Macroeconomic fundamentals, institutional quality and shadow economy in OIC and non-OIC countries

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between macroeconomic fundamentals, intuitional quality and shadow economy.Design/methodology/approachBy utilizing data setspanning from 2004 to 2015 of 141 countries, the study has employed advanced panel technique, i.e. Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) method. In order to check consistency of the results, the study also used fixed effect and random effect for robustness.FindingsThe study finds that for the full sample, institutional quality has negative effect on shadow economy while macroeconomic fundaments effect shadow economy differently. After splitting the sample into Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and non-OIC countries subsamples, it observes same influence of macroeconomic fundaments and institutional quality on shadow economy, but the effect of macroeconomic fundaments and institutional quality on shadow economy is less observed for OIC countries. The results are found consistence by using different estimation methods.Originality/valueThe current literature has focused on estimating the size of shadow economy and literature linking the macroeconomic fundaments, institutional quality and shadow economy is scarce. Additionally, this study provides the evidence for cross comparison between OIC economies and non-OIC economies.

Twin Deficit Hypothesis and Macroeconomic Fundamentals: New Evidence from Nigeria

This study tests for the validity of the twin-deficit hypothesis in Nigeria for the period 1981 – 2018 and further seeks to ascertain the role of macroeconomic fundamentals in driving this hypothesis using the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model and structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) model. With evidence from granger causality test, the results obtained for the NARDL model support the validation of the twin-deficit hypothesis for the Nigerian economy. As long-run equilibrium exists, it was further established that the twin deficits were majorly driven by the degrees of financial and trade openness in Nigeria as no substantial shock effects of the twin deficits were traceable to any of the macroeconomic fundamentals. It is therefore recommended that policy makers in Nigeria should properly sequence the degree of economic openness to ensure the overall health of the economy.

Oil Price and Macroeconomic Fundamentals in African Net Oil-Exporting Countries: Evidence from Toda–Yamamoto and Homogeneous Causality Tests

Despite the wealth of literature on the oil price growth examinations, there is a shortage of research on the causality between oil prices and various macroeconomic fundamentals with regard to the group of net oil-exporting countries in Africa. This study examines the causality between oil price volatility and macroeconomic fundamentals in net oil-exporting countries in Africa using the Toda–Yamamoto and homogeneous causality techniques to gauge the nexus in the selected countries from 1995 to 2019. Our findings from the panel causality test suggest that oil price volatility significantly Granger causes the economic growth of the selected net oil-exporting countries in Africa. However, a mixed outcome was observed for the cross-sectional analyses using the Toda–Yamamoto causality test. Hence, the study offers the need for a policy framework that would drive the output growth as oil price changes continue to threaten macroeconomic variables.

Macroeconomic Fundamentals and Budget Deficit Nexus: Evidence from a Developing Economy

The increasing budget deficit of the Nigeria’s government in the past few decades with its attendance impact on the economy is worrisome. This study examines the impacts of macroeconomic fundamentals on Nigeria’s fiscal deficit. An error correction model was specified and estimated. In terms of sign and size, the result showed that, there is an inverse relationship between budget deficit and the external reserve. This implies that an increase in the external reserve, leads to a decrease in budget deficits. A unit increase in external reserves resulted in 12.4 percent fall in budget deficit. In contrast, however, national income and interest rate showed a positive relationship with budget deficit. Increase in income expands the potential and propensity to spend. Lenders are equally more disposed to lend to the government because of the presupposed economic prosperity. The lagged value of the error correction term has the expected inverse sign of -0.42, and highly significant. The negative value of the error correction model further supports the co-integration relationship among the variables. Thus, macroeconomic variables influence budget deficits. Economic policies which minimizes macroeconomic fluctuations is paramount in curbing the negative impacts of increasing government deficit in the economy. Received: 2 May 2021 / Accepted: 15 June 2021 / Published: 8 July 2021

Common and idiosyncratic movements in Latin-American Exchange Rates

We propose a simple theoretical and empirical approach to differentiate between common and idiosyncratic exchange rate movements in 5 Latin-American economies: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. Our approach allows us to distinguish the effects on exchange rates of a regional exchange rate common factor and macroeconomic fundamentals differentials. The methodology and estimation strategy are suitable for both low and high frequency settings. We provide evidence that the regional common factor has a significant effect on the dynamics of the Latin-American exchange rates. In our estimations the relation between exchange rates and the common factor is contemporaneous and stable during the studied period.

Republic of Korea

Korea entered the COVID-19 pandemic with sound macroeconomic fundamentals and a resilient financial system. The initial outbreak led to a sharp decline in economic activity and employment and generated substantial economic slack. With the help of an effective COVID-19 containment strategy and comprehensive economic policy response, the overall impact was smaller than in peers, with real GDP growth in 2020 of -1.0 percent. The economy is projected to grow 3.4 percent in 2021, albeit at varying speeds across sectors, and with a high degree of uncertainty centered on the speed of normalization in the COVID situation. Public debt has risen and deficits have widened but remain at manageable levels. Credit continues to grow rapidly, financial markets have normalized quickly, and the financial sector has remained relatively sound to date despite the pandemic. The authorities are pursuing greener and more digital growth, along with a stronger social safety net, through the Korean New Deal.

THE RISK OF DEVELOPMENT OF LITHUANIAN DERIVATIVES MARKETS

Derivative financial instruments play a very important role in financial markets, but they are seen as rather contradictory and their impact on financial markets and the stability of these markets has not been comprehensively examined. Therefore, the aim of this article is to systematise the potential risks of derivatives in the context of the past global financial crisis, and the recent situation in Lithuania. In particular, growing international tension and deteriorating economic situation, make it necessary to re-analyse the recent crisis, its causes and consequences. The 2007–2008 global financial crisis revealed the challenges and risks of derivatives and showed the tremendous impact that their imprudent use may have on the stability of a financial system. The Lithuanian economy recently joined the euro, but its macroeconomic fundamentals show certain risks. Infrastructures of the derivatives market, liquidity and an adequate supervisory framework are necessary to maintain stability.