Quarterly GDP figures usually are published with a delay of some weeks. A common way to generate GDP series of higher frequency, i.e. to nowcast GDP, is to use available indicators to calculate a single index by means of a common factor derived from a dynamic factor model (DFM). This paper deals...

The empirical evidence on the linkage of the informal economy and GDP is ambiguous. It depends on the method used to estimate the size of the informal economy. I propose a common factor of four different approximations of the size of the informal economy as an alternative. Using Spain as an...

Since a series of crisis events after 2007, the discussion about the adjustment channels of current account imbalances has been revived. We discuss the effectiveness of exchange rates versus macroeconomic policies to rebalance current accounts for a set of 86 mainly emerging market economies. We...

Based on the concepts of justice by Hayek, Rawls and Buchanan we argue that the growing political dissatisfaction in industrialized countries is rooted in the asymmetric pattern in monetary policies since the 1980s for two reasons. First, the structurally declining interest rates and the...

Dynamic factor models based on Kalman Filter techniques are frequently used to nowcast GDP. This study deals with the selection of indicators for this practice. We propose a two-tiered mechanism which is shown in a case study to produce more accurate nowcasts than a benchmark stochastic process...

Die Ungleichgewichte auf den internationalen Finanzmärkten werden von den Finanzministern und Notenbankchefs der Industrieländer mit zunehmendem Unbehagen betrachtet. In Hinblick auf Hedge-Fonds soll bis zum G-8-Gipfel im Juni dieses Jahres ein Verhaltenskodex erarbeitet werden. Inwieweit...

We test for the impact of exchange rate volatility on growth in emerging market economies based on the theory of optimum currency areas. Our findings provide evidence for a positive impact of exchange rate stability on growth.

Das Papier untersucht auf der Grundlage der monetären Überinvestitionstheorien von Wicksell (1898), Mises (1912) and Hayek (1929, 1935) das Scheitern von geld- und finanzpolitischen Regeln zur Kontrolle von übermäßigem Geldmengenwachstum und ausufernder Staatsverschuldung. Es zeigt...

The paper explains internationally transmitted boom-and-bust cycles as the outcome of excessive liquidity supply based on the credit boom theories of Hayek (1929; 937), Mises (1912) and Minsky (1986). We show how too expansionary monetary policies cause distortions in the economic structure and...

This paper explores the link between monetary policies of large industrial countries and international credit cycles. Based on an overinvestment framework, we show that in the prevailing asymmetric world monetary system, monetary policies of large centre countries can fuel credit booms in...