Much Ado About Nothing: Sovereign Ratings and Government Bond Yields in the OECD
Makram El-Shagi
IWH Discussion Papers,
Nr. 22,
2016
Abstract
In this paper, we propose a new method to assess the impact of sovereign ratings on sovereign bond yields. We estimate the impulse response of the interest rate, following a change in the rating. Since ratings are ordinal and moreover extremely persistent, it proves difficult to estimate those impulse response functions using a VAR modeling ratings, yields and other macroeconomic indicators. However, given the highly stochastic nature of the precise timing of ratings, we can treat most rating adjustments as shocks. We thus no longer rely on a VAR for shock identification, making the estimation of the corresponding IRFs well suited for so called local projections – that is estimating impulse response functions through a series of separate direct forecasts over different horizons. Yet, the rare occurrence of ratings makes impulse response functions estimated through that procedure highly sensitive to individual observations, resulting in implausibly volatile impulse responses. We propose an augmentation to restrict jointly estimated local projections in a way that produces economically plausible impulse response functions.
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Social Distress and Economic Integration
Walter Hyll, Lutz Schneider
IWH Discussion Papers,
Nr. 21,
2016
Abstract
We analyze whether social distress from income comparisons affects attitudes towards the integration of economies. Using Germany’s division as natural experiment, we find that East Germans’ feelings of relative deprivation with respect to better-off West Germans led to significantly more support for the upcoming German re-unification.
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IWH-Industrieumfrage zum Jahresauftakt 2015: Positive Grundstimmung
Cornelia Lang
Konjunktur aktuell,
Nr. 1,
2015
Abstract
Für das Jahr 2015 erwarten die vom IWH befragten Unternehmen Geschäfte in etwa auf Vorjahresniveau. Mehr als die Hälfte der Unternehmen geht von Zuwächsen beim Umsatz aus, aber nicht mehr in der Höhe wie im Jahr 2014. Ein Drittel der Unternehmen will Personal einstellen, 12% gehen davon aus, dass bis Ende 2015 Beschäftigung abgebaut wird. Die Umsatz- und Beschäftigungspläne der Exportunternehmen fallen leicht überdurchschnittlich aus.
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IWH-Konjunkturbarometer Ostdeutschland: Produktion in Ostdeutschland stagniert gegen Jahresende
Udo Ludwig, Franziska Exß
Konjunktur aktuell,
Nr. 1,
2015
Abstract
Die schwache Belebung der Konjunktur in Deutschland im dritten Quartal griff auf die Produktions- und Dienstleistungsstandorte in den Neuen Bundesländern über. Das Bruttoinlandsprodukt ist hier – saisonbereinigt nach dem Berliner Verfahren (BV 4.1) – um 0,1% gegenüber dem zweiten Quartal gestiegen und damit etwa so verhalten wie in den Alten Bundesländern (0,2%). Gegenüber dem Vorjahreszeitraum bedeutete das aber einen Zuwachs von 0,8%. Ausschlaggebend war der Anstieg an Wertschöpfung im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe, während vor allem vom Baugewerbe Bremswirkungen ausgingen. Der Dienstleistungssektor setzte seine sehr moderate Aufwärtstendenz per saldo fort.
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Informed and Uninformed Investment in Housing: The Downside of Diversification
Elena Loutskina, Philip E. Strahan
Review of Financial Studies,
Nr. 5,
2011
Abstract
Mortgage lenders that concentrate in a few markets invest more in information collection than diversified lenders. Concentrated lenders focus on the information-intensive jumbo market and on high-risk borrowers. They are better positioned to price risks and, thus, ration credit less. Adverse selection, however, leads to higher retention of mortgages relative to diversified lenders. Finally, concentrated lenders have higher profits than diversified lenders, their profits vary less systematically, and their stock prices fell less during the 2007—2008 credit crisis. The results imply that geographic diversification led to a decline in screening by lenders, which likely played a role in the 2007–2008 crisis.
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Corporate Venture Capital, Value Creation, and Innovation
Thomas J. Chemmanur, Elena Loutskina, Xuan Tian
Review of Financial Studies,
Nr. 8,
2014
Abstract
We analyze how corporate venture capital (CVC) differs from independent venture capital (IVC) in nurturing innovation in entrepreneurial firms. We find that CVC-backed firms are more innovative, as measured by their patenting outcome, although they are younger, riskier, and less profitable than IVC-backed firms. Our baseline results continue to hold in a propensity score matching analysis of IPO firms and a difference-in-differences analysis of the universe of VC-backed entrepreneurial firms. We present evidence consistent with two possible underlying mechanisms: CVC's greater industry knowledge due to the technological fit between their parent firms and entrepreneurial firms and CVC's greater tolerance for failure.
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Financial Integration, Housing, and Economic Volatility
Elena Loutskina, Philip E. Strahan
Journal of Financial Economics,
Nr. 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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Exporting Liquidity: Branch Banking and Financial Integration
Erik P. Gilje, Elena Loutskina, Philip E. Strahan
Journal of Finance,
Nr. 3,
2016
Abstract
Using exogenous liquidity windfalls from oil and natural gas shale discoveries, we demonstrate that bank branch networks help integrate U.S. lending markets. Banks exposed to shale booms enjoy liquidity inflows, which increase their capacity to originate and hold new loans. Exposed banks increase mortgage lending in nonboom counties, but only where they have branches and only for hard‐to‐securitize mortgages. Our findings suggest that contracting frictions limit the ability of arm's length finance to integrate credit markets fully. Branch networks continue to play an important role in financial integration, despite the development of securitization markets.
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Mortgage Companies and Regulatory Arbitrage
Yuliya Demyanyk, Elena Loutskina
Journal of Financial Economics,
Nr. 2,
2016
Abstract
Mortgage companies (MCs) do not fall under the strict regulatory regime of depository institutions. We empirically show that this gap resulted in regulatory arbitrage and allowed bank holding companies (BHCs) to circumvent consumer compliance regulations, mitigate capital requirements, and reduce exposure to loan-related losses. Compared to bank subsidiaries, MC subsidiaries of BHCs originated riskier mortgages to borrowers with lower credit scores, lower incomes, higher loan-to-income ratios, and higher default rates. Our results imply that precrisis regulations had the capacity to mitigate the deterioration of lending standards if consistently applied and enforced for all types of intermediaries.
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Fiscal Stimulus and Consumer Debt
Yuliya Demyanyk, Elena Loutskina, Daniel Murphy
Review of Economics and Statistics,
Nr. 4,
2019
Abstract
In the aftermath of the consumer debt–induced recession, policymakers have questioned whether fiscal stimulus is effective during periods of high consumer indebtedness. This study empirically investigates this question. Using detailed data on Department of Defense spending for the 2007–2009 period, we document that the open-economy relative fiscal multiplier is higher in geographies with higher consumer debt. The results suggest that in the short term (2007–2009), fiscal policy can mitigate the adverse effect of consumer (over)leverage on real economic output during a recession. We then exploit detailed microdata to show that both heterogeneous marginal propensities to consume and slack-driven economic mechanisms contribute to the debt-dependent multiplier.
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