Financial Integration, Housing, and Economic Volatility
Elena Loutskina, Philip E. Strahan
Journal of Financial Economics,
No. 1,
2015
Abstract
The Great Recession illustrates the sensitivity of the economy to housing. This paper shows that financial integration, fostered by securitization and nationwide branching, amplified the positive effect of housing price shocks on the economy during the 1994–2006 period. We exploit variation in credit supply subsidies across local markets from government-sponsored enterprises to measure housing price changes unrelated to fundamentals. Using this instrument, we find that house price shocks spur economic growth. The effect is larger in localities more financially integrated, through both secondary loan market and bank branch networks. Financial integration thus raised the effect of collateral shocks on local economies, increasing economic volatility.
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Understanding the Great Recession
Mathias Trabandt, Lawrence J. Christiano, Martin S. Eichenbaum
American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics,
No. 1,
2015
Abstract
We argue that the vast bulk of movements in aggregate real economic activity during the Great Recession were due to financial frictions. We reach this conclusion by looking through the lens of an estimated New Keynesian model in which firms face moderate degrees of price rigidities, no nominal rigidities in wages, and a binding zero lower bound constraint on the nominal interest rate. Our model does a good job of accounting for the joint behavior of labor and goods markets, as well as inflation, during the Great Recession. According to the model the observed fall in total factor productivity and the rise in the cost of working capital played critical roles in accounting for the small drop in inflation that occurred during the Great Recession.
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Do We Need New Modelling Approaches in Macroeconomics?
Claudia M. Buch, Oliver Holtemöller
Financial Cycles and the Real Economy: Lessons for CESEE Countries,
2014
Abstract
The economic and financial crisis that emerged in 2008 also initiated an intense discussion on macroeconomic research and the role of economists in society. The debate focuses on three main issues. Firstly, it is argued that economists failed to predict the crisis and to design early warning systems. Secondly, it is claimed that economists use models of the macroeconomy which fail to integrate financial markets and which are inadequate to model large economic crises. Thirdly, the issue has been raised that economists invoke unrealistic assumptions concerning human behaviour by assuming that all agents are self-centred, rationally optimizing individuals. In this paper, we focus on the first two issues. Overall, our thrust is that the above statements are a caricature of modern economic theory and empirics. A rich field of research developed already before the crisis and picked up shortcomings of previous models.
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The Dynamics of Bank Spreads and Financial Structure
Reint E. Gropp, Christoffer Kok, J.-D. Lichtenberger
Quarterly Journal of Finance,
No. 4,
2014
Abstract
This paper investigates the effect of within banking sector competition and competition from financial markets on the dynamics of the transmission from monetary policy rates to retail bank interest rates in the euro area. We use a new dataset that permits analysis for disaggregated bank products. Using a difference-in-difference approach, we test whether development of financial markets and financial innovation speed up the pass through. We find that more developed markets for equity and corporate bonds result in a faster pass-through for those retail bank products directly competing with these markets. More developed markets for securitized assets and for interest rate derivatives also speed up the transmission. Further, we find relatively strong effects of competition within the banking sector across two different measures of competition. Overall, the evidence supports the idea that developed financial markets and competitive banking systems increase the effectiveness of monetary policy.
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Should I Stay or Should I Go? Bank Productivity and Internationalization Decisions
Claudia M. Buch, C. T. Koch, Michael Koetter
Journal of Banking and Finance,
No. 42,
2014
Abstract
Differences in firm-level productivity explain international activities of non-financial firms quite well. We test whether differences in bank productivity determine international activities of banks. Based on a dataset that allows tracking banks across countries and across different modes of foreign entry, we model the ordered probability of maintaining a commercial presence abroad and the volume of banks’ international assets empirically. Our research has three main findings. First, more productive banks are more likely to enter foreign markets in increasingly complex modes. Second, more productive banks also hold larger volumes of foreign assets. Third, higher risk aversion renders entry less likely, but it increases the volume of foreign activities conditional upon entry.
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Konjunktur aktuell: Deutsche Konjunktur hat Schwung verloren
Konjunktur aktuell,
No. 4,
2014
Abstract
Die deutsche Wirtschaft expandiert im Jahr 2014 in mäßigem Tempo. Der hohe Produktionszuwachs vom Jahresanfang hat sich nicht fortgesetzt, und die Unternehmen schätzen ihre Aussichten nicht mehr ganz so günstig ein, denn eine kräftige Erholung des Euroraums lässt weiter auf sich warten. Zudem verunsichert der Konflikt zwischen Russland und dem Westen. Die binnenwirtschaftlichen Bedingungen sind aber weiter günstig. Das reale Bruttoinlandsprodukt dürfte im Jahr 2014 um 1,5% und im Jahr 2015 um 1,6% zunehmen.
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Forecast Dispersion, Dissenting Votes, and Monetary Policy Preferences of FOMC Members: The Role of Individual Career Characteristics and Political Aspects
Stefan Eichler, Tom Lähner
Public Choice,
No. 3,
2014
Abstract
Using data from 1992 to 2001, we study the impact of members’ economic forecasts on the probability of casting dissenting votes in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). Employing standard ordered probit techniques, we find that higher individual inflation and real GDP growth forecasts (relative to the committee’s median) significantly increase the probability of dissenting in favor of tighter monetary policy, whereas higher individual unemployment rate forecasts significantly decrease it. Using interaction models, we find that FOMC members with longer careers in government, industry, academia, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or on the staff of the Board of Governors are more focused on output stabilization, while FOMC members with longer careers in the financial sector or on the staffs of regional Federal Reserve Banks are more focused on inflation stabilization. We also find evidence that politics matters, with Republican appointees being much more focused on inflation stabilization than Democratic appointees. Moreover, during the entire Clinton administration ‘natural’ monetary policy preferences of Bank presidents and Board members for inflation and output stabilization were more pronounced than under periods covering the administrations of both George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, respectively.
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Konjunktur aktuell: Binnennachfrage treibt Aufschwung in Deutschland
Konjunktur aktuell,
No. 3,
2014
Abstract
Deutschland befindet sich in einem binnenwirtschaftlich getragenen Aufschwung, der auch durch verstärkte Investitionstätigkeit Schub erhält. Die Absatzperspektiven der Unternehmen sind gut, und die privaten Haushalte dürften ihre Konsumausgaben aufgrund der guten Beschäftigungslage ausweiten. Aus dem Ausland kommen dagegen nur geringe Impulse. Das Bruttoinlandsprodukt dürfte im Jahr 2014 um 2,0% steigen
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The Political Determinants of Sovereign Bond Yield Spreads
Stefan Eichler
Journal of International Money and Finance,
No. 46,
2014
Abstract
This paper analyzes the political determinants of sovereign bond yield spreads using data for 27 emerging markets in the period 1996 to 2009. I find strong evidence that countries with parliamentary systems (as opposed to presidential regimes) and a low quality of governance face higher sovereign yield spreads, while the degree of democracy and elections play no significant role. A higher degree of political stability and the power to implement austerity measures significantly reduce sovereign yield spreads particularly in autocratic regimes, while no significant effect is detected for democratic countries. Overall, political determinants have a more pronounced impact on sovereign bond yield spreads in autocratic and closed regimes than in democratic and open countries.
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Die „International Banking Library“
Matias Ossandon Busch, J. Schneider, Lena Tonzer
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 4,
2014
Abstract
Die Globalisierung von Finanzmärkten hat in den letzten Jahren stetig zugenommen. Gründe dafür sind gesteigerte Auslandsaktivitäten realwirtschaftlicher Unternehmen, die Einführung einer gemeinsamen Währung im Euroraum sowie die Deregulierung der Finanzmärkte. Ein Indikator für das Zusammenwachsen von Finanzmärkten sind zum Beispiel die drastisch gestiegenen Auslandsaktivitäten deutscher und französischer Banken. Diese internationalen Verflechtungen können einerseits positive Auswirkungen haben: Kapital kann dorthin fließen, wo es gebraucht wird, und Risiken können über nationale Grenzen hinweg gestreut werden. Andererseits können grenzüberschreitende Aktivitäten im Finanzsektor Ansteckungseffekte verursachen, indem sie Schocks international übertragen.
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