The Macroeconomics of Epidemics
Martin S. Eichenbaum, Sergio Rebelo, Mathias Trabandt
Review of Financial Studies,
No. 11,
2021
Abstract
We extend the canonical epidemiology model to study the interaction between economic decisions and epidemics. Our model implies that people cut back on consumption and work to reduce the chances of being infected. These decisions reduce the severity of the epidemic but exacerbate the size of the associated recession. The competitive equilibrium is not socially optimal because infected people do not fully internalize the effect of their economic decisions on the spread of the virus. In our benchmark model, the best simple containment policy increases the severity of the recession but saves roughly half a million lives in the United States.
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IWH-Flash-Indikator IV. Quartal 2021 und I. Quartal 2022
Katja Heinisch, Oliver Holtemöller, Axel Lindner, Birgit Schultz
IWH Flash Indicator,
No. 4,
2021
Abstract
Die wirtschaftliche Erholung in Deutschland setzte sich im dritten Quartal 2021 weiter fort. Das Bruttoinlandsprodukt stieg um 1,8%, nach 1,9% im Vorquartal. Einer stärkeren Erholung standen weiterhin bestehende Lieferketten- und Beschaffungsprobleme sowie kräftig steigende Preise insbesondere im Energiebereich entgegen. Beides wird den Aufschwung in Deutschland wohl noch einige Zeit dämpfen. Pandemiebedingte Angebotsrestriktionen für Dienstleistungen gab es hingegen kaum noch. Da die Impfquote zuletzt stagnierte und die Anzahl der in Krankenhäusern behandelten Corona-Infizierten aktuell wieder stark steigt, werden verstärkte Restriktionen vor allem für bisher noch nicht Geimpfte geplant. Dies dürfte letztlich die private Nachfrage wieder bremsen und könnte auch Beschäftigungsverhältnisse erschweren. Insgesamt wird die Wirtschaft in Deutschland laut IWH-Flash-Indikator im vierten Quartal 2021 wohl stagnieren und im ersten Quartal 2022 dann um 0,6% zulegen (vgl. Abbildung).
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The Crisis is Gradually Being Overcome
Martin Gornig, Oliver Holtemöller, Stefan Kooths, Torsten Schmidt, Timo Wollmershäuser
Wirtschaftsdienst,
No. 10,
2021
Abstract
The leading economic research institutes have lowered their GDP growth forecast for 2021 from 3.7 % to 2.4 %. Weakening industrial production, which is suffering from supply bottlenecks, is particularly responsible for this. The global economy is recovering from the disruptions of the coronavirus pandemic, but only slowly, as vaccination progress varies across regions. Consumer prices increased sharply in 2021.
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Banking Globalization, Local Lending, and Labor Market Effects: Micro-level Evidence from Brazil
Felix Noth, Matias Ossandon Busch
Journal of Financial Stability,
October
2021
Abstract
Recent financial crises have prompted the interest in understanding how banking globalization interacts with domestic institutions in shaping foreign shocks’ transmission. This paper uses regional banking data from Brazil to show that a foreign funding shock to banks negatively affects lending by their regional branches. This effect increases in the presence of frictions in internal capital markets, which affect branches’ capacity to access funding from other regions via intra-bank linkages. These results also matter on an aggregate level, as municipality-level credit and job flows drop in exposed regions. Policies aiming to reduce the fragmented structure of regional banking markets could moderate the propagation of foreign shocks.
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14.10.2021 • 26/2021
East German economy less affected by supply bottlenecks than German economy as a whole, but lower vaccination rates pose risks – Implications of the Joint Economic Forecast Autumn 2021 and of Länder data from recent publications of the Federal Statisti
Supply bottlenecks affect production in the manufacturing sector in East Germany somewhat less than in Germany as a whole. With 1.8%, the increase in Gross Domestic Product in eastern Germany in 2021 therefore is likely to be lower than in Germany as a whole (2.4%); this gap is likely to enlarge in 2022, when supply bottlenecks hamper less (East Germany: 3.6%, Germany 4.8%).
Oliver Holtemöller
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Corporate Loan Spreads and Economic Activity
Anthony Saunders, Alessandro Spina, Sascha Steffen, Daniel Streitz
SSRN Working Paper,
2021
Abstract
We use secondary corporate loan-market prices to construct a novel loan-market-based credit spread. This measure has considerable predictive power for economic activity across macroeconomic outcomes in both the U.S. and Europe and captures unique information not contained in public market credit spreads. Loan-market borrowers are compositionally different and particularly sensitive to supply-side frictions as well as financial frictions that emanate from their own balance sheets. This evidence highlights the joint role of financial intermediary and borrower balance-sheet frictions in understanding macroeconomic developments and enriches our understanding of which type of financial frictions matter for the economy.
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How Can Macroprudential Policies Transmit Within a Banking Group?
Chris Becker, Matias Ossandon Busch, Lena Tonzer
WorldBank All About Finance,
2021
Abstract
The unexpected shock represented by the COVID-19 pandemic illustrates the importance of building robust macroprudential frameworks to increase countries’ resilience against sudden disruptions in financial markets. By now, a widespread opinion among commentators and policy makers is that the macroprudential frameworks that were implemented over the past decades were effective in moderating market stress, a view supported by ample evidence on the effectiveness of macroprudential policies.
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14.09.2021 • 23/2021
Production bottlenecks delay recovery
The German recovery made good progress over the summer 2021. However, bottlenecks in sea transport and the production of intermediate goods are weighing on world trade. The rise in raw material prices has prompted inflation rates to spike, and an increase in new infections is clouding the outlook again. A weak final quarter is therefore to be expected. The Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) forecasts that German gross domestic product (GDP) will increase by 2.2% in 2021 and 3.6% in 2022 (East Germany: 1.8% and 2.8%).
Oliver Holtemöller
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Konjunktur aktuell: Produktionsengpässe verzögern Erholung
Konjunktur aktuell,
No. 3,
2021
Abstract
Im Sommer 2021 dürfte die weltwirtschaftliche Produktion deutlich zugelegt haben, aber Schließungen von Produktionsanlagen und Häfen vergrößern den Stau im globalen Warenaustausch. Ansteigende Rohstoffpreise schlagen sich v. a. in den USA und im Euroraum in hohen Inflationsraten nieder, doch die Notenbanken werden sich mit dem Kurswechsel Zeit lassen. Dadurch erhält die Wirtschaft in den westlichen Industrieländern weiter Rückenwind seitens der Wirtschaftspolitik. Die Erholung der deutschen Wirtschaft kam im Sommerhalbjahr dank der Impfkampagne und des privaten Konsums gut voran. Wegen steigender Corona-Neuinfektionen und Produktionsengpässen ist dennoch nur mit einem recht schwachen Jahresschlussquartal zu rechnen. Das BIP wird 2021 um 2,2% und 2022 um 3,6% zunehmen.
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