Financial Technologies and the Effectiveness of Monetary Policy Transmission
Iftekhar Hasan, Boreum Kwak, Xiang Li
Abstract
This study investigates whether and how financial technologies (FinTech) influence the effectiveness of monetary policy transmission. We use an interacted panel vector autoregression model to explore how the effects of monetary policy shocks change with regional-level FinTech adoption. Results indicate that FinTech adoption generally mitigates the transmission of monetary policy to real GDP, consumer prices, bank loans, and housing prices, with the most significant impact observed in the weakened transmission to bank loan growth. The relaxed financial constraints, regulatory arbitrage, and intensified competition are the possible mechanisms underlying the mitigated transmission.
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14.10.2020 • 21/2020
Recovery Loses Momentum ‒ Economy and Politics Still Shaped by the Pandemic
The corona pandemic leaves substantial marks in the German economy and its impact is more persistent than assumed in spring. In their autumn report, the leading German economic research institutes have revised their economic outlook downwards by roughly one percentage point for both this and next year. They now expect gross domestic product to fall by 5.4% in 2020 (previously -4.2%) and to grow by 4.7% (5.8%) in 2021 and 2.7% in 2022.
Oliver Holtemöller
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Exchange Rates and the Information Channel of Monetary Policy
Oliver Holtemöller, Alexander Kriwoluzky, Boreum Kwak
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 17,
2020
Abstract
We disentangle the effects of monetary policy announcements on real economic variables into an interest rate shock component and a central bank information shock component. We identify both components using changes in interest rate futures and in exchange rates around monetary policy announcements. While the volatility of interest rate surprises declines around the Great Recession, the volatility of exchange rate changes increases. Making use of this heteroskedasticity, we estimate that a contractionary interest rate shock appreciates the dollar, increases the excess bond premium, and leads to a decline in prices and output, while a positive information shock appreciates the dollar, decreases prices and the excess bond premium, and increases output.
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Energy Markets and Global Economic Conditions
Christiane Baumeister, Dimitris Korobilis, Thomas K. Lee
Abstract
This paper evaluates alternative indicators of global economic activity and other market fundamentals in terms of their usefulness for forecasting real oil prices and global petroleum consumption. We find that world industrial production is one of the most useful indicators that has been proposed in the literature. However, by combining measures from a number of different sources we can do even better. Our analysis results in a new index of global economic conditions and new measures for assessing future tightness of energy demand and expected oil price pressures.
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ekordschulden gegen Corona-Folgen sind finanzierbar – schuldenfinanzierte Konsumstimulierung aber nicht zielführend
Oliver Holtemöller
ifo Schnelldienst,
No. 8,
2020
Abstract
Auf große Wirtschaftskrisen reagiert die Finanzpolitik häufig mit einer massiven Ausweitung der öffentlichen Verschuldung, so auch in der gegenwärtigen Coronakrise. In diesem Beitrag wird gezeigt, dass die deutsche Schuldenbremse die Tragfähigkeit der öffentlichen Finanzen auch dann gewährleistet, wenn im Abstand von zehn Jahren Krisen auftreten, in denen die Neuverschuldungsgrenze außer Kraft gesetzt wird. Die Tragfähigkeit zusätzlicher Staatsschulden begründet jedoch nicht deren Sinnhaftigkeit. Diskretionäre Finanzpolitik zur Stimulierung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Nachfrage leistet insgesamt einen eher kleinen Anteil zur Stabilisierung der realwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung. Maßnahmen zur Eindämmung der Corona-Epidemie, für den Ausgleich tatsächlicher sozialer und wirtschaftlicher Schäden und für die Aufrechterhaltung des Bildungsbetriebs unter den Bedingungen einer Epidemie könnten einen wichtigeren Beitrag zur Krisenbekämpfung leisten als kurzfristige Nachfragestimulierung.
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16.09.2020 • 18/2020
Economy recovers from the shutdown – but a quick return to pre-crisis normality is unlikely
The German economy has bounced back strongly over the summer, recovering a considerable part of the production slump caused by the shutdown in spring. Nevertheless, real gross domestic product in 2020 is likely to contract by 5.7%. In 2021, growth is expected to average 3.2% according to IWH autumn economic forecast. The decline in production in 2020 is likely to be less pronounced in East Germany com¬pared to Germany as a whole.
Oliver Holtemöller
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The Effects of Fiscal Policy in an Estimated DSGE Model – The Case of the German Stimulus Packages During the Great Recession
Andrej Drygalla, Oliver Holtemöller, Konstantin Kiesel
Macroeconomic Dynamics,
No. 6,
2020
Abstract
In this paper, we analyze the effects of the stimulus packages adopted by the German government during the Great Recession. We employ a standard medium-scale dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model extended by non-optimizing households and a detailed fiscal sector. In particular, the dynamics of spending and revenue variables are modeled as feedback rules with respect to the cyclical components of output, hours worked and private investment. Based on the estimated rules, fiscal shocks are identified. According to the results, fiscal policy, in particular public consumption, investment, and transfers prevented a sharper and prolonged decline of German output at the beginning of the Great Recession, suggesting a timely response of fiscal policy. The overall effects, however, are small when compared to other domestic and international shocks that contributed to the economic downturn. Our overall findings are not sensitive to considering fiscal foresight.
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Special Issue on Productivity: Introduction
Filippo di Mauro
Singapore Economic Review,
No. 5,
2020
Abstract
At the time we write this introduction, the world is entering a second phase of the COVID-pandemic, where all countries in the world attempt to gradually reopen after the tremendous shock on lives and economic activity. The focus of the policies right now is very much on short-term interventions aimed at alleviating the financial strains on households and firms, thus fostering a quicker recovery. In the medium and long-term perspective, however, it would be essential to parallel such policies with appropriate interventions aimed at strengthening the aggregate productivity of the economy, with the objective of increasing resilience and foster more solid growth foundations.
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Promoting Higher Productivity in China — Does Innovation Expenditure Really Matter?
Hoang Minh Duy, Filippo di Mauro, Jo Van Biesebroeck
Singapore Economic Review,
No. 5,
2020
Abstract
The slowing down of the global economy adds additional challenges to China? economic policies as the country orchestrates its transition to lower resource dependency and higher technology intensity of output. Are policies aimed at technologically advanced sectors the right answer? Drawing from a newly created dataset of firms? balance sheets over the period 1998?2013, matched with patents data until 2009, we uncover that expenditure in innovation had limited effect on boosting productivity, without generating a clear gain in overall productivity for the high-tech sector. As a matter of fact, there is a much higher dispersion in productivity outcomes in firms belonging to the low-technology sectors, which derives from a bunch of champions in those sectors scoring higher productivity dynamics than in the High-technology sectors. The paper finds those barriers to entry and in general, market power of incumbents in the high-tech generate less than optimal resource reallocation, which hampers the overall productivity. Policies should presumably aim at removing such obstacles rather than solely promote innovation expenditure.
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The Effects of German Regional Policy – Evidence at the Establishment Level
Matthias Brachert, Hans-Ulrich Brautzsch, Eva Dettmann, Alexander Giebler, Lutz Schneider, Mirko Titze
IWH Online,
No. 5,
2020
Abstract
The “Joint Task ‘Improving Regional Economic Structures’ (GRW)” represents the most important regional policy scheme in Germany. The program provides non-repayable grants as a share of total investment costs to establishments (and municipalities) in structurally weak regions. The definition of eligible areas is based on i) a composite indicator measuring regional structural weakness and ii) a threshold determined by the European Union consisting of the population share of the respective country that lives in assisted regions. Responsible for the selection of the supported projects is the respective Federal State in which the GRW project is applied for.
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