Signaling currency crises in South Africa
Tobias Knedlik
South African Reserve Bank: Macroeconomic Policy Challenges for South Africa Conference, South African Reserve Bank,
2006
Abstract
Diese Arbeit betrachtet die südafrikanischen Währungskrisenepisoden von 1996, 1998 und 2001, um gemeinsame länderspezifische Ursachen für Währungskrisen in Südafrika zu ermitteln. Die Identifikation der Währungskrisen erfolgt mittels des Exchange Market Pressure Indexes, welcher von Eichengreen, Rose und Wyplosz (1996) entwickelt wurde. Dann wird ein Signalansatz, basierend auf Kaminsky und Reinhart (1996, 1998) verwendet, um mit dessen Hilfe das Risiko für Währungskrisen in Südafrika zu evaluieren. Die Arbeit berücksichtigt als potentielle Einflussgrößen die üblichen Variablen aus der Währungskrisentheorie sowie länderspezifische Faktoren, welche sich aus dem Bericht der Myburgh Commission (2002) und aktueller Literatur ergeben.
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Three methods of forecasting currency crises: Which made the run in signaling the South African currency crisis of June 2006?
Tobias Knedlik, Rolf Scheufele
IWH Discussion Papers,
Nr. 17,
2007
Abstract
In this paper we test the ability of three of the most popular methods to forecast the South African currency crisis of June 2006. In particular we are interested in the out-ofsample performance of these methods. Thus, we choose the latest crisis to conduct an out-of-sample experiment. In sum, the signals approach was not able to forecast the outof- sample crisis of correctly; the probit approach was able to predict the crisis but just with models, that were based on raw data. Employing a Markov-regime-switching approach also allows to predict the out-of-sample crisis. The answer to the question of which method made the run in forecasting the June 2006 currency crisis is: the Markovswitching approach, since it called most of the pre-crisis periods correctly. However, the “victory” is not straightforward. In-sample, the probit models perform remarkably well and it is also able to detect, at least to some extent, out-of-sample currency crises before their occurrence. It can, therefore, not be recommended to focus on one approach only when evaluating the risk for currency crises.
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Macroeconomic Policy Formation in Africa - General Issues
Karl Wohlmuth, Achim Gutowski, M. Kandil, Tobias Knedlik, O. O. Uzor
African Development Perspectives Yearbook, Vol. 16,
2014
Abstract
In Volume 16 with the title “Macroeconomic Policy Formation in Africa - General Issues“ new macroeconomic policy frameworks for Africa are discussed. Emphasis is on macroeconomic policies focusing on sustainable and inclusive growth, especially by considering the employment targeting of macroeconomic policy frameworks in Africa. The responses of the macroeconomic policymakers in Africa to the Euro crisis and to the recent globalization trends are reviewed and analyzed. The role of macroeconomic policies for generating sustainable and inclusive growth is also discussed. In Volume 16 also the economics of the “Arab Spring“ countries is analyzed, by focusing on the socioeconomic conditions and the economic policy factors that have led to the “Arab Spring“ events. Highlighted are the cases of Egypt and Tunisia, and the new strategic and policy frameworks in these countries after the democratic changes. An agenda for comprehensive policy reforms for the Arab countries in Africa is presented. In forthcoming Volume 17 with the title “Macroeconomic Policy Formation in Africa - Country Cases“ macroeconomic policies in African post-conflict countries and in the ECOWAS region are considered. Volume 17 contains also a section with Book Reviews and Book Notes.
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Political Institutionalisation and Economic Specialisation in Polycentric Metropolitan Regions – The Case of the East-German ‘Saxony Triangle’
Peter Franz, Christoph Hornych
IWH Discussion Papers,
Nr. 6,
2009
Abstract
The rising attention of politicians as well as scientists in the EU to the large urban agglomerations as centres of economic growth is accompanied by political efforts to identify and to demarcate such agglomerations under the label ‘metropolitan regions’. This study develops a theoretical framework broaching the issue of cooperation between municipalities from the perspective of regional economics as well as political science. The framework is applied to the empirical case of the polycentric metropolitan region ‘Saxony Triangle’ in East Germany. The results show that various intervening factors prevent intense cooperation between the actors in the region. Policy implications and con-
clusions for future research are discussed.
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Industry Concentration and Regional Innovative Performance – Empirical Evidence for Eastern Germany
Christoph Hornych, Michael Schwartz
Post-Communist Economies,
2009
Abstract
Regarding technological innovativeness, the transformed economy of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) clearly lags behind the western part of the country. To face this weakness a broad mixture of policy measures was carried out in recent years. Particular attention is drawn to the development of industry concentrations and economic ‘clusters’. However, little is known about the effectiveness of these policy measures regarding how industry concentrations in fact promote innovative performance in Eastern Germany. The present study tries to fill this gap by analysing the relationship between industry concentration in Eastern Germany and regional innovative performance. Our empirical analysis is based upon the number of patent applications of 22 manufacturing industries in 22 Eastern German planning regions. The estimated regression models indicate an inverted-U relationship between the degree of industry concentration and innovative performance. An exceedingly high degree of industry concentration in one region hampers regional innovative output. We discuss policy implications of our findings and give recommendations for future refinement of ‘cluster’-supporting policy schemes in Eastern Germany.
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Industry Concentration and Regional Innovative Performance – Empirical Evidence for Eastern Germany
Christoph Hornych, Michael Schwartz
IWH Discussion Papers,
Nr. 8,
2009
Abstract
Regarding technological innovativeness, the transformed economy of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) clearly lags behind the Western part of the country. To face this weakness, a broad mixture of policy measures was carried out in recent years. Particular attention is drawn to the development of industry concentrations and economic ‘clusters’. However, little is known about the effectiveness of these policy measures regarding how industry concentrations in fact promote innovative performance in Eastern Germany. The present study tries to fill this gap by analyzing the relationship between industry concentration in Eastern Germany and regional innovative performance. Our empirical analysis is based upon the number of patent applications of 22 manufacturing industries in 22 Eastern German planning regions. The estimated regression models indicate an inverted U-shaped relationship between the degree of industry concentration and innovative performance. An exceedingly high degree of industry concentration in one region hampers regional innovative output. We discuss policy implications of our findings and give recommendations for future refinement of ‘cluster’-supporting policy schemes in Eastern Germany.
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Warum exportiert der Osten so wenig? Eine empirische Analyse der Exportaktivitäten deutscher Bundesländer
Götz Zeddies
AStA - Wirtschafts- und Sozialstatistisches Archiv,
Nr. 4,
2009
Abstract
In den ersten Jahren nach der Vereinigung gingen die Warenausfuhren der Neuen Bundesländer mit dem Zusammenbruch des COMECON-Handels zunächst um 70% zurück. Obgleich die ostdeutschen Länder seit Mitte der 1990er Jahre durchweg höhere Exportzuwächse verzeichneten als die westdeutschen, sind ihre Exportquoten nach wie vor vergleichsweise niedrig. Während über einen langen Zeitraum hinweg die preislichen Wettbewerbsnachteile der ostdeutschen Industrie als wesentliche Ursache für deren Exportschwäche angesehen wurden, sind mittlerweile die strukturellen Defizite der Neuen Länder in den Mittelpunkt gerückt. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird auf der Basis bilateraler Außenhandelsdaten der deutschen Bundesländer und mit Hilfe eines klassischen Gravitationsmodells gezeigt, dass letzteres die Handelsströme der Neuen Länder nicht hinreichend erklären kann. Erweitert man den Modellansatz jedoch um zusätzliche strukturelle unabhängige Variablen, können diese die im Vergleich zu Westdeutschland geringeren Exportvolumina Ostdeutschlands nahezu vollständig erklären. Demzufolge sind die kleinteilige Unternehmensstruktur und der relativ geringe Anteil des Verarbeitenden Gewerbes an der Bruttowertschöpfung wesentliche Ursachen der schwachen Exportleistung der Neuen Länder.
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Are the Central and Eastern European Transition Countries still vulnerable to an Financial Crisis? Results from the Signals Approach
Axel Brüggemann, Thomas Linne
IWH Discussion Papers,
Nr. 157,
2002
Abstract
The aim of the paper is to analyse the vulnerability of the Central and Eastern European accession countries to the EU as well as that of Turkey and Russia to a financial crisis. Our methodology is an extension of the signals approach. We develop a composite indicator to measure the evolution of the risk potential in each country. Our findings show that crises in Central and Eastern Europe are caused by much the usual suspects as in others emerging markets. In particular an overvalued exchange rate, weak exports and dwindling currency reserves have good predictive power for assessing crisis vulnerabilities.
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Investment, Financial Markets, New Economy Dynamics and Growth in Transition Countries
Albrecht Kauffmann, P. J. J. Welfens
Economic Opening Up and Growth in Russia: Finance, Trade, Market Institutions, and Energy,
2004
Abstract
The transition to a market economy in the former CMEA area is more than a decade old and one can clearly distinguish a group of relatively fast growing countries — including Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia — and a majority of slowly growing economies, including Russia and the Ukraine. Initial problems of transition were natural in the sense that systemic transition to a market economy has effectively destroyed part of the existing capital stock that was no longer profitable under the new relative prices imported from world markets; and there was a transitory inflationary push as low state-administered prices were replaced by higher market equilibrium prices. Indeed, systemic transformation in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have brought serious transitory inflation problems and a massive transition recession; negative growth rates have continued over many years in some countries, including Russia and the Ukraine, where output growth was negative throughout the 1990s (except for Russia, which recorded slight growth in 1997). For political and economic reasons the economic performance of Russia is of particular relevance for the success of the overall transition process. If Russia would face stagnation and instability, this would undermine political and economic stability in the whole of Europe and prospects for integrating Russia into the world economy.
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Telecommunications, Trade and Growth: Gravity Modeling and Empirical Analysis for Eastern Europe and Russia
Albrecht Kauffmann
Economic Liberalization and Integration Policy: Options for Eastern Europe and Russia,
2006
Abstract
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