F47 - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance: Forecasting and Simulation: Models and ApplicationsReturn

This paper analyses the asymmetric behaviour of exchange rate pass-through in Turkey using a threshold VAR model. The main purpose is to examine the asymmetries in the exchange rate pass-through based on size, direction and inflationary environment of an emerging market economy with a highly depreciated domestic currency and two-digit inflation rate. Monthly exchange rate movements and monthly inflation rates were used as threshold variables. Nonlinear impulse response functions were employed to compare upper and lower regimes. According to our findings, the transmission of exchange rate shocks to domestic inflation in the upper regime is stronger than that in the lower regime. The pass-through increases with the magnitude of shocks. Besides, positive shocks have more effect on domestic prices than negative shocks, especially in the upper regime. A positive relationship between inflation and exchange rate pass-through exists. During high inflation periods, pass-through to domestic prices increases.

Many countries decided to launch car scrapping schemes during the 2009 crisis in order to support their car industries and to boost domestic demand. Owing to the existence of significant international trade links in the automotive sector, there is also a strong theoretical foundation for cross-border effects of such scrappage programmes. This paper explores spillovers of the German scheme to the Czech economy on the basis of a close mutual trade link between these two countries and the size of the Czech automotive sector. It is demonstrated that the German programme provided for a significant boost for Czech personal car exports, which were also coupled with increased imports due to large import requirements of the Czech automotive segment. Overall, the contribution of first-round effects of the German car scrapping scheme to the Czech real GDP growth in 2009 is estimated to have reached between 0.4 and 0.5 percentage points.

We tested the hypothesis of procyclicality against the economic activity and stock exchange of Croatia - as a country preparing for EU accession - in order to investigate the spillover effect, i.e., the degree and pace of integration into larger financial markets such as the EU. The empirical findings obtained in application of OLS methodology for the 2000-2010 period provided evidence that EU accession is a trigger for a closer financial integration of a candidate country as Croatia; and a trigger for a rise in stock prices and economic revival, was reflected in by an increase in GDP and large FDI.

This paper aims to analyze the cost factors that influence the export of the Czech Republic, and to estimate models suitable for quantitative analysis of export and its prediction. According to the macroeconomic theory, the fundamental export factors include foreign demand, domestic and foreign price level and exchange rate. Foreign demand reflects the business cycle of foreign economy, price levels and exchange rate characterize the competitiveness of the exported goods, and the exchange rate determines, among others, the production costs through the prices of imported crucial inputs. Several models are applied to set of these variables, and their impact on the export dynamics of the Czech Republic is evaluated.

During different GDP growth regimes, the dynamics of global financial markets impacts the Slovenian stock exchange with varying intensity. We propose a smooth transition regression model to explain Slovene stock exchange index returns employing financial and macroeconomic variables. According to our model, the reaction of the stock market to several of the explanatory variables depends on the magnitude of GDP growth. The weaker relationship between Slovene stock exchange index returns and S&P 500 returns in the period of lower or negative GDP growth could be explained by less developed financial market in Slovenia and therefore not closely linked interchange of securities.

An exposure to macroeconomic risk factors across banks is a source of systemic risk that influences the banking sector performance. In this paper, we present some evidence on macroeconomic variables affecting the non-performing loans (NPL) ratio in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia. The GDP growth might have improved borrowers' ability to serve their bank loans in Slovenia, meanwhile the accelerating NPL ratio dynamics has failed to support the hypothesis that the GDP growth fosters an improvement in the NPL ratio in the case of Slovakia. Meanwhile deceleration in the NPL ratio on export impulses has supported a procyclical theory in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia. The response of non-performing loans to inflation supports the hypothesis about the lowering inflation that decelerates the NPL ratio. Savings have accelerated the NPL ratio in the case of Slovakia and Slovenia. The banking sector performance is possibly reflecting a favourable assessment of the economic growth and an increasing indebtedness of private sector could become causes of concern if the macroeconomic environment should develop less favourably.

Computed fundamental real exchange rates in four new EU members point to difficulties in jointly entering the ERM II soon after the EU entry. Three currencies out of the four were overvalued prior to EU entry. Computations suggest that it is unlikely that the Czech, Hungarian and Polish economies will maintain low inflation during 2004 - 2010 and at the same time keep their currencies within the ERM II easily. Moreover, the experience of Greece, Portugal and Spain - viewed through fundamental real exchange rate goggles - indicates more stable real exchange rate paths and smaller currency misalignments prior to euro adoption than can be expected from the newcomers in the forthcoming years. If the newcomers sail too fast towards the euro, their sailing may not be as smooth as that of the front runners.

Are there indications of real exchange rate misalignment in the case of the five pre-accession countries? Will stable real exchange rates, required by two of the Maastricht criteria, be in line with economic fundamentals in the pre-EMU period? In order to address these questions, we employ the concept of the fundamental real exchange rate (FRER). The FRER model approximates the integration gain with the impact of foreign direct investment on trade and allows for larger current account deficits if external debt is below a safety limit. According to the FRERs, there were signs of overvaluation for all the pre-accession economies, with the exception of Slovenia, at the end of 2001. The second main finding is that stability of real exchange rates will not automatically be in line with economic fundamentals in the forthcoming period. This suggests that some flexibility of exchange rates will be needed in the pre-EMU period.