguous effect on the current account balance, foreign exchange reserves, non-traded sector and the level of employment.

Originality/value

The existence of Keynesian unemployment with fixed prices is the key ingredient of this paper. The paper introduces the problem of effective demand to analyze the dynamics of current account balance and exchange rate, which, in turn, determine the sectoral composition of output and level of employment.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 46 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 November 2010

Leonardo Vera

This paper seeks to draw together the various essential elements of the conflict inflation approach within the context of an open economy and to highlight the importance of global…

2793

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to draw together the various essential elements of the conflict inflation approach within the context of an open economy and to highlight the importance of global external factors in explaining inflation.

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical framework is proposed based on a model with a few simple building‐blocks. A supply side relationship that determines the trade‐off between a stable distribution of income and the external balance is first derived. As a second step the model combines the supply side relationship with James Meade's analysis of the relation between internal and external balance.

Findings

The study first shows, in the context of an small open economy, relevant trade‐offs among three crucial macroeconomics targets – external balance, internal balance, and workers/firms' aspiration balance. It then disentangles the adjustment mechanism that explains how an adverse balance of payments shocks may lead eventually to the breakdown of the conflicting claims equilibrium and inflation. Finally, it provides analytical reasons for believing that the focus of globalization (sustained and higher world demand and strong global competitiveness) is the main cause of global disinflation.

Research limitations/implications

The present study provides a starting‐point for further theoretical developments within the conflict inflation approach and requires empirical testing.

Originality/value

The open economy conflict inflation framework could prove to be useful in improving the understanding of the relationship between global external forces and domestic inflation.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 37 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2008

Germana Corrado

The paper aims at developing a theoretical model for de facto dollarized small open economies focusing on currency substitution and nominal wages indexation to the exchange rate.

1679

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims at developing a theoretical model for de facto dollarized small open economies focusing on currency substitution and nominal wages indexation to the exchange rate.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is performed in a general equilibrium “New Open Economy Macroeconomics” framework with nominal rigidities and imperfect competition in the nontraded good sector.

Findings

The paper finds that a dollar‐indexed economy with low degrees of payments/financial dollarization could experience higher costs in terms of exchange rate and output fluctuations when nominal shocks dominate real shocks, making stabilization programs more difficult to achieve in a rapid and less costly way.

Practical implications

The speed of adjustment of macro variables is faster in the highly dollarized economy as a response to a higher and more volatile inflation rate. A higher level of financial dollarization increases the frequency of domestic prices and wages revisions to nominal exchange rate shocks. This might explain, in turn, why nominal disturbances are shorter lived in the higher dollarized economies, and the asymmetry between financial and real dollarization

Originality/value

Contrary to the “conventional wisdom” that predicts a positive relationship between the degrees of dollarization and the exchange rate pass‐through, our model shows that the degree of dollarization and the degree of dollar indexation are not necessarily the same or even correlated.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 35 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 October 2016

Zekeriya Yildirim and Mehmet Ivrendi

Recent turbulence in global financial markets implies that emerging economies are likely to soon enter a new era with greater pressure for currency depreciation and capital…

3296

Abstract

Purpose

Recent turbulence in global financial markets implies that emerging economies are likely to soon enter a new era with greater pressure for currency depreciation and capital outflows. This will likely bring challenges, including macroeconomic instability and inflationary pressures due to potential rapid depreciation. In this context, certain key questions about emerging economies have become focal points of discussion in political and academic spheres: what are the effects of exchange rate depreciation on economic activity? Does exchange rate depreciation create inflationary pressure? Finding answers to these questions is critical for policymakers and financial market participants. As such, the purpose of this paper is to shed light on these questions and thus provides guidance on mitigating the negative impacts of shocks in four fast-growing emerging economies.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a vector autoregression model with sign restrictions to examine the dynamic effects of exchange rate movements on fundamental macroeconomic indicators for four fast-growing countries, namely, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, and South Africa. Following Berument et al. (2012a), Ncube and Ndou (2013), Bjørnland and Halvorsen (2013), and An et al. (2014), the authors adopt the sign restriction methodology to identify exchange rate shocks alongside other macroeconomic shocks (monetary policy and productivity shocks) leading to exchange rate fluctuations.

Findings

The results show that exchange rate depreciation typically generates a deep recession and high inflation while improving the trade balance in the four emerging economies. This indicates that depreciation has strong “stagflationary” effects, which are transmitted to the macroeconomy primarily via supply-side channels, especially through the cost of import. Furthermore, the authors find that monetary policy reacts immediately to a domestic currency depreciation in all four emerging countries.

Practical implications

The results imply that these countries’ monetary policies are not and cannot be neutral to exchange rate shocks. However, in these import-dependent countries, monetary tightening (i.e. rate hikes in response to an exchange rate shock) plays a limited role in mitigating the negative effects of depreciation on inflation and economic activity due to the presence of a dominant supply-side channel. In this framework, policymakers should pay greater attention to structural reforms that aim to reduce import dependency. These reforms may increase the effectiveness of domestic monetary policy in mitigating the negative effects of external shocks.

Originality/value

This paper provides a useful perspective for policymakers designing economic interventions to mitigate the adverse effects of exchange rate depreciation and to those who borrow or lend in domestic or international financial markets.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 43 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 October 2023

Haytem Troug and Ernil Sabaj

Despite being a flexible tool that can address several macroeconomic issues, Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) models have been rarely used to analyse the interaction…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite being a flexible tool that can address several macroeconomic issues, Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) models have been rarely used to analyse the interaction between monetary and fiscal policy until the post-financial crisis, leaving a gap in the analysis of how government consumption affects the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. This motivates this paper to analyse how government consumption affects the dynamics of a small open economy, once the former is included in a non-separable form to the utility function. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this issue has not been addressed by the literature, and the authors aim to do so in this paper.

Design/methodology/approach

A standard New Keynesian model for a small open economy is used to allow for the presence of non-separable government consumption in the utility function. The model is supported by panel regressions.

Findings

The inclusion of Government consumption dampens the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. The degree of openness dampens the crowding out effect of fiscal policy to monetary policy, as the exchange rate channel empowers it. Empirical estimates for 35 OECD countries support the theoretical findings of the model.

Originality/value

The effect of government consumption on the transmission mechanism of MP has not been addressed in the literature. This paper contributes to the literature by addressing this issue.

Highlights:

  • • The inclusion of Government consumption dampens the transmission mechanism of monetary policy.

  • • The degree of openness alleviates the crowding out effect of fiscal policy to monetary policy, as the exchange rate channel empowers it.

  • • Empirical estimates for 35 OECD countries support the theoretical findings of the model.

• The inclusion of Government consumption dampens the transmission mechanism of monetary policy.

• The degree of openness alleviates the crowding out effect of fiscal policy to monetary policy, as the exchange rate channel empowers it.

• Empirical estimates for 35 OECD countries support the theoretical findings of the model.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 51 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 June 2022

Cleomar Gomes da Silva and Fábio Augusto Reis Gomes

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the teaching of undergraduate macroeconomics.

1369

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the teaching of undergraduate macroeconomics.

Design/methodology/approach

To suggest a roadmap, based on a consumption function, to be used by instructors willing to teach the Lucas Critique subject.

Findings

Therefore, this paper proposes a lesson, which consists of three parts, to help undergraduates better understand the subject: (1) a grading exercise to bring the topic closer to students’ lives; (2) a Keynesian and an optimal consumption function, followed by an example based on an unemployment insurance policy; and (3) two optional topics consisting of extensions of the optimal consumption function and some empirical results related to the Lucas Critique.

Originality/value

The Lucas Critique influenced the evolution of research in macroeconomics, but it is not easily grasped in a classroom.

Details

EconomiA, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1517-7580

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1991

Nicholas Sarantis

The aim is to integrate the dynamics of asset accumulation for openeconomies with the conflict theory of wage and price formation. Thissynthesis allows us to assess the results…

Abstract

The aim is to integrate the dynamics of asset accumulation for open economies with the conflict theory of wage and price formation. This synthesis allows us to assess the results obtained in the mainstream asset market models based on an atomistic view of the economy, analyse the influence of market power in product and labour markets on aggregate economic activity, and to investigate new sources of potential instability.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 December 2023

Hai Le and Phuong Nguyen

This study examines the importance of exchange rate and credit growth fluctuations when designing monetary policy in Thailand. To this end, the authors construct a small open…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the importance of exchange rate and credit growth fluctuations when designing monetary policy in Thailand. To this end, the authors construct a small open economy New Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model. The model encompasses several essential characteristics, including incomplete financial markets, incomplete exchange rate pass-through, deviations from the law of one price and a banking sector. The authors consider generalized Taylor rules, in which policymakers adjust policy rates in response to output, inflation, credit growth and exchange rate fluctuations. The marginal likelihoods are then employed to investigate whether the central bank responds to fluctuations in the exchange rate and credit growth.

Design/methodology/approach

This study constructs a small open economy DSGE model and then estimates the model using Bayesian methods.

Findings

The authors demonstrate that the monetary authority does target exchange rates, whereas there is no evidence in favor of incorporating credit growth into the policy rules. These findings survive various robustness checks. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate that domestic shocks contribute significantly to domestic business cycles. Although the terms of trade shock plays a minor role in business cycles, it explains the most significant proportion of exchange rate fluctuations, followed by the country risk premium shock.

Originality/value

This study is the first attempt at exploring the relevance of exchange rate and credit growth fluctuations when designing monetary policy in Thailand.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 51 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 2000