This paper investigates the patterns and determinants of the co-movement of economic activity across regions in the European Union. Using a panel data of 208 EU-15 regions over the period 1989-2002 we estimate a system of four simultaneous equations to analyse the impact of regional trade integration, specialization and exchange rate volatility on correlations of regional growth cycles with the Euro area. We find that deeper trade integration with the Euro area had a strong direct positive effect on the synchronisation of regional growth cycles with the Euro area. Industrial specialisation and exchange rate volatility were sources of cyclical divergence. Industrial specialisation had however an indirect positive effect on growth cycles synchronisation via its positive effect on trade integration, while exchange rate volatility had an indirect additional negative effect on growth cycle correlations by reducing trade integration. Industrial specialisation had an indirect negative effect on growth cycle correlations by increasing the exchange rate volatility. The direct impact of trade integration on growth cycle correlations was stronger in the pre-EMU sub-period, while in the EMU subperiod, the negative direct effects of industrial specialisation and exchange rate volatility were stronger than in the pre-EMU sub-period. A distinct result is the positive and significant relationship between exchange rate volatility and growth cycle correlations in the pre-EMU sub-period, suggesting that over this period, country-specific exchange rate fluctuations acted as shock absorbers. Our analysis is relevant in the context of the discussion about the macroeconomic adjustment to region-specific shocks in the European Monetary Union. (authors' abstract) / Series: EI Working Papers / Europainstitut

Comments and Discussions : Hitoshi HIRAKAWA

Notre thèse traite des comportements d'aléa moral caractéristiques de la relation emprunteur souverain - prêteurs privés - Institutions financières internationales, et plus particulièrement de la question de l'optimalité de l'intervention du Fonds Monétaire International, lorsqu'il existe un risque de système. Cette problématique renvoie, dans la littérature, aux modèles de dette souveraine et de renégociations, aux modèles de comportement des Institutions financières internationales, et aux modèles de crises financières. Sur cette base, nous proposons deux modèles d'octroi de prêts multilatéraux. Le premier, de type Principal-Agent, comporte une conditionnalité ex post (la conditionnalité actuelle, où la vérification des conditionnalités est postérieure aux transferts, par opposition à une conditionnalité ex ante, où elle serait antérieure). Sa résolution conduit à conclure que, dans un contexte de risque systémique, si le coût de la crise excède celui du renflouement, le FMI devient un prêteur en dernier ressort obligé. Le transfert permet généralement d'éviter la crise, mais l'intervention n'est pas globalement optimale. L'objet du second modèle, de conditionnalité ex ante, est de déterminer si ce mode d'intervention permettrait de limiter les comportements d'aléa moral des prêteurs privés et des emprunteurs. Le transfert effectué par le FMI est, ici, lié à une note préalablement attribuée. Les prêteurs privés sont divisés en deux catégories : les "spéculateurs" et les "investisseurs". Selon nos hypothèses, le régime de conditionnalité ex ante permet de renouer avec une contrainte d'incitation, renforcée par le lien entre investissements durables et système de notation. L'efficience de l'intervention se trouve améliorée en termes d'allocation optimale des ressources multilatérales et de prévention des crises. L'importance accordée par le Fonds Monétaire International à la stabilisation à court terme du système de financement international entraîne cependant la persistance d'un aléa moral de l'emprunteur.

This report describes the aim, scope, underlying literature and results of the research project "The Nexus between the Financial and the Real Sector". We studied the contribution of the financial sector as a whole and its individual segments (bank credits, the issuance of bonds and shares) to real economic growth in EU Member and Candidate Countries, the United States and Japan. We supplement existing approaches with the inclusion of the bond market and of foreign direct investment in the banking sector, wherein for the first time, we provide empirical evidence for slightly positive effects thereof. Methodically, we extend previous research by the production-function approach and document the importance of the market microstructure. We recommend to include liberalisation and integration effects, the bond and insurance sector, and effects of foreign bank entry and investment into future research on the Finance-Growth-Nexus. (author's abstract) / Series: EI Working Papers / Europainstitut

Asian efforts towards bond market development are driven by the 1997-98 financial crises; Central and Eastern European efforts by the transition towards EMU. The small size of most of the economies underlying these still "emerging" bond markets poses the question of minimum efficient scale and which options to pursue. We argue that the joint bond funds and regional bond market linkups that follow existing trade, FDI and bank ties will broaden the sources of finance, can improve market discipline, provide signals to the market, and thus increase financial stability. Based upon bond market data and analysis of regional efforts like the Asian Bond Funds, we argue that bond market development should be given more attention to foster growth and stability. (author's abstract) / Series: EI Working Papers / Europainstitut

El presente trabajo analiza la influencia de los regímenes cambiarios sobre la dolarización de los pasivos empresariales, focalizándose en la diferencia entre regímenes fijos y flexibles. Para hacerlo se utiliza una muestra de 237 empresas de Argentina, Brasil, Colombia y México para el período 1992-2000, la metodología de estimación GMM-system para modelos de panel dinámicos y dos clasificaciones de regímenes cambiarios. Los resultados sugieren que los regímenes cambiarios fijos, así como su duración y volatilidad, influyen positivamente sobre la proporción de deuda en moneda extranjera mantenida por las firmas. Asimismo, se exploran otros determinantes del grado de dolarización de los pasivos corporativos, introduciéndose variables sugeridas por la literatura pero no analizadas hasta el momento. Se observa que la inestabilidad de la economía afecta las decisiones de cartera de las firmas. A su vez, las expectativas de salvataje por parte del Estado y las regulaciones generan problemas de información asimétrica, incentivando a las firmas a tomar un mayor riesgo cambiario. Por último se explora la relación entre la dolarización de los pasivos corporativos y el original sin interno, concluyendo que la reducción de éste último es, en parte, alcanzada vía dolarización de la deuda de largo plazo.

This paper presents VAR results on the recent economic history of the U.S and focuses on the dependence of U.S. macrofinancial variables on international capital flows. Both gross and net flows are included in the analysis. The results indicate that cross-border funding has affected the build-up in the U.S. housing market irrespective of how these flows are defined and measured. Both the savings glut hypothesis and the banking glut hypothesis are supported by these findings. However, net banking flows appear to explain the higher volatility in the increase in house prices as well as the mortgage loan boom. (authors' abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series