IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/mae/wpaper/2011-06.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Sustainability of the Macedonian Current Account

Author

Listed:
  • Danica Unevska Andonova

    (National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia)

  • Branimir Jovanovic

    (National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia)

Abstract

Most of the emerging European countries, including Republic of Macedonia, are faced with greater or smaller current account deficits, which raise the concern about their sustainability in the long run. This working paper examines the sustainability of the Macedonian current account deficit using the structural model of the current account. According to this model, the current account is viewed as the outcome of variations in macroeconomic “structural” determinants that influence the saving-investment balance. The results show that budget deficit, economic growth, FDI and financial intermediation are the variables that had an effect on the Macedonian current account in the period 1998-2009, and that the sustainable level of the current account deficit is in the range of 5.3%-9.1% of GDP. The current account deficit was fluctuating around this sustainable level most of the time, which indicates that external equilibrium was not jeopardized. However, in the period between the last quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2009, due to the two external shocks in this period (the global increase of prices and the global recession), the current account deficit was higher than the sustainable level, which suggested a violation of the external equilibrium. Although the equilibrium was restored later in 2009, this historical episode points out the need for structural reforms in the Macedonian economy in order to avoid repeating such episodes in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Danica Unevska Andonova & Branimir Jovanovic, 2011. "Sustainability of the Macedonian Current Account," Working Papers 2011-06, National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia.
    • Handle: RePEc:mae:wpaper:2011-06
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nbrm.mk/WBStorage/Files/WebBuilder_Sustainability_ofthe_MacedonianCurrentAccount.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2011
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chinn, Menzie D. & Prasad, Eswar S., 2003. "Medium-term determinants of current accounts in industrial and developing countries: an empirical exploration," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 47-76, January.
    2. Aleksander Aristovnik, 2007. "Short- And Medium-Term Determinants Of Current Account Balances In Middle East And North Africa Countries," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp862, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    3. Paolo Zanghieri, 2004. "Current Accounts Dynamics in new EU members: Sustainability and Policy Issues," Working Papers 2004-07, CEPII research center.
    4. Hanan Morsy, 2012. "Current Account Determinants for Oil-Exporting Countries," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(3), pages 122-133, March.
    5. Sebastian Edwards, 2002. "Does the Current Account Matter?," NBER Chapters, in: Preventing Currency Crises in Emerging Markets, pages 21-76, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Magdalena Morgese Borys & Éva Katalin Polgár & Andrei Zlate, 2008. "Real convergence and the determinants of growth in EU candidate and potential candidate countries - a panel data approach," Occasional Paper Series 86, European Central Bank.
    7. Obstfeld, Maurice & Rogoff, Kenneth, 1995. "The intertemporal approach to the current account," Handbook of International Economics, in: G. M. Grossman & K. Rogoff (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 34, pages 1731-1799, Elsevier.
    8. Chinn, Menzie D. & Ito, Hiro, 2007. "Current account balances, financial development and institutions: Assaying the world "saving glut"," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 546-569, June.
    9. Jesmin Rahman, 2008. "Current Account Developments in New Member States of the European Union: Equilibrium, Excess, and EU-Phoria," IMF Working Papers 2008/092, International Monetary Fund.
    10. Ca' Zorzi, Michele & Dieppe, Alistair & Chudik, Alexander, 2009. "Current account benchmarks for central and eastern Europe: a desperate search?," Working Paper Series 995, European Central Bank.
    11. Sabine Herrmann & Adalbert Winkler, 2009. "Financial markets and the current account: emerging Europe versus emerging Asia," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 145(3), pages 531-550, October.
    12. Herrmann, Sabine & Winkler, Adalbert, 2009. "Real convergence, financial markets, and the current account - Emerging Europe versus emerging Asia," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 100-123, August.
    13. Milesi-Ferreti, Gian Maria & Razin, Assaf, 1996. "Current account sustainability," Sede de la CEPAL en Santiago (Estudios e Investigaciones) 34294, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    14. Christopoulos, Dimitris & León-Ledesma, Miguel A., 2010. "Current account sustainability in the US: What did we really know about it?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 442-459, April.
    15. Aleksander Aristovnik, 2006. "The Determinants & Excessiveness of Current Account Deficits in Eastern Europe & the Former Soviet Union," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp827, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    16. David H. Howard, 1989. "Implications of the U.S. current account deficit," International Finance Discussion Papers 350, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    17. Howard, David H, 1989. "Implications of the U.S. Current Account Deficit," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 153-165, Fall.
    18. Morgese Borys, Magdalena & Polgár, Éva Katalin & Zlate, Andrei, 2008. "Real convergence and the determinants of growth in EU candidate and potential candidate countries: a panel data approach," Occasional Paper Series 86, European Central Bank.
    19. Herrmann, Sabine & Winkler, Adalbert, 2009. "Real convergence, financial markets, and the current account - Emerging Europe versus emerging Asia," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 100-123, August.
    20. Sebastian Edwards, 2004. "Thirty Years of Current Account Imbalances, Current Account Reversals, and Sudden Stops," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 51(s1), pages 1-49, June.
    21. Miss Eva Gutierrez, 2006. "Export Performance and External Competitiveness in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," IMF Working Papers 2006/261, International Monetary Fund.
    22. Sebastian Edwards, 2004. "Thirty Years of Current Account Imbalances, Current Account Reversals and Sudden Stops," NBER Working Papers 10276, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Michele Ca' Zorzi & Michał Rubaszek, 2012. "On the Empirical Evidence of the Intertemporal Current Account Model for the Euro Area Countries," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(1), pages 95-106, February.
    24. Wickens, M. R. & Uctum, Merih, 1993. "The sustainability of current account deficits : A test of the US intertemporal budget constraint," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 423-441, May.
    25. Arratibel, Olga & Martin, Reiner & Furceri, Davide, 2008. "Real convergence in Central and Eastern European EU Member States: which role for exchange rate volatility?," Working Paper Series 929, European Central Bank.
    26. Aristovnik, Aleksander, 2006. "How sustainable are current account deficits in selected transition economies?," MPRA Paper 485, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    27. Adalbert Winkler, 2009. "Southeastern Europe: Financial Deepening, Foreign Banks and Sudden Stops in Capital Flows," Focus on European Economic Integration, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue 1, pages 84-97.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Teuta ISMAILI-MUHARREMI, 2015. "Factors Affecting Current Account in the Balance of Payments of Selected Western Balkan Countries," The Journal of Accounting and Management, Danubius University of Galati, issue 3, pages 61-68, December.
    2. Danica Unevska Andonova & Marija Petkovska, 2011. "The transmission of external shocks to the Macedonian economic activity," Working Papers 2011-03, National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia.
    3. Teuta Ismaili-Muharremi, 2015. "Approaches Affecting Current Account in the Balance of Payments," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 4, December.
    4. Eita, Joel Hinaunye & Manuel, Victoria & Naimhwaka, Erwin, 2018. "Macroeconomic variables and current account balance in Namibia," MPRA Paper 88818, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 05 May 2018.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ca’ Zorzi, Michele & Chudik, Alexander & Dieppe, Alistair, 2012. "Thousands of models, one story: Current account imbalances in the global economy," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1319-1338.
    2. Herrmann, Sabine & Winkler, Adalbert, 2009. "Real convergence, financial markets, and the current account - Emerging Europe versus emerging Asia," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 100-123, August.
    3. Garg, Bhavesh & Prabheesh, K.P., 2017. "Drivers of India’s current account deficits, with implications for ameliorating them," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 23-32.
    4. Aleksander Aristovnik, 2005. "Current Account Reversals In Selected Transition Countries," International Finance 0510021, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Nurgun Topalli & İbrahim Dogan, 2016. "The structure and sustainability of current account deficit: Turkish evidence from regime switching," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(4), pages 570-589, June.
    6. Smith, Constance E., 2011. "External balance adjustment: An intra-national and international comparison," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1195-1213, October.
    7. Ali, Amjad & Audi, Marc, 2023. "Analyzing the Impact of Foreign Capital Inflows on the Current Account Balance in Developing Economies: A Panel Data Approach," MPRA Paper 118173, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Aleksander Aristovnik, 2006. "Current Account Reversals and Persistency in Transition Regions," Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, vol. 9(1), pages 1-43, May.
    9. Ca' Zorzi, Michele & Dieppe, Alistair & Chudik, Alexander, 2009. "Current account benchmarks for central and eastern Europe: a desperate search?," Working Paper Series 995, European Central Bank.
    10. Aleksander Aristovnik & Andrej Kumar, 2006. "Some Characteristics of Sharp Current Account Deficit Reversals in Transition Countries," South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economics, Association of Economic Universities of South and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region, vol. 4(1), pages 9-45.
    11. Vassilis Monastiriotis & Cigdem Borke Tunali, 2020. "The Sustainability of External Imbalances in the European Periphery," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 273-294, April.
    12. Michele Ca’ Zorzi & Alexander Chudik & Alistair Dieppe, 2012. "And then current accounts (over)adjusted," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 245-270, August.
    13. Sabine Herrmann, 2009. "Do We Really Know That Flexible Exchange Rates Facilitate Current Account Adjustment? Some New Empirical Evidence for CEE Countries," Applied Economics Quarterly (formerly: Konjunkturpolitik), Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 55(4), pages 295-312.
    14. Dumitru, Ionut, 2008. "O evaluare a sustenabilitatii deficitului de cont curent in Romania [An assessment of the current account sustainability in Romania]," MPRA Paper 18614, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Orszaghova, Lucia & Savelin, Li & Schudel, Willem, 2013. "External competitiveness of EU candidate countries," Occasional Paper Series 141, European Central Bank.
    16. Alpaslan AKÇORAOĞLU & Erkan AĞASLAN, 2009. "Current Account Deficits, Sustainability and Global Financial Crisis: Evidence from Turkey, 1987-2008," Ekonomik Yaklasim, Ekonomik Yaklasim Association, vol. 20(72), pages 1-20.
    17. Comunale, Mariarosaria, 2022. "A panel VAR analysis of macro-financial imbalances in the EU," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    18. Aristovnik, Aleksander, 2006. "The Determinants & Excessiveness of Current Account Deficits in Eastern Europe & the Former Soviet Union," MPRA Paper 483, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Zoran Grubišiæ & Sandra Kamenkoviæ & Aleksandar Zdravkoviæ, 2018. "Impact of government balance and exchange rate regime on current account during the economic cycle: evidence from CEE countries," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 36(1), pages 309-336.
    20. Resat CEYLAN, 2018. "Kirilgan Beslide Cari Aciklarin Surdurulebilirligi: Dogrusal Olmayan Birim Kok Testleri Ile Kanitlar," Ege Academic Review, Ege University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, vol. 18(1), pages 121-134.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    current account; sustainability; structural model; saving and investment; external equilibrium; Macedonia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F32 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Current Account Adjustment; Short-term Capital Movements
    • F37 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Finance Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:mae:wpaper:2011-06. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Jovica Mitik (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nbrgvmk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.