Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Matthew Kofi Ocran Title: Exchange Rate Pass-Through To Domestic Prices: The Case of South Africa Abstract: This paper examines the exchange rate pass-through to import, producer and consumer prices in South Africa using monthly data covering the period 2000M1 to 2009M5. The study uses innovation accounting tools (impulse response and variance decomposition) within the framework of an unrestricted VAR to examine the degree of pass-through as well as the relative importance of a number of variables in explaining changes in domestic prices. The key findings suggest that after 1 per cent shock to nominal effective exchange rate, the level of CPI increases by 0.125 per cent, giving a pass-through elasticity of 13 per cent. However, the pass-through elasticity of producer price is 20 per cent after 24 months suggesting that favourable shocks to producer price inflation can have considerable moderating effect on CPI inflation. Keywords: exchange rate, pass-through, domestic prices, VAR, South Africa Classification-JEL: C32, E31, E37, F31, O52 Pages: 291-306 Volume: 2010 Issue: 4 Year: 2010 File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/pep/download.php?jnl=pep&pdf=378.pdf File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/pep/378 File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlpep:v:2010:y:2010:i:4:id:378:p:291-306 X-File-Ref: http://www.vse.cz/RePEc/prg/jnlpep/references/378 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Zuzana Iršová Author-Name: Tomáš Havránek Title: Measuring Bank Efficiency: A Meta-Regression Analysis Abstract: This article presents a meta-regression analysis of 32 studies on frontier efficiency measurement in banking, focusing on the sensitivity of the reported estimates to the methodological design. Our findings suggest that study design is crucial for the resulting scores. The differences between the scores estimated using parametric and non-parametric approaches arise when the Fourierflexible functional form is used since this functional form yields lower scores. Generally, the higher the number of observations, the higher is the average estimated efficiency. The removal of scale effects using equity capital increases the profit efficiency but it is insignificant for other scores. The efficiency analysis should distinguish the commercial banking from other bank types because the former tends to deliver lower efficiency scores. Keywords: banking, meta-analysis, frontier models, efficiency analysis Classification-JEL: C13, G21, L25 Pages: 307-328 Volume: 2010 Issue: 4 Year: 2010 File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/pep/download.php?jnl=pep&pdf=379.pdf File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/pep/379 File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlpep:v:2010:y:2010:i:4:id:379:p:307-328 X-File-Ref: http://www.vse.cz/RePEc/prg/jnlpep/references/379 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: David Hoyos Author-Name: Petr Mariel Title: Contingent Valuation: Past, Present and Future Abstract: This paper summarizes the long history of the contingent valuation method, stressing the important dates and events that influenced its economic applications. It reviews the economic theory of contingent valuation, highlights the related survey design, alludes to the econometrics methodology involved and discusses the validity and reliability of this method. In summary, this paper presents the state of the art of a method that has been applied in the economic valuation of natural resources for many decades. Keywords: economic valuation, stated preference information Classification-JEL: Q510 Pages: 329-343 Volume: 2010 Issue: 4 Year: 2010 File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/pep/download.php?jnl=pep&pdf=380.pdf File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/pep/380 File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlpep:v:2010:y:2010:i:4:id:380:p:329-343 X-File-Ref: http://www.vse.cz/RePEc/prg/jnlpep/references/380 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Primož Dolenc Author-Name: Suzana Laporšek Title: Tax Wedge on Labour and its Effect on Employment Growth in the European Union Abstract: The paper assesses the characteristics of tax wedge, employment and unemployment rate in the EU and by using linear regression analysis with panel-corrected standard errors on the sample of twenty-seven EU Member States over 1999-2008 period analyzes whether the tax wedge affects the employment growth. The empirical estimates have shown that, with regard to employment and unemployment rate, the EU Member States can be classified into two groups. The first group is characterized with high tax wedge, low employment and high unemployment rate, whereas the second group has the alternative characteristics. The negative tax wedge-employment relation was confirmed in the panel regression analysis, showing that an increase in tax wedge for one percentage point decreases the employment growth in the EU-27 by around 0.04 percentage points, ceteris paribus. The empirical estimates suggest that the EU-27 should continue with the trend of reducing tax wedge, as this would increase employment growth and employment rate and decrease unemployment, especially in Member States with high tax wedge. Keywords: economic policy, tax wedge, employment growth, EU Classification-JEL: H24, J30, J38 Pages: 344-358 Volume: 2010 Issue: 4 Year: 2010 File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/pep/download.php?jnl=pep&pdf=381.pdf File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/pep/381 File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlpep:v:2010:y:2010:i:4:id:381:p:344-358 X-File-Ref: http://www.vse.cz/RePEc/prg/jnlpep/references/381 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ashot Tsharakyan Author-Name: Martin Janíčko Title: The Binding Credit Constraints and the Welfare Effects of Housing Price Appreciation Abstract: The paper deals with some relevant effects of appreciation of housing prices on social and aggregate welfare. As it has been found difficult to assess the current situation given the housing market being the most affected by the crisis, earlier data from 1995 to 2006 have been used. It generalizes previously available results by considering credit constraints together with endogeneity of housing prices. First, housing price appreciation implies improvement in aggregate welfare in a model with exogenous housing price and credit constraints. Then, housing price is endogenized by modelling the supply side of the housing market. In this model, housing price appreciation is caused by supply and demand shocks. The supply shock originates from a change in building permit cost. The demand shifts are generated by changes in household income and interest rates. Both credit-constrained and unconstrained versions of this model are considered. Finally, the combination of observed demand and supply shocks is used to quantify aggregate welfare effects on the US housing market. The results demonstrate that demand shocks dominated during that period and the aggregate welfare improved as a result of housing price appreciation. Keywords: binding credit constraints, housing price appreciation, social welfare, aggregate welfare, endogenous housing price, demand and supply side shocks Classification-JEL: R2, R20, R21, R31 Pages: 359-382 Volume: 2010 Issue: 4 Year: 2010 File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/pep/download.php?jnl=pep&pdf=382.pdf File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/pep/382 File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlpep:v:2010:y:2010:i:4:id:382:p:359-382 X-File-Ref: http://www.vse.cz/RePEc/prg/jnlpep/references/382 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Milan Mareš Title: Exact Tools for Analysis of Non-Exact Problems Pages: 383-384 Volume: 2010 Issue: 4 Year: 2010 File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/pep/download.php?jnl=pep&pdf=383.pdf File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/pep/383 File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlpep:v:2010:y:2010:i:4:id:383:p:383-384