Search

Highlights • The relative export competitiveness (REC) for India and her competitors is developed. • The REC covers exports of sugar, rice, wheat, and cotton, each relative to other exports. • India's rice, cotton, and sugar are competitively advantaged but not wheat. • The REC is time varying and is mainly lower for India than her competitors. • An attempt is made to explain the determinants of the REC. Abstract In this paper, we derive time-varying relative export competitiveness (REC) of India's top agricultural exports (rice, wheat, cotton and sugar) against India's share of world agricultural exports (REC_WA) and world exports (REC_WE) from 1961 to 2012. We reveal that India's exports of all four commodities became relatively competitive over time but these were not as competitive as the top, or selected emerging, exporters of the four commodities. We also examine the determinants of REC in these four commodities focusing on factors including crop-specific and aggregate factor endowments, domestic price, export prices, and GDP per capital, preferential trade agreements, export restrictions and bans, and India's Green Revolution. The regression analysis was mainly confined to the 1981–2012, due to data constraints. We find that the time series regression results are similar in sign and significance for REC_WE and REC_WA. Our key findings suggest the REC in wheat, rice, and cotton deteriorated as a result of export restrictions. Capital had negative effects on cotton REC. Labor and farm size did not influence the REC in the commodities. The Green Revolution improved the REC in rice and cotton (in Phase 3). The WTO had a positive effect on the REC in rice. The South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) Agreement adversely affected the REC in wheat and rice but strengthened the REC in cotton and sugar. Higher domestic price reduced the REC in cotton. Higher per capita income strengthens the REC in wheat with a lag. We explain these results and suggest policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Concerned by the volatility of Bitcoin price growth (BPG), Bank Indonesia—Indonesia's central bank—discourages trading cryptocurrencies. We examine the relationship between Bitcoin price growth (BPG) and Indonesia's monetary aggregates (inflation, real exchange rate, and money velocity). In doing so, we develop the conceptual link between Bitcoin and monetary aggregates. We find strong and robust evidence that BPG leads to inflation growth, currency appreciation, and a reduction in money velocity. Our results have policy implications for other central banks in terms of achieving stability of the monetary system if BPG is indeed a concern for those countries. Highlights • We test whether Bitcoin price growth (BPG) influences Indonesia's monetary aggregates. • We develop the conceptual link between BPG and monetary aggregates. • Robust evidence is found that BPG leads to inflation growth. • BPG contributes to currency appreciation, and a reduction in money velocity. • Results have policy implications for other central banks in terms of achieving stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether terrorist attacks affect bilateral exchange rates. Using historical 10-minute exchange rate data for 21 countries' currency vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar, we show that exchange rate returns of all countries are statistically significantly affected by terrorist attacks. Some exchange rates appreciate and some depreciate following a terrorist attack, some currencies experience exchange rate reversals while others experience a persistent effect. Generally, the effect declines but persists as terrorist attacks become stale information. ( JEL F31, F37) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of non-renewable and renewable energy consumption on economic growth, differentiating between manufacturing and services growth. We derive our empirical model from an endogenous growth framework with expanding variety of intermediate capital goods embedding non-renewable and renewable energy inputs. Controlling for well-established growth determinants, we estimate the effects of non-renewable and renewable energy consumption, differentiated by type of use — industrial, residential, and total final energy consumption — on manufacturing and services growth. We find that renewable energy enhances growth in high-growth sectors, i.e. the services sector in high-income economies and the manufacturing sector in middle-income economies. In the case of high-income countries, renewable energy is a complement to non-renewables, whereas in the case of middle-income countries the two are substitutes. The growth effects are primarily due to industrial energy consumption. T Based on our findings, we propose that an effective renewable energy incentives policy for middle-income countries should be directed at manufacturing enterprises, and in high-income countries these incentives should be directed at the services sector. • Endogenous growth framework with expanding variety of intermediate goods for energy consumption. • We test the effects renewables and non-renewables on the growth of manufacturing and services. • Renewable energy enhances growth in high-growth sectors. • These sectors are services in high-income and manufacturing in middle-income economies. • The growth effects are due to industrial energy and not to residential energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction is presented to the article “Relative export competitiveness of agricultural commodities and its determinants: Some evidence from India” which appeared in the May 2019 issue.

In this paper we examine the influence of clean (hydropower) or dirty (fossil fuel generated) energy on bilateral exports. We focus on bilateral exports from Vietnam, a developing nation with a fast-growing economy propelled by international trade, to her top 54 trading partners over the period 1986–2010. Our key results suggest that there is a significant, positive, and stable long-term relationship between electricity and exports, with some variations across the regional panels of the trading partners and electricity sources. Trading partners of Vietnam are sensitive to how electricity is generated. For trading partners from regions excluding low income Asia, bilateral exports respond more to renewables than fossil fuel generated electricity, which indicates that exports are sensitive to certain qualities of energy sources, namely reliability and price competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For 77 technology-investing countries we test whether their stock market returns are predictable. We find that exchange rate returns and U.S. stock excess returns predict stock market returns for most countries in our sample, while crude oil and inflation predict returns of less than 40% of countries. While in out-of-sample tests the evidence of predictability declines, U.S. returns still beat the constant returns model for three-quarters of countries in our sample. A portfolio of all 77 countries offers a mean-variance investor annualized profits of between 5.7% and 8.0%, and profits are maximized when return forecasts are based on U.S. returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decentralized revolution being ushered in by blockchain, an emerging technology with the potential to bring significant innovation and benefits, has also piqued the interest of major players in the energy supply industry, financial institutions, technology developers, academia, and national governments. How the deep integration of blockchain and energy will impact energy's prospects and the energy market remains an open question. This study conducts a composite of qualitative and quantitative analyses of 622 selected articles on blockchain in the energy field. It is dedicated to identifying feasible technical paths and potential themes. The results show that (1) Research in this field follows two main approaches: engineering- and management-oriented. (2) Management-oriented research has become mainstream. (3) Research has led to new transaction systems, and the commercialization of energy blockchains has driven research iterations. Thematic predictions call for more attention to the negative impacts of technology, such as new business risks, the problem of lagging regulations, and the drawbacks of high energy consumption. This study provides research references and practical suggestions for researchers, regulators, and enterprises. • This study explores energy blockchain research trends and paths. • The compositional strategy improves robustness and validates method inferences. • Engineering and management research are the main categories promoting each other. • Management-oriented blockchain commercialization research dominates. • Discussing blockchain's detrimental influence on energy is important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]