Cheung et al. (2004) use a vector error correction model that allows different speeds of convergence for nominal exchange rates and relative prices toward PPP. With the current float monthly data for five countries, they argue that the sluggish PPP reversion is primarily driven by nominal...

Using a generalized vector autoregressive framework in which forecast-error variance decompositions are invariant to variable ordering, we propose measures of both total and directional volatility spillovers. We use our methods to characterize daily volatility spillovers across U.S. stock, bond,...

No-arbitrage macro-finance models use variance decompositions to gauge the extent of association between the macro variables and yields. We show that results generated by this approach are sensitive to the order of variables in the recursive identification scheme. In a four-factor model, one may...

Based on Chen and Zhao's (2009) criticism of VAR based return decompositions, we explain in detail the various limitations and pitfalls involved in such decompositions. First, we show that Chen and Zhao's interpretation of their excess bond return decomposition is wrong: the residual component...

We exploit the panel dimension of a price levels dataset for more than one hundred product items across 140 cities in 90 countries for the period from 1990 to 2009 in order to improve our understanding of international price dispersion and the evolution of prices over time. We consider a panel...

Exchange rates in the European transition economies are currently exposed to the exogenous shocks as a result of higher uncertainty on the foreign exchange markets related to the various kinds of world economic crisis implications. Higher vulnerability of exchange rates of these countries to the...