Álvaro Pina

How Important are Automatic Stabilisers in Europe? A Stochastic Simulation Assessment

In this paper we formalize budgetary stabilizers as a set of simple policy rules, and assess their operation in an uncertain environment by performing stochastic simulations in a forward-looking multi-country macroeconomic model, NiGEM, comprising individual blocks for 10 Euroland economies.

Comparing Macroeconomic Returns on Human and Public Capital: An Empirical Analysis of the Portuguese Case (1960-2001)

The impact of human and public capital on growth is a major issue in economic theory and in policy evaluation. Using a cointegrated VAR, we estimate a Cobb-Douglas production function for Portugal with public and human capital. Return rates are then computed with and without dynamic feedbacks. Without these, human capital yields a return comparable to private investment, and smaller than public investment. Considering dynamic feedbacks, private capital responds positively to a shock in public capital, but negatively to a shock in human capital. Consequently, the dynamic feedbacks return on human capital is much lower than on public capital.

Fiscal policy in EMU: simulating the operation of the Stability Pact

We study the prospective operation of the Stability Pact by stochastic simulation. Using a forward-looking multi-country macroeconometric model, NiGEM, comprising individual blocks for 10 Euroland economies, the Pacts provisions are formalized in detail, and alternative monetary and fiscal rules are compared.