No abstract

ABSTRACT:For two groups of post-communist countries (CEE and CIS) we estimated the parameters of convergence equations on the basis of annual data. We depart from standard econometric theory, which involves panel regression techniques. We test cross-country heterogeneity of parameters within a system of Seemingly Unrelated Regression Equations (SURE). We show empirical evidence in favour of the variability of parameters describing the convergence effect and productivity growth rates across countries. Our approach seems a convincing alternative to the panel regression approach where random effects can be estimated, imposing an assumption about the constancy of structural parameters within the group of countries under analysis.We discuss the role of the global financial crisis in the heterogeneity of convergence processes and productivity at the country level. The aforementioned SURE model was estimated based on two datasets, one containing observations prior to the crisis and the second containing the whole sample.

N a t i o n a l B a n k o f P o l a n d

We propose a non-standard subsampling procedure to make formal statistical inference about the business cycle, one of the most important unobserved feature characterising uctuations of economic growth. We show that some characteristics of business cycle can be modelled in a non-parametric way by discrete spectrum of the almost periodically correlated time series. On the basis of estimated characteristics of this spectrum business cycle is extracted by ltering. As an illustration we characterise the main properties of business cycles in industrial production index for Polish economy.