New Zealand’s tight labour market but do all benefit?

Figures out yesterday show that unemployment in New Zealand remained at 3.4% which makes for a very tight labour market. One wonders if this figure is beyond the maximum sustainable levels with the RBNZ worried about the pressure on private sector wages feeding into inflation. The RBNZ would like labour market pressures to ease – i.e. they want unemployment – as this should bring down inflation. However on 18th May the government deliver the Budget and no doubt there will be some fiscal stimulus that the RBNZ will need to be aware of – Expansionary Fiscal Policy vs Contractionary Monetary Policy. It seems the Government want to put money into the circular flow especially as it is election year but the RBNZ want to keep inflation between 1-3%. Ultimately it is Politics vs Economics.

Full employment doesn’t mean all workers benefit
Full employment has normally been the concept that has been used to describe a situation where there is no cyclical or deficient-demand unemployment, but unemployment does exist as allowances must be made for frictional unemployment and seasonal factors – also referred to as the natural rate of unemployment or Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment (NAIRU). Full employment does suggest that the employee has a lot of bargaining power as the supply of labour is scarce relative to the demand. In theory a tight labour market should lead to higher wages and improved conditions of work as the employer has less labour to chose from. We have seen in the labour market incentives for employees in recommending potential candidates for vacancies in the company. Other incentives for potential employees include shorter working weeks, hiring bonuses and special leave days.

Michael Cameron’s article in The Conversation suggest that this doesn’t apply to all workers. A lot depends on the bargaining power of the worker and the elasticity of supply of labour. If the supply is very inelastic for a particular job (higher skilled) it is harder and most likely more expensive for the employer to find an alternative worker. This is evident when unemployment is low as the worker can easily look around at other job opportunities. On the contrary if the supply of labour is more elastic (lower skilled jobs) the worker has less bargaining power and the employer will have more potential workers to chose from. The graph below shows the elasticity of supply of labour – high skilled has a steeper curve (inelastic) whilst low skilled as a flatter curve (elastic)

Source: Economicshelp

ANZ New Zealand Labour Market Review | March 2023 Quarter
Michael Cameron writes in The Conversation

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What determines the Neutral Rate of Interest?

Central Banks have often used the term ‘the neutral rate’ which refers to a rate of interest that neither stimulates the economy nor restrains economic growth. This rate is often defined as the rate which is consistent with full employment, trend growth, and stable prices – an economy where neither expansionary nor contractionary measures need to be implemented.
The neutral interest rate is the rate of interest where desired savings equal desired investment, and can be thought of as the level of the OCR that is neither contractionary nor expansionary for the economy.

OCR > Neutral Rate = Contractionary and slowing down the economy

OCR < Neutral Rate = Expansionary and speeding up the economy

This neutral rate dictates when the RBNZ end their tightening or loosening cycle. If the neutral rate is seen to be 3% it is the expectation that the RNBZ will increase the OCR to 3%. The graph below shows the difference between the estimated neutral rate and the OCR. Note that:

2008 – positive gap as RBNZ trying to bring inflation under control – contractionary level
2019 – the gap narrows and monetary policy becomes less stimulatory as the neutral of the OCR is likely lower.

What determines the neutral rate of interest in an economy?

Supply of loanable funds (people who save money) and Demand to borrow money – neutral rate generates a level of savings and borrowing that delivers the economy to maximum sustainable employment and inflation – 2% in NZ but with Policy Target Agreement of 1-3%.
Potential growth rate of an economy – if people expect more growth = higher incomes = higher borrowing = upward pressure on neutral rates. Economists tend to look at the production function and how much we can produce in the long-run therefore impacting aggregate supply. With higher potential growth rates investment spending is expected to increase and with it interest rates.
Population growth – strong population growth = larger labour force = larger national output which supports the neutral rate of interest.
Age and life expectancy – higher life expectancy increases the amount that people save during their working years. If consumers buy now rather than later = potentially either lower saving rates and/or higher borrowing = neutral rate of interest rises.
Superannuation / retirement age – burden of funding retirees fall on a smaller working age population. This could require higher taxes which leads to less spending putting downward pressure on interest rates.
Debt – with low mortgage rates, debt servicing have been at record lows. People have therefore borrowed a lot money and now have high level of indebtedness levels. Therefore higher mortgage rates mean that consumers disposable income will be reduced.
Government debt – COVID-19 has led to increased government spending and bigger budget deficits. New Zealand economy is probably as sensitive to higher interest rates and an increase in rates by the RBNZ will be very influential, limiting how far interest rates have to rise. And with households and the Government already loaded up on debt, future borrowing capacity is now reduced, which will put downwards pressure on interest rates too.
Overseas investment – as New Zealand comes a more attractive place to invest it increase the supply of loanable funds to New Zealanders. The investment will also strengthen the dollar which make exports less competitive but imports cheaper. Global capital flows mean that we can’t get too far out of sync with other advanced economies – as long as global neutral rates continue their relentless move south, so too will New Zealand’s.

Outlook
In New Zealand, as in most economies, estimates of the real neutral interest rate have been trending downwards over several
decades. In recent years, the RBNZ indicator suite suggests that the real neutral interest rate has stabilised at low levels. The RBNZ current average estimate for the real neutral OCR is around 0 percent. However, the wide range between the maximum and minimum values of RBNZ estimates demonstrates that there is significant uncertainty about the level of neutral interest rates, particularly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement – November 2022. P. 30

Source: NZ Insight: Neutral interest rates – 20th August 2021 – ANZ Bank

Argentina inflation 103% = Interest rates 78%

The Argentinian central bank has continued its tightening cycle with 300 (3%) basis point increase in interest rates to 78%. Even with such high interest rates inflation has accelerated as basic food items such as grains and meat have increased mainly due to the drought that is affecting the country – CPI 103%. But such high rates are necessary to avoid a big outflow of the currency (Peso) as Argentinians look to the safety of the US dollar and therefore exchange their Pesos for US dollars. This would lead to a collapse of the Peso and a loss of confidence in the Argentinian economy.

The major worry about the inflation is that it has been so prevalent over the last five years that there is strong inflationary expectations. This causes consumers to buy now, rather than later when goods and services are more expensive – AD shifts to the right causing further increases in prices. It is essential for central banks to maintain a stated target for inflation – RBNZ 1-3% – as this leads to greater confidence in the economy and especially in the banking sector. New Zealand was one of the first countries to adopt inflation targeting in1990.

Trust. Ultimately the trust in the central bank meeting their inflation target is important to businesses and households as they plan for future expenses etc. Expectations are anchored around these targets and essential for consumer and producer confidence and ultimately growth. It is imperative that central banks need to be able to build up trust and institutional creditability.

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New Zealand interest rate rises an over-correction?

On my way to work last week there was a very good interview on National Radio (NZ) with Robert MacCulloch an economics professor at the University of Auckland. This ended up to be my lesson plan with my A Level class for the last day of term. MacCulloch argued that the interest rate hike of 50 basis points was too great an increase and could lead to a hard landing and deeper recession that could be avoided. His main arguments were:

• Inflation has stabilised as quarterly inflation had dropped from 2.2% to 1.4% therefore no need for a 50 basis point rise.
• In other countries (USA) inflation is dropping and those central banks are holding off on interest rate increases.
• Stated that the RBNZ wants a hard landing and therefore a recession which can be damaging with higher unemployment.
• More gradualist approach should have been adopted.
• RBNZ stated that the post-covid inflation was a temporary blip and that stagflation was back in the early 1980’s – we live in a different world today.
• Would it be better to go hard early with higher increases and then be able to loosen monetary policy? This may mean recession where you hit mortgage holders and those that become unemployed.
• A lot of other central banks adopting a wait and see approach – couldn’t the RBNZ do the same?
• Okun’s Law – A slowdown in GDP growth typically coincides with rising unemployment. A hard landing will result in this.
• In NZ GDP shrank 2% compared to the UK 11%. NZ grew in 2021 so was there a need to have close to 0% interest rates and print $50bn?

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Loose monetary policy not solely to blame for present economic conditions.

Martin Wolf in the FT wrote an interesting piece in the FT yesterday talking about loose monetary policy and not to wholly blame the central banks for the economic environment today. Below are some of the main points that he makes:

• Deregulation of financial markets, free trade and China joining the WTO in 2001 lowered the global inflation rate.
• Huge savings were prevalent in the global economy – especially in China and Germany
• Balance global demand and supply = big investment in housing driven by financial liberalisation.
• COVID – money growth exploded with expansionary monetary and fiscal policy.
• Fiscal deficit of G7 countries jumped by 4.6%.
• Monetary – quantitative easing and stimulatory level of interest rates
• With supply chain issues, China’s lockdown and the Ukraine War, the dramatic increase in demand could not be met by a corresponding increase in supply. See graph
• Inflation = higher interest rates = shock to banking system
• Loose monetary not the blame for what has gone wrong in the global economy
• Mistake to think that there is a simple solution to the failing of the banking systems

Things would not be wonderful if central banks had stood idly by. We cannot abolish democratic politics. Economic policy must be adapted to our world, not to the 19th century. Martin Wolf

Source: IMF

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How interest rates affect inflation – flow chart

Below is a useful flow chart for anyone studying monetary policy. Both the NCEA Level 3 and CIE A2 courses cover this topic.

Negative – lower interest rates might depress spending by some retirees who rely on interest income. But these counterproductive channels are small compared to the
Positive – lower interest rates = a lower propensity to save and a higher propensity to spend.

The side effects of monetary policy.
Falling interest rates = accelerating house prices = social problems and political anxiety.
If RBNZ kept interest rates at around 8% as in the 2000s to prevent the house price = New Zealand in deflationary spiral.

The economic and social consequences of deflation would be far worse than the (undeniable) problems with rising house prices. The low inflation / falling interest rate dynamic of the past two decades has been a global phenomenon, ultimately caused by a global change in the balance between savings and investment. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand could not have prevented this global trend from affecting New Zealand interest rates without causing severe damage to the economy. In New Zealand, the most important transmission channels are asset prices and the exchange rate. Falling interest rates tend to push asset prices up, which stimulates consumer spending. Falling interest rates also tend to reduce the exchange rate, which generates inflation via the prices of internationally-traded goods and services.

Source: Westpac Bank

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Can globalisation help tame inflation?

Supply chain disruptions and large fiscal deficits have been part of the cause of the inflationary problems that have been prevalent in the global economy. Increased aggregate demand from government spending accompanied by supply constraints have seen prices soar. The IMF blog looked at how we should go back on history and look at how globalisation in the past has offered an antidote to inflationary spirals.

In the 1970’s technology improved global supply chains with the introduction of the shipping container which reduced transport costs of goods. Policymakers like the former US Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan see the relationship between globalisation and innovation a transition to low inflation. This idea has been embraced by current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell who talks of not only technology but demographic factors that bring about sustained disinflation. Trade liberalisation had a part of play here with the role of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) – now know as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) – providing the rules for much of world trade and presided over periods that saw some of the highest growth rates in international commerce – see graph.

Modern inflation targeting by central banks (1-3% in New Zealand) also brought inflation under control as countries established a process that would allow them to attract capital flows or to globalise further. New technologies will produce better growth and increase the potential capacity of the economy (Production Possibility Curve shifts to the right) but requires a lot of cross-border co-operation. Some countries pursue costly ‘friendshoring’ strategies of steering trade to friendly nations and regimes while attempting to hobble rivals. In particular big economies look to protect strategic vital and strategic resources thereby preventing global economic growth. All of this may seem an easy solution to tame inflation but the reality is there are many variables that influence the inflation figure within countries.

Source: IMF Blog: In defense of globalisation

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RBNZ – Adrian Orr on supply and demand

Below is a link to an interview with RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr on National Radio’s Morning Report last week. For those new to economics he explains the concept of supply and demand in layman’s terms with regard to inflation. Notice that he doesn’t mention the word ‘recession’ although talks of a couple of quarters of negative activity. As was predicted the RBNZ increased the OCR by 50 basis points to 4.75%.

Remember in 2012 the focus for inflation was given to 2% which is the mid-point in the 1-3% band. Later in 2018 an additional policy objective was added to maintain a maximum sustained employment. Worth a listen. Also below is a mindmap on monetary policy which might be useful.

Morning Report interview with Adrian Orr

Globalisation to slowbalisation – IMF

With the global economy experiencing supply chain pressures, inflationary problems, higher interest and geopolitical tensions are we seeing what the IMF call ‘slowbalisation’?

Part of this change has come about from the decoupling of the American, European and Japanese economies from China. This ultimately alters trade and investment flows around the global economy and will mean lower economic growth and less liquidity. For instance consider the restrictions on technology including complex microchips being placed by the US on China. Janet Yellen the US Treasury secretary referred to ‘friendshoring’ which means relocating production to countries that fall within the US economic sphere of influence. Apple’s announcement that it would begin sourcing sophisticated chips from North America is the signal that many global firms have been waiting for to begin reducing their exposure to China.

Furthermore as well as the impact of decoupling of trade with China, a shortage of labour will also add to production costs and will result in slower rates of growth. Labour force participation rates have dropped as less migrant workers coming into countries. This scarcity of labour will put further pressure on wages and ultimately inflation. To counteract the latter interest rates will continue to climb and this will lead to further problems:

The cost of financing economic expansion will become more expensive.
Firms that have lived off 0% interest rates and negative real rates (nominal interest rate – inflation) will face increasing problems on their balance sheets

In the medium term interest rates are determined by inflationary expectations and rates tend to move lower in periods of disinflation and higher in periods of inflation. The risk for all central banks and policymakers is if the rate of inflation goes above that of expectations there can be a further tightening cycle. Although recently we have seen a reduction in inflation, central banks need to maintain a level of tightness – high interest rates – so that inflation levels are within a country’s target range.

Phases in the graph

1. Industrialisation was prevalent in Europe and the USA and the advances in transposition reduced the costs for firms and encouraged trade.
2. WW1 and WW2 saw a very protectionist environment with trade becoming regionalised with trade barriers and the breakdown of the gold standard into currency blocs.
3. The post-war recovery and trade liberalisation encouraged growth in Europe, Japan and developing countries. The war had also stimulated a hugely expansionary fiscal and monetary policy which rendered the gold standard unsustainable. Floating exchange rates took over from those that were pegged to the US dollar.
4. In 2001 China became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and there was the emergence of more free market economies with relaxed capital controls between countries. This was helped by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the integration of the former Soviet bloc.
5. “Slowbalisation” followed the global financial crisis in 2008 and the rising geopolitical tensions with protectionist policies being imposed by many countries.

Source:

IMF Blog – Charting Globalisation’s Turn to Slowbalisation After Global Financial Crisis

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What will higher unemployment figures in NZ mean for monetary policy?

Although still low New Zealand’s unemployment figures today registered an increase of 0.1% to be at 3.4%. The labour market is still tight but there are signs that the reduction in job ads and monthly filled jobs are putting less pressure on the market. This may mean that the RBNZ, who sets monetary policy, sees that aggregate demand is starting to ease indicating a less aggressive stance with interest rates. With inflation at 7.2% and still well above the policy target agreement of 1-3%. the RBNZ might increase the OCR this February by 0.5% which is a reduction on the the previous increase of 0.75% on 23rd November. That would leave the OCR at a peak of 5.25% by May. However if high inflationary expectations become the norm the RBNZ might have to become more aggressive in its policy. Below is a mindmap on monetary policy which might be useful for revision purposes.

Source: ANZ Research 1st February 2023

Adapted from: A Level Economics Revision – Susan Grant.

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Taylor rule and New Zealand interest rates (OCR) at 8%

The Taylor Rule is a specific policy rule for fixing interest rates proposed by the Stanford University economist John Taylor. The rule is a formula for setting interest rates depending on changes in the inflation rate and economic growth.

A simplified formula is: r = p + 0.5y + 0.5 (p – 2) + 2
r = the short term interest rate in percentage terms per annum.
p = the rate of inflation over the previous four quarters.
y = the difference between real GDP from potential output.
This assumes that target inflation is 2% and equilibrium real interest rate is 2%

Taylor argued that when:

• Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) = Potential Gross Domestic Product
• Inflation = its target rate of 2%,
• Federal Funds Rate (FFR) should be 4% (that is a 2% real interest rate).

If the real GDP rises 1% above potential GDP, then the FFR should be raised by 0.5%.
If inflation rises 1% above its target rate of 2%, then the FFR should be raised by 1.5%.
He stated that the real interest rates should be 1.5 times the inflation rate.

This rule has been suggested as one that could be adopted by other central banks – ECB, Bank of England, etc for setting official cash rates. However, the rule does embody an arbitrary 2% inflation target rather than, say 3% or 4%, and it may need to be amended to embody alternative inflation targets at different times or by different central banks. The advantages of having such as explicit interest rate rule is that its very transparency can create better conditions for business decisions and can help shape business people’s and consumers’ expectations. Central banks prefer to maintain an air of intelligent discretion over the conduct of their policies than to follow rules, but to some extent they do unwittingly follow a Taylor rule. This makes the rule a useful benchmark against which actual policies can be judged.

New Zealand and the Taylor rule
When the Taylor Rule is applied to the New Zealand economy it suggests an optimal, OCR of more than 8% – see graphic from live gross domestic product (GDP) tracker. A rate as high as this would do significant damage to the economy even if inflation did get down to the 2% target for inflation. Households and businesses would find it particularly hard with incomes being squeezed. An OCR of this level would have an unwieldly impact on households and businesses, squeezing incomes. 

Criticisms of Taylor rule
The theory assumes that only the central bank can affect the equilibrium real rate of interest and there is a closed economy with households that have identical consumption patterns and the same declining marginal utility. However, an economy is a much more intricate machine which aims to allocate scarce resources to satisfy the utility of economic agents such as individuals, firms and government. The dominant model for many years has been “Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium” (DSGE) and it takes all the characteristics of an individual (this person is typically called the representative agent) which is then cloned and taken to represent the typical person in an economy. These agents make supposedly perfect decisions by optimising, working out the kinds of mathematical problems in an instant. This almost rules out any fluctuations in the natural rate that might arise from alterations in how individuals discount the future, from how consumption preferences may differ among individuals or alter over time for one individual, or from differences in the distribution of wealth.

Source: Live GDP tracker

How well do we understand inflationary expectations?

In looking at the causes of inflation, textbooks will cover demand-pull and cost-push but not go into much detail about inflationary expectations. If the consumer believes that prices of goods are going to increase this will have an impact on future price levels and the wage demands – a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Higher wages = Higher labour costs = Higher prices

Jerome Powell, US Fed Chairman, has made four 0.75 percentage point hikes in a row is an aggressive monetary policy to reduce inflation. Yesterday’s increase of 0.5% takes the bank’s benchmark lending rate to 4.25% – 4.5%, a range that is the highest since January 2008. He also alluded to inflationary expectations:

“We can’t allow a wage-price spiral to happen,” he said. “And we can’t allow inflation expectations to become unanchored. It’s just something that we can’t allow to happen.”

So how do you measure inflationary expectations? Policymakers use surveys at different times to monitor households’ and firms’ beliefs about prices. Furthermore, in order to try and shape consumer expectations central banks are very transparent as to their forecast of inflation and future interest rate changes.

How well do we understand households’ expectations? An article in the IMF Finance & Development (September 2022) looked at a deeper understanding of how consumers think about inflation. There seems to be a disagreement between consumers and policy makers with the former relying on the price change in a few products like coffee and petrol as an overall indicator of a country’s inflation rate. Past experiences —such as living through events such as the 1970’s oil crisis, the stagflation years of the late 1970’s, the Global Financial Crisis 2008, stock market crash of 1987 (Black Monday) etc, can influence peoples understanding of inflation for years to come. For instance if you lived through the stagflation years you are you more likely to be less optimistic about controlling inflation?

Andre et al (2022) recent research set out to see if economic policy (fiscal and monetary) and economic events result in the same expectations by laypeople and experts. They focused on unemployment and inflation and distributed surveys to 6,500 households and 1,500 experts. The survey asked respondents to consider four hypothetical shocks to the US economy:

• a sharp increase in crude oil prices
• a rise in income taxes,
• a federal government spending increase,
• a rise in the Federal Reserve’s target interest rate.

All respondents were given the current figures for inflation and unemployment and were asked to give their forecast of their movement over the following year after being given news about one of the four shocks. Interestingly laypeople believed that an increase in interest rates and income taxes would increase inflation which is contrary to what economics textbook models show – see Chart 1. The difference of opinion seems to stem from the interpretations of demand versus supply models see Chart 2. The experts used theoretical models and economic toolkits whilst the laypeople were more likely to rely on personal experiences, political views and a different interpretation – i.e. they look at supply-side issues:

higher interest rates = higher costs for firms = increase in prices to maintain profit margins = inflation↑

Experts take the view that it is a demand-side issue:

higher interest rates – higher cost of borrowing for consumers = less borrowing = inflation↓

Central Banks look to make communication more accessible

Central banks are now trying to, not only make communication accessible, but also much easier to understand. For example the European Central Bank (ECB) has built a presence around social media platforms using simpler language to explain the impact of interest rates on inflation.

Economic models depend on ‘rational expectations’ according to which households base their individual decisions—on how much to save, consume, and work—on expectations about the uncertain future state of the economy.

Source: Hall of Mirrors: How Consumers Think about Inflation by Carlo Pizzinelli
IMF F&D September 2022

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How do we know when a current account deficit is bad?

A current account deficit (CAD) allows residents to consume more products that it produces. However the country needs to finance the deficit by attracting investment into the country or by borrowing. This will involve an outlow of money in the future in the form of investment income. An increase in a CAD may also reduce AD, which may slow down economic growth and may cause unemployment.

A CAD could be indicative of a lack of competitiveness but it could also mean an excess of investment over savings which could mean a highly productive, growing economy. Although there is a deficit an important question is what the deficit is made up of? If a country is importing a significant amount of capital goods then these can add value to the economy by creating jobs and growth. For example if Air New Zealand buy planes from Airbus these are part of the service that they offer which employs people and generates income. But if a CAD reflects low savings rather than investment, it could be caused by an irresponsible expansionary fiscal/monetary policy like we have seen in New Zealand post-covid.

New Zealand’s annual current account deficit was $27.8 billion for the year ended in the June 2022 quarter, equivalent to 7.7 percent of GDP. The annual current account deficit rose by $16.3 billion during the year, driven by increases in the goods and services deficits. Sea transport costs (which is a services import cost) rose by $2.2 billion during the year, and was a driver behind a $5.0 billion deterioration in New Zealand’s services balance. However the record-breaking deficit shows we’ve been living beyond our means, becoming more dependent on foreign capital in the process. However CAD reflect underlying economic trends, which may be desirable or undesirable for a country at a particular point in time.

Causes of CAD

1. Overvalued exchange rate – If the currency is overvalued, imports will be cheaper, and therefore there will be a higher quantity of imports. Exports will become uncompetitive, and therefore there will be a fall in the quantity of exports.
2. Economic growth – If there is an increase in national income, people will tend to have more disposable income to consume goods. If domestic producers cannot meet the domestic demand, consumers will have to import goods from abroad. In New Zealand there is a high tendency to import manufactured goods as we don’t have a comparative advantage.
3. Drop in demand from trading partners – If there is a downturn in country A that normally buys another country B’s exports this will mean a loss of export revenue for country B. A current account deficit that results from the economic cycle is referred to as a cyclical deficit. Usually short-term and self-correcting
4. Growing domestic economy – when demand increases in the domestic economy it may mean that companies now have to import more capital goods and raw materials from overseas. As well as imports increasing, producers may switch their sales to the domestic market and not overseas (exports). However in the long-term firms output might increase so that they can sell both at home and abroad.
5. Higher inflation – if New Zealand’s inflation rises faster than our main competitors then it will make New Zealand exports less competitive and imports more competitive. This will lead to deterioration in the current account. However, inflation may also lead to a depreciation in the currency to offset this decline in competitiveness. 
6. Structural problems – a current account deficit that is persistent is concerning as it indicates that domestic firms are not internationally competitive and the country may have to borrow from overseas to fund the current account deficit. As well as an overvalued exchange rate (see above) the country might have low labour and capital productivity so finds it hard to compete internationally.

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US dollar strength a problem in fighting inflation

The US dollar hasn’t been stronger since 2000 – it has appreciated:

• 22% – Yen,
• 13% – Euro,
• 6% – emerging market economies.

The dominance of the US$ has serious implications for the macroeconomy of almost all countries. Although US share of world trade has declined from 12% to 8% the US$ share of world exports has remained around 40%. Therefore imports denominated in US$ into countries have become more expensive and it is estimated that for every 10% US$ appreciation adds 1% to the country’s inflation figure. For developing countries with a high dependency on US$ denominated imports this is particularly worrisome.
Furthermore almost 50% of cross-border loans and international debt securities are in US$ and although emerging market governments have made progress in issuing debt in their own currency, their private corporate sectors have high levels of dollar-denominated debt. As the US Fed continue to raise interest rates with a fourth consecutive 75 basis points rise on 2nd November financial conditions have tightened and the strong US$ only compounds these pressures especially for many low income countries that are close to defaulting on their debt.

What should countries do?
Some countries and intervening in the foreign exchange buying their own currency with US$ reserves – foreign reserves fell by over 6% in the first half of this year to support their currency. Intervention should not be a permanent policy as it could mean a loss of foreign reserves as well as alerting markets to your intentions which could play into the hand of foreign exchange dealers. Monetary policy needs to keep inflation close to its target rate and the higher price of imports should reduce demand and therefore prices but a lot depends on the elasticity of demand for a country’s imports – if inelastic there is increasing pressure on inflation. Fiscal policy should provide some support to those that are most vulnerable without jeopardising the inflation target.

Source: IMF Blog – How Countries Should Respond to the Strong Dollar.

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Why has the US dollar got so strong and problems associated?

There has been a lot of talk about global currency’s depreciating against the US dollar but why has the dollar been so strong? In times of uncertainty people gravitate to the US dollar for safety – it is the global reserve currency and the vast majority of global trade is done in US dollars. The uncertainty in the global economy has been due to:

• The pandemic
• Expansionary fiscal and monetary policy
• Supply side problems not being able to keep up with demand
• Ukraine War which has increased energy and food prices.

From the above there has been strong inflationary pressure in the US especially and this needs contractionary monetary policy intervention – higher interest rates. The US Fed Reserve has increased interest rates ahead of other developed economies.

28th September 2022 – US dollar.

Problems with a strong US dollar
When the US dollar appreciated – see image above – it has a contractionary impact on the global economy. The dollar and US capital markets are far more globally important than the US economy itself – the currency is the world’s safe haven and its capital markets are those of the world. Therefore the exchange rate is crucial when money goes into and out of the US. Also countries worry about the exchange rate in particular when inflation is high – weak currency makes imports more expensive and can feed inflation. For those that owe money in US dollars a weak currency becomes very expensive as they have to convert more of their currency into US dollars – this is prevalent in the developing world. With Fed Chair Jerome Powell determined to bring US inflation down there is the risk of further interest rate hikes which could put economies into recession.

Source: Financial Times – Why does the strength of the US dollar matter? Martin Wolf

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Modern Monetary Theory vs Mainstream Monetary Theory

Although not in the A2 syllabus we have had some great discussions in my A2 class on Modern Monetary Theory – MMT. It has its roots in the theory of John Maynard Keynes who during the Great Depression created the field of macroeconomics. He stated that the fact that income must always move to the level where the flows of saving and investment are equal leads to one of the most important paradoxes in economics – the paradox of thrift. Keynes explains how, under certain circumstances, an attempt to increase savings may lead to a fall in total savings. Any attempt to save more which is not matched by an equal willingness to invest more will create a deficiency in demand – leakages (savings) will exceed injections (investment) and income will fall to a new equilibrium. When you get this situation it is the government that can get the economy moving again by putting money in people’s pockets.

MMT states that a government that can create its own money therefore:

1. Cannot default on debt denominated in its own currency;
2. Can pay for goods, services, and financial assets without a need to collect money in the form of taxes or debt issuance in advance of such purchases;
3. Is limited in its money creation and purchases by inflation, which accelerates once the economic resources (i.e., labor and capital) of the economy are utilised at full employment;
4. Can control inflation by taxation and bond issuance, which remove excess money from circulation, although the political will to do so may not always exist;
5. Does not need to compete with the private sector for scarce savings by issuing bonds.

Within this model the only constraint on spending is inflation, which can break out if the public and private sectors spend too much at the same time. As long as there are enough workers and equipment to meet growing demand without igniting inflation, the government can spend what it needs to maintain employment and achieve goals such as halting climate change.

How does it differ from more mainstream monetary policy – see table below.

Those against MMT are dubious of the idea that the treasury and central bank should work together and also concerned about the jobs guarantee. They argue that if the government’s wage for guaranteed jobs is too low it won’t do much to help unemployed workers or the economy, while if it’s too high it will undermine private employment. They also say that trying to use fiscal policy to steer the economy is a proven failure because politicians rarely act quickly enough to respond to a downturn. They can’t be relied upon to impose pain on the public through higher taxes or lower spending to quell rising inflation.

Below is a video from Stephanie Kelton, an MMTer who was the economic adviser on Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign in 2016.

Sources:

The Economist – Free Exchange – March 16th 2019

Wikipedia – Modern Monetary Theory

Are we actually in recession and is a wage-price spiral on the cards?

For the majority of textbooks a recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP. Whilst a lot of economies might technically go through this objective measure in the next year it is a rather strange economic environment that we live. I don’t recall a recession that coincides with record level unemployment, high consumer spending and a huge number of job openings which in turn has led to wage increases. Recession is usually associated with the opposite – high unemployment, low to nil wage growth and little spending. Therefore the economy isn’t in the usual boom-bust cycle but more of an intentional slowdown. Central banks need to get inflation under control by reducing aggregate demand through higher interest rates. Consumer prices, especially in food and energy, rising faster than wages but with wages rising there is a risk of a wage-price spiral. In order to get the inflation down most central banks only have the tools of interest rates and bank liquidity with both currently in the tightening phase.

New Zealand Employment Data – 3rd August 2022

Today’s figures labour data statistics in New Zealand were interesting to say the least. Although unemployment went up 0.1% to 3.3% against expectations it was wage growth of 7% that really stood out and reflected a really tight labour market almost matching the CPI of 7.3%. This is a major concern for the RBNZ the labour market appears to be the major driver of inflation and the threat of a wage-price spiral is very real. A self-perpetuating inflation cycle could cause domestic inflation in New Zealand to remain high, even if global pressure start to ease. In previous periods of inflation the RBNZ got help in the form of redundancies that forced numbers of consumers to cut their spending. This is unlikely in such labour market conditions and what can be sure is that the OCR will be on the rise again and is likely to increase to 4% by the end of the year.

Theory behind the wage-price spiral

As from previous posts, the Phillips Curve analysed data for money wages against the rate of unemployment over the period 1862-1958. Money wages and prices were seen to be strongly correlated, mainly because the former are the most significant costs of production. Hence the resulting curve purported to provide a “trade-off’ between inflation and unemployment – i.e. the government could ‘select’ its desired position on the curve. During the 1970’s higher rates of inflation than previously were associated with any given level of unemployment. It was generally considered that the whole curve had shifted right – i.e. to achieve full employment a higher rate of inflation than previously had to be accepted.

Milton Friedman’s expectations-augmented Phillips Curve denies the existence of any long-run trade off between inflation and unemployment. In short, attempts to reduce unemployment below its natural rate by fiscal reflation will succeed only at the cost of generating a wage-price spiral, as wages are quickly cancelled out by increases in prices.

Each time the government reflates the economy, a period of accelerating inflation will follow a temporary fall in unemployment as workers anticipate a future rise in inflation in their pay demands, and unemployment returns to its natural rate.

The process can be seen in the diagram below – a movement from A to B to C to D to E

Friedman thus concludes that the long-run Phillips Curve (LRPC) is vertical (at the natural rate of unemployment), and the following propositions emerge:

1. At the natural rate of unemployment, the rate of inflation will be constant (but not necessarily zero).

2. The rate of unemployment can only be maintained below its natural rate at the cost of accelerating inflation. (Reflation is doomed to failure).

3. Reduction in the rate of inflation requires deflation in the economy – i.e. unemployment must rise (in the short term at least) above its natural rate.

Some economists go still further, and argue that the natural rate has increased over time and that the LRPC slopes upwards to the right. If inflation is persistently higher in one country that elsewhere, the resulting loss of competitiveness reduces sales and destroys capacity. Hence inflation is seen to be a cause of higher inflation.

Rational expectations theorists deny Friedman’s view that reflation reduces unemployment even in the short-run. Since economic agents on average correctly predicted that the outcome of reflation will be higher inflation, higher money wages have no effect upon employment and the result of relations simply a movement up the LRPC to a higher level of inflation.

BoJ still buying bonds as other central banks reverse asset purchases.

Within the OECD are annual inflation has been rising at an average of 9.6% – its ranges from 2.5% in Japan to 73.5% in Turkey. The US and the UK has inflation of 9.1%, Australia 6.3% and NZ 7.3%. Most of the bigger economies target a 2% inflation rate and in response to these higher rates the US Fed increased its interest rates by 75 basis points to 1.5-1.75% with a potential 50 or 75 basis point rise in July. The Reserve Bank of Australia also lifted its interest rate by 50 basis points to 1.35% in July.
In order to tackle this inflationary pressure it is normal for central banks to sell bonds / assets back into the market which is turn reduces the money supply and raises interest rates. This should depress aggregate demand as there is now less money in the circular flow and the cost of borrowing goes up. However, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is out of kilter with accelerating interest rates as it has committed to its policy of yield curve control intended to keep yields on 10-year bonds below 0.25% by buying as much public debt as is required – see graph below:

FT – Investors crank up bets on BoJ surrendering yield curve controls

How to Bond Yields work?
Say market interest rates are 10% and the government issue a bond and agree to pay 10% on a $1000 bond = annual return of $100.
100/1000 = 10%
If the central bank increase interest rates to 12% the previous bond is bad value for money as it pays $100 as compared to $120 with the a new bond. The value of the new bond is effectively reduced to $833 as in order to give it annual payment of $100 a year the price would have to be $833 to it a market based return.
100/833 = 12%

Yield curve control
Yield curve control (YCC) involves the BOJ targeting a longer-term interest rate by buying as many bonds as necessary to hit that rate target. It has been buying Japanese Government Bonds (JGB) at a monthly rate of ¥20trn which is double its previous peak of bond buying in 2016. Although there is no theoretical limit on its buying ability it has impacted the currency which has fallen to a 24 year low against the US dollar. This will push up the price of imports and inflation although the BOJ is confident that the price rises in its economy are transitory. If inflation does start to consistently hit levels above the BOJ’s target of 2% will they reverse their bond purchasing policy and shift to a higher yield cap?

Shorting JGB’s
A lot of investment banks are looking to short JGB’s. In this situation the trader suspects that bond prices will fall, and wishes to take advantage of that bearish sentiment—for instance, if interest rates are expected to rise. This will likely happen if the Japanese relax their YCC with interest rates rising and bond prices falling – see image below for a simple explanation of shorting.

Source: Online Trading Academy

Sources:

• The Economist: – BoJ v the markets. June 25th 2022.
• Financial Times: Investors crank up bets on BoJ surrendering yield curve controls. June 23rd 2022

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Inflation and the Base Year Effect

A price index is a means of comparing a set of prices as they change over time. Index numbers allow for a comparison of prices with those in an arbitrary chosen reference (base year), a year that current values can be compared against. This base year is usually given a numerical value of 100 or 1000. The index number allows for percentage changes to be calculated between various time periods.

If we look at the last few years some of the current inflation increases has been exaggerated by what are known as base-year effects. What has happened is that annual inflation has been measured against a time during the COVID-19 pandemic when economies were locked down and prices slumped. Therefore the inflation figures around the world have been increasing quite rapidly but soon they will be measured against the current higher prices which should mean a lower inflation figure. Regions such as Europe that rely on imported energy may see a greater fall in inflation than others if the price of fuels like oil and gas were to quickly cool. But that doesn’t seem likely in the current climate especially with the war in the Ukraine and come October the northern hemisphere heads back into winter with greater energy use. The graph above is a little out-of-date in that inflation in the UK is now 9.1% and the Bank of England expect it to exceed 11% in October. The USA has an inflation rate of 8.6% and it is expected to reach 9%.

Central Bank rate increases in 2022
Below are the central bank rate hikes this year and the big question is have they got their timing and rate increases right.

• With the threat of inflation should banks have increased their rates earlier?
• If they tighten too quickly will that tip their economy into recession and a hard landing?
• What is the right rate increase for the current inflation figure?
• How long (pipeline effect) will it take for interest changes to impact the inflation figure?
• These are the challenging questions that central bankers face in today’s environment.

For more on Inflation and Base Rates view the key notes (accompanied by fully coloured diagrams/models) on elearneconomics that will assist students to understand concepts and terms for external examinations, assignments or topic tests.

IB/A2 Economics – Macroeconomic policies essay

With the mid-year exams next week here are a couple of mindmaps I produced using OmniGraffle (Apple software). I found it a useful starting point for students to discuss the effectiveness of each policy and the conflicts within macro objectives. This is a very common essay question in CIE Paper 4. My question would be:

What policies has the government in your country implemented since Covid-19 and how successful have they been in meeting macro economic objectives? (25)