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Should We Trust the Empirical Evidence from Present Value Models of the Current Account?

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Author Info
Mercereau, Benôit
Miniane, Jacques Alain
Abstract

The present value model of the current account has been very popular, as it provides an optimal benchmark to which actual current account series have often been compared. We show why persistence in observed current account data makes the estimated optimal series very sensitive to small-sample estimation error, making it close to impossible to determine whether the paths of the two series truly bear any relation to each other. Moreover, the standard Wald test of the model will falsely accept or reject the model with substantial probability. Monte Carlo simulations and estimations using annual and quarterly data from five OECD countries strongly support our predictions. In particular, we conclude that two important consensus results in the literature – that the optimal series is highly correlated with the actual series, but substantially less volatile – are not statistically robust.

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Paper provided by Kiel Institute for the World Economy in its series Economics Discussion Papers with number 2008-10.

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Date of creation: 2008
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Handle: RePEc:zbw:ifwedp:7211

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Related research
Keywords: Current account present value model model evaluation

Find related papers by JEL classification:
C11 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: General - - - Bayesian Analysis
C52 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Evaluation and Testing
F32 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Current Account Adjustment; Short-term Capital Movements
F41 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Open Economy Macroeconomics

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  1. Lutz Kilian, 1998. "Small-Sample Confidence Intervals For Impulse Response Functions," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(2), pages 218-230, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Jonathan David Ostry, 1997. "Current Account Imbalances in ASEAN Countries - Are they a Problem?," IMF Working Papers 97/51, International Monetary Fund.
  3. Campbell, John Y. & Shiller, Robert J., 1989. "The dividend ratio model and small sample bias : A Monte Carlo study," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 325-331. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Nason, James M. & Rogers, John H., 2006. "The present-value model of the current account has been rejected: Round up the usual suspects," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 159-187, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Geert Bekaert, 2001. "Expectations Hypotheses Tests," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(4), pages 1357-1394, 08. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Campbell, John Y & Shiller, Robert J, 1987. "Cointegration and Tests of Present Value Models," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(5), pages 1062-88, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Gruber, Joseph W., 2004. "A present value test of habits and the current account," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(7), pages 1495-1507, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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This page was last updated on 2008-10-7.

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