Did the Swiss Exchange Rate Shock Shock the Market?
Manuel Buchholz, Gregor von Schweinitz, Lena Tonzer
Abstract
The Swiss National Bank abolished the exchange rate floor versus the Euro in January 2015. Based on a synthetic matching framework, we analyse the impact of this unexpected (and therefore exogenous) shock on the stock market. The results reveal a significant level shift (decline) in asset prices in Switzerland following the discontinuation of the minimum exchange rate. While adjustments in stock market returns were most pronounced directly after the news announcement, the variance was elevated for some weeks, indicating signs of increased uncertainty and potentially negative consequences for the real economy.
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Central Bank Transparency and Cross-border Banking
Stefan Eichler, Helge Littke, Lena Tonzer
Journal of International Money and Finance,
2017
Abstract
We analyze the effect of central bank transparency on cross-border bank activities. Based on a panel gravity model for cross-border bank claims for 21 home and 47 destination countries from 1998 to 2010, we find strong empirical evidence that a rise in central bank transparency in the destination country, on average, increases cross-border claims. Using interaction models, we find that the positive effect of central bank transparency on cross-border claims is only significant if the central bank is politically independent and operates in a stable economic environment. Central bank transparency and credibility are thus considered complements by banks investing abroad.
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29.05.2017 • 23/2017
Aktionsprogramm für Vielfalt in Halle
„Wir sind bunt! – Wissenschaft braucht Vielfalt“ und „Divers in Halle!“ – so lauten die klaren Ansagen der Partner in Halle, die sich beim diesjährigen Deutschen Diversity Day am 30. Mai für Vielfalt stark machen.
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23.03.2017 • 16/2017
Konferenz für und von Nachwuchsökonomen
Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH) und Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg richten das 22. Spring Meeting of Young Economists aus.
Von heute bis Samstag findet in Halle (Saale) das Spring Meeting of Young Economists (SMYE) statt, organisiert vom Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH) und der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg. Die Veranstaltung findet jährlich in unterschiedlichen europäischen Städten statt. Organisiert wird die renommierte Konferenz von der European Association of Young Economists (EAYE). Der Vorsitzende der EAYE, Stijn Baert, ist begeistert: “Der Organisation nach zu urteilen wird die Konferenz großartig werden!”
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Suppliers as Liquidity Insurers
Reint E. Gropp, Daniel Corsten, Panos Markou
IWH Discussion Papers,
Nr. 8,
2017
Abstract
We examine how financial constraints in portfolios of suppliers affect cash holdings at the level of the customer. Utilizing a data set of private and public French companies and their suppliers, we show that customers rely on their financially unconstrained suppliers to provide them with backup liquidity, and that they stockpile approximately 10% less cash than customers with constrained suppliers. This effect persisted during the global financial crisis, highlighting that suppliers may be viable insurers of liquidity even when financing from banks and other external channels is unavailable. We further show that customers with unconstrained suppliers also simultaneously receive more trade credit; that the reduction in cash holdings is greater for firms with stronger ties to their unconstrained suppliers; and that customers reduce their cash holdings following a significant relaxation in their suppliers’ financial constraints through an IPO. Taken together, the results provide important nuance regarding the implications of supplier portfolios and financial constraints on firm liquidity management.
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05.01.2017 • 3/2017
Sekretariat des Forschungsnetzwerks CompNet künftig am IWH beheimatet
Das Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH) hat das Sekretariat des Competitiveness Research Network CompNet übernommen, einem internationalen Netzwerk führender Wissenschaftler und Wissenschaftlerinnen sowie Fachleute, die erstklassige Forschung und Politikberatung auf den Gebieten der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Produktivität betreiben.
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The Importance of Localized Related Variety for International Diversification of Corporate Technology
Eva Dettmann, Iciar Dominguez Lacasa, Jutta Günther, Björn Jindra
Regional Studies,
Nr. 10,
2016
Abstract
Die Bedeutung der lokalisierten verbundenen Vielfalt für die internationale Diversifizierung von Unternehmenstechnik.
Die Internationalisierung der Forschung und Entwicklung hat sich in den letzten Jahren erheblich verstärkt. In diesem Beitrag analysieren wir die Determinanten der räumlichen Verteilung von ausländischen Technikaktivitäten in 96 deutschen Regionen. Zur Identifizierung ausländischer Technikaktivitäten wird das Konzept des grenzübergreifenden Eigentums auf Patentanträge angewandt. Die wichtigste Prämisse lautet, dass Regionen mit einer höheren verbundenen Vielfalt von Technikaktivitäten zwischen den einzelnen Sektoren mehr ausländische Technikaktivitäten anziehen. Aus den Schätzungen geht hervor, dass dies auf Regionen zutrifft, die sich durch ein hohes Maß an genereller technischer Stärke auszeichnen. Dies lässt darauf schließen, dass verbundene Vielfalt die technische Diversifizierung von ausländischen Unternehmen in Regionen an der Spitze der geografischen Hierarchie begünstigt.
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The Forward-looking Disclosures of Corporate Managers: Theory and Evidence
Reint E. Gropp, Rasa Karapandza, Julian Opferkuch
IWH Discussion Papers,
Nr. 25,
2016
Abstract
We consider an infinitely repeated game in which a privately informed, long-lived manager raises funds from short-lived investors in order to finance a project. The manager can signal project quality to investors by making a (possibly costly) forward-looking disclosure about her project’s potential for success. We find that if the manager’s disclosures are costly, she will never release forward-looking statements that do not convey information to external investors. Furthermore, managers of firms that are transparent and face significant disclosure-related costs will refrain from forward-looking disclosures. In contrast, managers of opaque and profitable firms will follow a policy of accurate disclosures. To test our findings empirically, we devise an index that captures the quantity of forward-looking disclosures in public firms’ 10-K reports, and relate it to multiple firm characteristics. For opaque firms, our index is positively correlated with a firm’s profitability and financing needs. For transparent firms, there is only a weak relation between our index and firm fundamentals. Furthermore, the overall level of forward-looking disclosures declined significantly between 2001 and 2009, possibly as a result of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
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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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27.06.2016 • 27/2016
Wie können wir den Wettbewerb im Dienstleistungssektor ankurbeln?
Konferenz des Leibniz-Instituts für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH) und der Vertretung der EU-Kommission in Deutschland
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