Viet Hoang Nguyen

Asymmetric Price Impacts of Order Flow on Exchange Rate Dynamics

We generalize the portfolio shifts model advanced by Evans and Lyons (2002a; b), and develop the dynamic asymmetric portfolio shifts (DAPS) model by explicitly allowing for possible market under- and overreactions and for asymmetric pricing impacts of order flows. Using the Reuters D2000-1 daily trading data for eight currency markets over a four-month period from 1 May to 31 August 1996, we find strong evidence of a nonlinear cointegrating relationship between exchange rates and (cumulative) order flows: The price impact of negative order flows (selling pressure) is overwhelmingly stronger than that of the positive ones (buying pressure). Through the dynamic multiplier analysis, we find two typical patterns of the price discovery process. The markets following overreactions tend to display a delayed overshooting and a volatile but faster adjustment towards equilibrium whereas the markets following underreactions are generally characterized by a gradual but persistent adjustment. In our model, these heterogeneous adjustment patterns reflect different liquidity provisions associated with different market conditions following under- and overreactions. In addition, the larger is the mispricing, the faster is the overall adjustment speed, a finding consistent with Abreu and Brunnermeier (2002) and Cai et al. (2011). We also find that underreactions are followed mostly by positive feedback trading while overreactions are characterized by delayed overshooting in the short run but corrected by negative feedback trading at longer horizons, the finding is consistent with Barberis et al. (1998) who show that positive short-run autocorrelations (momentum) signal underreaction while negative long-run autocorrelations (reversal) signal overreaction.

Risk and return spillovers among the G10 currencies

We study spillovers among daily returns and innovations in option-implied risk-neutral volatility and skewness of the G10 currencies. An empirical network model uncovers substantial time variation in the interaction of risk measures and returns, both within and between currencies. We find that aggregate spillover intensity is countercyclical with respect to the federal funds rate and increases in periods of financial stress. During these times, volatility spillovers and especially skewness spillovers between currencies increase, reflecting greater systematic risk. Likewise, linkages between returns and risk measures strengthen in times of stress, with returns becoming more sensitive to risk measures and vice versa.

Measuring the Connectedness of the Global Economy

We develop a technique to evaluate macroeconomic connectedness in any multi-country macroeconomic model with an approximate VAR representation. We apply our technique to a large Global VAR covering 25 countries and derive vivid representations of the connectedness of the system. We show that the US, the Eurozone and the crude oil market exert a dominant influence in the global economy and that the Chinese and Brazilian economies are also globally significant. Recursive analysis over the period of the global financial crisis shows that shocks to global equity markets are rapidly and forcefully transmitted to real trade flows and real GDP.

International Linkages of the Korean Economy: The Global Vector Error-Correcting Macroeconometric Modelling Approach

This paper analyses the international linkages of the Korean economy using the GVAR model developed by Greenwood-Nimmo, Nguyen and Shin (2012a, J. Appl. Econometrics). By employing a combination of generalised impulse response analysis and forecast error variance decompositions, we uncover a number of interesting phenomena. Among our most important results are the findings that the real economy and the financial markets are highly sensitive to the oil price even though it has little effect on inflation and that the interest rate is set largely without recourse to overseas conditions except to the extent that they are captured by the exchange rate. We find that the dominant sources of overseas influence on the Korean economy are the US, the Eurozone, Japan and China. Korea’s complex and open linkages with these countries will inevitably pose challenges for domestic economic management and stabilisation policy faced by the Korean monetary and fiscal authorities.

ALTERNATIVE WEIGHTING APPROACHES TO COMPUTING INDEXES OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

This paper compares the weighting schemes in the traditional, principal component and dynamic factor approaches to summarizing information from a number of component variables. To facilitate the comparison, we propose a framework to discuss the approaches with respect to their implied loadings in a latent variable model. We also propose a way to transform the dynamic factor index into an analogous index which is a weighted average of the components. The framework shows the strengths and weakness of the alternative weighting schemes and the sense in which the dynamic factor approach has the advantage of capturing both the significance and the variability of the components.

Using Global VAR Models for Scenario-Based Forecasting and Policy Analysis

This chapter demonstrates the usefulness of the GVAR modelling framework as a tool for scenario-based forecasting and counterfactual analysis. Working with the GVAR model developed by Greenwood-Nimmo, Nguyen and Shin (2010, J. Appl. Econometrics), we first show how probabilistic forecasting can be applied to the analysis of global imbalances. Probabilistic forecasting involves evaluating the conditional probability that a given event or combination of events will occur over a defined horizon by means of model-based simulations. To illustrate the usefulness of this approach, we develop a simple four-way probabilistic classi ficatory system built around the notions of balancing improvement in the trade balance, unbalancing improvement, balancing deterioration and unbalancing deterioration. We then extend a similar approach in a counterfactual context by constructing a range of scenarios as linear combinations of generalised impulse responses. We conclude that GVAR models are particularly well-suited to scenario-based analyses such as ours as they have the potential to analyse singularly rich datasets that allow the modeller to construct a wide range of policy-relevant scenarios.

Quantifying Informational Linkages in a Global Model of Currency Spot Markets

We develop a global vector autoregressive model to study the transmission of information between currency spot markets. Our model accounts for both simultaneous and dynamic interactions between exchange rates and order flows using historical data from the Reuters Dealing 2000–1 platform for the period May–August 1996. By analysing the network topography of the system, we find that currency markets are intricately linked and that the Deutsche Mark and the Yen exert a leading influence over the European currencies. Furthermore, using a novel technique we find that the Yen and Sterling act as safe haven currencies.

The Australian Economy in 2016–17: Looking Beyond the Apartment Construction Boom

The transition in the sources of growth away from the mining sector continued in 2015–2016. However, this transition was narrowly focused, primarily occurring in residential investment and nonresource exports. Nominal non-mining private business investment grew only moderately. Inflation was weak during 2015–2016. This reflected low global energy prices, together with subdued domestic final demand and wages growth, despite some improvements in the labour market. This lowinflation environment was a factor contributing to monetary policy being eased once during 2015–16 and again subsequently. The cash rate reached 1.5 per cent, a new low for the inflation-targeting period. Alternatively, fiscal policy settings were little changed. Looking forward, the concentration of the transition in sources of growth in the housing sector poses risks due to the substantial amount of higher density housing coming on line in several cities. Growth in resource exports, particularly liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, will support overall output growth, despite a probable continuation of subdued domestic demand (Table 1). Wages and inflation growth appears likely to remain low and consequently monetary policy accommodative. Key international sources of the uncertainty surrounding the outlook include the prospects for Chinese economy and the future conduct of economic policy in the United States. This article is structured as follows. In Section 2, we discuss both the international economic developments that have impinged on the Australian economy and developments in the terms of trade and the real exchange rate. Section 3 summarises developments in the labour market, inflation, financial markets and the real economy. A focus of Section 3 is on recent developments and the outlook for residential investment. Finally, Section 4 concludes.

What’s Mine Is Yours: Sovereign Risk Transmission during the European Debt Crisis

We develop an empirical network model to study bilateral sovereign credit risk spillovers during the European debt crisis. We show that the spillover density is typically asymmetric with heavy tails. This confounds efforts to track time-variation in spillover activity using the mean-based summary statistics that are widespread in the literature. Density-based measures — specifically divergence criteria — yield stronger and timelier signals of changes in spillover activity than mean-based measures. This is particularly apparent for sovereign bailouts, which principally affect the tails of the spillover density. Consequently, densitybased measures provide valuable additional information about changes in the credit risk environment.

The Australian Economy in 2015–16: Uncertainties and Challenges

The article discusses the uncertainties and challenges of the economic condition of Australia in 2015-2016. It outlines the important economic trends in 2014-2015 that are remnants of the 2013-2014 including the sluggish growth of the domestic final demand. Also emphasized are impact of Chinas economy on the uncertain macroeconomic outlook and the anticipation that subdued wage growth, increased unemployment rate and weak growth on domestic demand will likely to persist.