Central Bank Review最新文献

This paper provides an extensive analysis of card spending during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey by using weekly aggregated and sectoral credit and debit card spending data from March 2014 to December 2020. At an aggregated level, we show that aggregate demand decreases significantly at the early stages of COVID-19 and seems to reinstate its pre-COVID trend. However, when we include the pre-existing conditions of Turkey, the 2018 currency crisis, we observe that the recovery in demand is not that strong. To highlight the underlying reasons for structural change in aggregate demand, we estimate the model with stringency index and unemployment-related search index. The estimated model indicates that containment measures and restrictions and fear of job/income loss mainly explain the overall impact of COVID-19 on aggregate demand. We also examined sectoral data to understand aggregate demand dynamics better. Only stable and delayable sector groups have reached a trend above their pre-pandemic trajectories. However, the social and work-related sectors are far from their respective pre-pandemic trend.

This study examines the asymmetric relationships between demographic characteristics of labor market variables and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the Turkish economy. Both expansions and recessions are considered in a Markov Switching (MS) model, using quarterly data between 1989 and 2019. Okun’s coefficients are estimated for the different age groups, genders and education levels. The results reveal that men are more likely to lose their jobs during recessions in Turkey whereas unemployment rates for 25-39 year-olds and those with at least university degrees are the least affected groups. There is also asymmetry within and between states across the demographic groups due to GDP phases. The study also investigates the gender dynamics of labor force participation rates (LFPR) as a fundamental determinant of unemployment rate. According to the MS models, LFPR responds significantly and positively to GDP expansions for men whereas it is significant and negative for women. That is, as economic activity begins to recover after a recession, Turkish women leave the labor force as secondary income earners.

This study analyses the argument that whether Turkish non-financial firms utilize any informal source of alternative funding during economic uncertainties over the last decade. This study is the first to explore the issue and provide some insights regarding how small and medium-sized enterprises do react to the financial constraint problem in such an economic environment. Both trend analysis and empirical panel model estimations provide supporting evidence that Turkish non-financial firms have some reserves (e.g., owners', relatives' and/or friends’ personal wealth) that are utilized during the times of persistent stress and tightening of macroprudential policies. Most strikingly, this is the case for only small and medium-sized enterprises but not for large firms.

The existence of the credit derivatives written on the eurobonds such as credit default swaps or asset swaps allows policymakers and investors to monitor the evolvement of credit risk. However, these instruments are mostly available in advanced economies, whereas the market for credit derivatives in emerging market countries, including Turkey, is limited in terms of liquidity and maturity. In this regard, this study aims to construct a proxy for the credit risk of the Turkish Treasury and banking sector in international markets by calculating asset swap spread for US dollar-denominated fixed coupon eurobonds, which requires a robust estimation of the relevant yield curves. The study firstly presents the estimation of the sovereign and banking sector yield curves and then constructs a synthetic asset swap structure to obtain embedded credit risk premia in the eurobond curves. Our findings show that the proposed credit risk indicator is vastly correlated with credit default swap premium. In addition to this, estimated eurobond curves are also useful for monitoring borrowing cost dynamics of the Turkish Treasury and banking sector in international markets.

This paper examines asymmetries in the J-curve effects of real exchange rate on Kenya’s trade balance by using panel data for bilateral trade with 30 trading partners. The data covers the period from 2006q1 to 2018q4 and the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimation technique, under both the linear and nonlinear ARDL frameworks, is applied. This paper departs from previous studies by using a modified version of the standard trade balance model, which is more suited for bilateral trade analyses, and by incorporating nonlinearities. The findings of the PMG estimation based on the assumption of symmetric exchange rate effects reveal J-curve effects in only 7 bilateral trade relations. However, when the estimation is performed assuming asymmetric effects, the J-curve effects are evident in 13 cases. Long-run and short-run asymmetries are also confirmed and it is established that a simultaneous bilateral real depreciation of the exchange rate boosts the long-run trade balance. The implication of these findings is that a devaluation policy can be used to raise competitiveness of Kenya’s exports in the long-run.

Equity crowdfunding has emerged as a new landscape for financing ideas and innovations. While a number of countries has come a long way and developed equity crowdfunding platforms, a number of countries is taking it more slowly. This paper reviews how equity crowdfunding platforms function, the regulatory approaches around the world and academic contributions on signaling, success factors and social financing at equity crowdfunding platforms. The review suggests that further research may dive deeper into the socio-economic significance of equity crowdfunding and whether equity crowdfunding complements or substitutes traditional equity financing. Research contributions on the dynamics of equity crowdfunding in different geographical regions, motivations of funders, matching of funders and entrepreneurs, effects of regulations and evolution of potential campaign success factors are very critical for the development of the field. Despite debates about risks, equity crowdfunding seems to be a promising venue for financing entrepreneurs, democratizing demand and supply side of investments and contributing to economic growth.

This paper analyzes the long-run convergence of regional house prices in a major developing country, Turkey. Using a non-linear time-varying factor model and quarterly hedonic house price data from 2010 to 2018, we find that house prices do not converge across 26 regions of Turkey. Results reveal that the regions can be grouped into seven convergence clubs and one divergent club, confirming the Turkish housing market’s heterogeneity and complexity. We extend the analysis to explore the possible factors driving the convergence clubs. We find that income, population, education, unemployment, being in an earthquake zone, and inflow of Syrian refugees are significant driving forces in explaining convergence club formation. These outcomes will benefit home buyers/sellers, investors, regulators, and policymakers interested in analyzing the dynamic interlinkages among house prices and the effects of shocks originating from the regional housing markets in developing countries.

Although theories on channels of monetary policy transmission emphasize indirect monetary policy effect on inflation and output, empirical literature is surprisingly rooted in a direct approach. The use of variants of vector autoregression, with theoretical ordering of variables, does not only fail to quantify the indirect effect, but are also fraught with disagreements on identification of shocks of monetary policy. We revisit the interest rate and lending channels of monetary policy transmission in an approach that is grounded in theory and elicits step-by-step transmission of monetary policy impulses and the eventual effect on inflation in South Africa. We find interest rate and lending channels to be operative in South Africa. For the interest rate channel, a percentage restriction in monetary policy increases lending rate by 0.29%; a percentage increase in the lending rate reduces investment by 0.063%; and a percentage fall in investment reduces inflation by 0.074%. For the lending channel, a percentage restriction of monetary policy reduces banking sector credit by 0.22%; a percentage fall in private sector credit reduces investment by 0.20%; and a percentage decline in investment reduces inflation by 0.086%. These results are robust to different samples and specifications.