WORKSHOP OF THE
AUSTRALASIAN MACROECONOMICS SOCIETY
(WAMS 2014)
JULY 31 – AUGUST 1, 2014
We would like to thank the following sponsors, who generously contributed funds:
Centre for Applied Macroeconomics Analysis, Australian National University
Department of Economics, University of Melbourne
Macroeconomics Research Unit, University of Melbourne
Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne
Reserve Bank of Australia
The Treasury
DRAFT PROGRAM
THURSDAY, JULY 31
8:30 – 9:00:
Coffee and assorted savoury snacks
9:00 – 9:30
Introductions: Ian King, Nilss Olekalns, Timothy Kam
Session 1:
9:30-10:15
10:15-11:00
11:00-11:45
Room 1
Growth and Trade
“Innovation, Technology Diffusion
and Trade”
Scott French (UNSW)
Discussant: Timur Behlul
(Melbourne)
“Misallocation, Internal Trade, and
the Role of Transportation
Infrastructure”
Manuel Garcia-Santana (Université
Libre de Bruxelles)
Discussant: Reshad Ahsan
(Melbourne)
“Regional Differences in Economic
Growth”
Presenter: Tomohito Okabe (ANU)
Discussant: Xueli Tang (Deakin)
Room 2
VARs
“Structural VARs, Deterministic and
Stochastic Trends”
Benjamin Wong (RBNZ)
Discussant: Efrem Castelnuovo
(Melbourne)
“Uncertain Times, Hard Times:
Volatility Shocks in Recessions and
Expansions”
Efrem Castelnuovo (Melbourne)
Discussant: Don Harding (La Trobe)
“Financial Regulation Policy
Uncertainty and Credit Spreads in
the U.S.”
Gabriela Nodari (Verona)
Discussant: Jonathan Thong
(Melbourne)
1 11:45 – 1:00
Session 2
1:00-1:45
1:45-2:30
2:30 – 3:00
Session 3
3:00-3:45
3:45-4:30
Lunch
Room 1
Monetary Theory
“Inflation and Real Wage
Dispersion: A Model of Frictional
Markets”
Stella Huangfu (Sydney)
Discussant: Benoit Julien (UNSW)
“Can Sale Price Adjustments Affect
the Neutrality of Money?”
Fang Yao (RBNZ)
Discussant: Sylvia Xiao (UTS)
Room 2
Social Insurance
“Social Health Insurance: A
Quantitative Exploration”
Chung Tran (ANU)
Discussant: Solmaz Moslehi
(Monash)
“Payroll Taxes, Social Insurance,
and Business Cycles”
Mark Weder (Adelaide)
Discussant: Begona Dominguez
(UQ)
Break 1
Room 1
Habit Formation andConsumption
“Lifestyle Habits and International
Transmission of Business Cycles”
Alexandre Dmitriev (Tasmania)
Discussant: Horag Choi (Monash)
“Consumption Commitments in
General Equilibrium”
Christian Gillitzer (RBA)
Discussant: Kei Kawakami
(Melbourne)
Room 2
Structural Change
“Sectoral Stagnation and the Yen”
Luke Meehan (ANU)
Discussant: Viet Nguyen (Melbourne
Institute)
“Demographics, Home Production,
and Structural Change”
Satoshi Tanaka (UQ)
Discussant: Jay Sarkar (QUT)
4:30 – 4:45
Break 2
4:45 – 5:45
Plenary 1: Professor Jaume Ventura (CREI, Barcelona GSE)
6:00 – 7:30
Drinks (MBS)
7:00
Workshop Dinner (MBS)
2 FRIDAY, AUGUST 1
8:30 – 9:00:
Session 4
9:00-9:45
9:45-10:30
Coffee and assorted savoury snacks
Room 1
Macro Theory
“Straightforward Approximate
Stochastic Equilibria for Nonlinear
Rational Expectations Models”
Denny Lie (Sydney)
Discussant: May Li (Melbourne)
Room 2
Phillips Curve and Business Cycles
“A Spectral Representation of the
Phillips Curve in Australia”
Debdulal Mallick (Deakin)
Discussant: Matthew GreenwoodNimmo (Melbourne)
“A Class of Aggregate Production
Functions”
Sephorah Mangin (Monash)
Discussant: Mei Dong (Melbourne)
“A Boom-Bust Business Cycle Model”
Timo Henckel (ANU)
Discussant: Guay Lim (Melbourne
Institute)
10:30 – 10:45
Break 1
10:45 – 11:45
Plenary 2: Professor Vincenzo Quadrini (University of Southern
California)
11:45 – 1:00
Lunch (and Board Meeting)
Session 5
1:00-1:45
1:45-2:30
2:30 – 3:00
Room 1
Growth and Environment
“Economic Growth, Structural
Change and Environmental Quality”
Simone Marsiglio (James Cook)
Discussant: Andrew John (MBS)
“Natural Resources, R&D and
Economic Growth”
Thanh Quang Le (UQ)
Discussant: Scott French (UNSW)
Room 2
Zero Lower Bound
“Estimating the expected duration of
the ZLB in a DSGE Model with
Forward Guidance”
James Morley (UNSW)
Discussant: Yu-Chin Chen (MBS)
“Estimating DSGE models with
Occasionally Binding Constraints”
Presenter: Tim Robinson (Melbourne
Institute)
Discussant: Benjamin Wong
Break 2
3 Session 6
Room 1
Government Policy and Investment
3:00-3:45
“An Evaluation of Constitutional
Constraints on Capital Taxation”
Begona Dominguez (UQ)
Discussant: Pedro Gomis Porqueras
(Monash)
3:45-4:30
“Government Corruption and FDI
under the Threat of Expropriation”
Chris Hajzler (Otago)
Discussant: Tim Kam (ANU)
Room 2
Financial Frictions and Business
Cycles
“Financial Conditions and Slow
Recoveries”
Zhe Li (Shanghai University of
Finance and Economics)
Discussant: Tim Robinson
(Melbourne Institute)
“News Driven Business Cycles in
SOEs”
Gunes Kamber (RBNZ)
Discussant: Barry Rafferty
(Melbourne)
4:30 – 4:45
Break 3
4:45 – 5:15
Wrap up (Adrian Pagan)
5:15 – 5:30
Presentation for Best Discussant Prize
5:30 –
Adjourn
4