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    Peter Vlaar

    In August 1993 the European Monetary System (EMS) collapsed due to speculative attacks on almost all participating currencies. The relatively small fluctuation margins of ±2.25% for the bilateral rates were (at least temporarily) enlarged... more
    In August 1993 the European Monetary System (EMS) collapsed due to speculative attacks on almost all participating currencies. The relatively small fluctuation margins of ±2.25% for the bilateral rates were (at least temporarily) enlarged to 15%, except for the Dutch guilder/Deutschmark (DM) rate.
    In this paper, the monetary transmission mechanism within the European Monetary Union is investigated. The impulse response functions and forecast error variance decompositions of a structural vector error correction model (SVECM) are... more
    In this paper, the monetary transmission mechanism within the European Monetary Union is investigated. The impulse response functions and forecast error variance decompositions of a structural vector error correction model (SVECM) are compared with those of a New Keynesian theoretical model. The identifying restrictions of the SVECM are directly derived from the theoretical model. Two permanent shocks are identified, one having only nominal, and one having only real effects. The three transitory shocks comprise a short term interest rate shock, an aggregate demand shock and a money demand shock. The main conclusions are that permanently reducing the inflation objective depresses output in the first year, but has no real effects in the long run. Regarding output variability, the results indicate that aggregate demand shocks are most important during the first year, after which aggregate supply shocks dominate.
    The measurement of risks associated with options is a complex business for a number of reasons. Firstly, option prices tend to be influenced in a non-linear manner by several variables. Unanticipated changes in the price or volatility of... more
    The measurement of risks associated with options is a complex business for a number of reasons. Firstly, option prices tend to be influenced in a non-linear manner by several variables. Unanticipated changes in the price or volatility of the underlying security or changes in interest rates are just some examples of these factors affecting risk measurement. Another reason why option-related risks are difficult to measure is that such risks should be examined in relation to other positions. The nature of the risks involved in options are clarified in order to help assess whether the various capital adequacy requirements proposed are reasonable. Four different bank capital adequacy schemes are examined.
    One of the major puzzles of the economic profession is the pricing of exchange rates. Despite the development of numerous theories, the actual behaviour of exchange rates, especially in the short run, is not well understood. This article... more
    One of the major puzzles of the economic profession is the pricing of exchange rates. Despite the development of numerous theories, the actual behaviour of exchange rates, especially in the short run, is not well understood. This article evaluates several popular exchange rate theories and presents new results of a model developed at de Nederlandsche Bank. This model gives a prominent role to growth differentials. An application to the eurodollar shows these can explain the depreciation of the euro only partly. Sentiment seems to be important as well.
    In the nineties, the number of currency crises has been high, both in the industrial world and among emerging countries. An important characteristic of many of these crises is that they started in one country but very soon affected others... more
    In the nineties, the number of currency crises has been high, both in the industrial world and among emerging countries. An important characteristic of many of these crises is that they started in one country but very soon affected others as well. Currency crises seemed to be contagious. In this article, it is investigated whether the interdependence of capital flows to Asian countries was affected by the crisis in Thailand. It will be shown that the transmission of capital flows to Indonesia and Korea was affected by the Asian crisis, whereas for the Philippines no significant change in the interdependence could be detected.
    ABSTRACT In this paper, it is investigated to what extent optimal investment policy by Dutch pension funds is affected by changes in regulation. It turns out that a complete market valuation method increases the cost of the defined... more
    ABSTRACT In this paper, it is investigated to what extent optimal investment policy by Dutch pension funds is affected by changes in regulation. It turns out that a complete market valuation method increases the cost of the defined benefit pension relative to a fixed discount rate method, as high pension premiums are to be payed exactly when expected future returns are the lowest. In practice, this timing problem does not seem to be severe for Dutch pension funds as solvency requirements are only applied to guaranteed pension rights, whereas a major part of pension benefits (indexation) is conditional. Moreover, a fixed interest rate may still be used to calculate pension premiums. Regarding the asset mix, the optimal duration of bonds in portfolio seems higher than currently observed, both under market valuation and under a fixed discount rate method. The new regulatory rules only slightly reduce the attractiveness of equity investment.
    This study investigates the consequences of dynamics in the term structure of Dutch interest rates for the accurateness of value-at-risk models. Therefore, value-at-risk measures are calculated using historical simulation,... more
    This study investigates the consequences of dynamics in the term structure of Dutch interest rates for the accurateness of value-at-risk models. Therefore, value-at-risk measures are calculated using historical simulation, variance-covariance and Monte Carlo simulation methods. For a ten days holding period, the best results were obtained for a combined variance-covariance Monte Carlo method using a term structure model with a normal distribution and GARCH specification. Term structure models with a t-distribution or with cointegration performed much worse.
    ABSTRACT This note argues that the narrow exchange rate margins acted as a target for self-fulfilling speculative attacks leading to the "collapse" of the European Monetary System in August 1993. Exchange rate and... more
    ABSTRACT This note argues that the narrow exchange rate margins acted as a target for self-fulfilling speculative attacks leading to the "collapse" of the European Monetary System in August 1993. Exchange rate and interest rate behaviour after the collapse suggests that, by not immediately using their regained monetary freedom, authorities have been able to signal their commitment to stable exchange rates and regained much of their credibility.
    weiminx.htm Changes in nominal interest rates must be due to either movements in real interest rates, expected inflation, or the inflation risk premium. We develop a term structure model with regime switches, time-varying prices of risk,... more
    weiminx.htm Changes in nominal interest rates must be due to either movements in real interest rates, expected inflation, or the inflation risk premium. We develop a term structure model with regime switches, time-varying prices of risk, and inflation to identify these components of the nominal yield curve. We find that the unconditional real rate curve in the U.S. is fairly flat
    Defined benefit pension plans and regulation

    And 60 more