Gold As a Store of Value
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Department of Economics Working Paper Series Determinants of the Physical Demand for Gold: Evidence from Panel Data by Martha St
Department of Economics Working Paper Series Determinants of the physical demand for gold: Evidence from panel data by Martha Starr*, Ky Tran No. 2007-09 July 2007 http://www.american.edu/academic.depts/cas/econ/workingpapers/workpap.htm Copyright © 2007 by Martha Starr*, Ky Tran. All rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies. Determinants of the physical demand for gold: Evidence from panel data Abstract Although the role of gold in the world economy has declined since the gold standard was abandoned, it remains important as a central bank reserve, a hedge against risks, a barometer of geopolitical uncertainty, and an input for jewelry. While portfolio demand for gold has been well studied, determinants of physical demand are less understood. Certain emerging-market countries like China and India import substantial amounts of gold, with several factors that may contribute: low financial development, need for precautionary savings, and/or strong cultural valuation of gold itself. This paper uses panel data on gold imports of 21 countries to examine determinants of physical demand. We find that determinants of physical demand differ from those of portfolio demand, and that they differ between the developed and developing worlds. Please address correspondence to: Prof. Martha A. Starr, Dept. of Economics, American University, 4400 Mass. Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016, USA. Email: [email protected]. Key words: Physical gold demand, investment, savings, precautionary wealth JEL: O160, E210, G150 2 2 “Determinants of the physical demand for gold: Evidence from panel data” 1. -
Gold Investor February 2019 Report
Gold Investor February 2019 Cash down, gold up Ken Rogoff on the value of gold in a cashless society Look back and learn A risk-free asset Sustainable investing Dr Paul Fisher on the lessons Why sovereign wealth funds Gold and climate from the GFC should consider gold change Gold Investor | February 2019 Contents Foreword The gold perspective – 10 years 3 after Lehman Brothers failed 19 The Global Financial Crisis rocked In the news markets, transformed industries 4 and triggered many years of Gold market news from economic downturn. As World around the world Gold Council Chief Strategist John Reade reveals, the crisis also prompted a sustained shift in demand for gold. The curse of cash 5 and the allure of gold Gold’s role in a 22 Cash is increasingly low-carbon economy irrelevant but supply keeps rising. Explaining Amid rising concerns about the impact of climate change, why this has implications investors are calling on companies to show that they are for taxes, terrorism addressing the associated risks and opportunities. Terry and monetary policy, Heymann, CFO at the World Gold Council, discusses work renowned economist Ken undertaken by gold miners and analyses gold’s carbon footprint. Rogoff argues in favour of a cashless society and a greater role for gold. Hedging FX risk 25 Gold is priced in US dollars but it is bought by investors around the world. Francisco Blanch, Head of Commodities Central banks turn to gold and Derivatives Research at BofA Merrill Lynch Global 9 Research, questions whether investors should hedge their foreign exchange exposure when they consider gold. -
China Economic Issues
China Economic Issues Number 7/07, November 2007 The Potential of the Renminbi as an International Currency Hongyi Chen and Wensheng Peng This paper assesses the potential significance of the renminbi as an international currency by drawing on the experiences of the other major currencies. We estimate an empirical model relating currency shares of reserve holdings to economic determinants such as the size of the economy and financial market, stability of the currency value and network externalities. A counter-factual simulation of the model using China’s data suggests that the renminbi’s potential as a reserve currency could be comparable to that of the British pound and Japanese yen if the currency were to become fully convertible today. An international currency is ultimately a market choice, but government policies on currency convertibility can facilitate or inhibit the process. In this respect, the authorities need to weigh the benefits and risks associated with an international role of the renminbi in policy formulation and implementation. As the size of the economy and financial market increases and the monetary policy framework including exchange rate flexibility becomes more firmly established, the benefits should increasingly dominate costs. The potential international role of the renminbi and associated benefits and costs should be part of policy considerations on the pace and form of financial liberalisation and capital account opening. Hong Kong, being an international financial centre of China, can play an important role in the development and opening up of the Mainland financial market. The renminbi business in Hong Kong provides a testing ground for the use of the renminbi outside Mainland China. -
Cryptocurrency: the Economics of Money and Selected Policy Issues
Cryptocurrency: The Economics of Money and Selected Policy Issues Updated April 9, 2020 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45427 SUMMARY R45427 Cryptocurrency: The Economics of Money and April 9, 2020 Selected Policy Issues David W. Perkins Cryptocurrencies are digital money in electronic payment systems that generally do not require Specialist in government backing or the involvement of an intermediary, such as a bank. Instead, users of the Macroeconomic Policy system validate payments using certain protocols. Since the 2008 invention of the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies have proliferated. In recent years, they experienced a rapid increase and subsequent decrease in value. One estimate found that, as of March 2020, there were more than 5,100 different cryptocurrencies worth about $231 billion. Given this rapid growth and volatility, cryptocurrencies have drawn the attention of the public and policymakers. A particularly notable feature of cryptocurrencies is their potential to act as an alternative form of money. Historically, money has either had intrinsic value or derived value from government decree. Using money electronically generally has involved using the private ledgers and systems of at least one trusted intermediary. Cryptocurrencies, by contrast, generally employ user agreement, a network of users, and cryptographic protocols to achieve valid transfers of value. Cryptocurrency users typically use a pseudonymous address to identify each other and a passcode or private key to make changes to a public ledger in order to transfer value between accounts. Other computers in the network validate these transfers. Through this use of blockchain technology, cryptocurrency systems protect their public ledgers of accounts against manipulation, so that users can only send cryptocurrency to which they have access, thus allowing users to make valid transfers without a centralized, trusted intermediary. -
Burgernomics: a Big Mac Guide to Purchasing Power Parity
Burgernomics: A Big Mac™ Guide to Purchasing Power Parity Michael R. Pakko and Patricia S. Pollard ne of the foundations of international The attractive feature of the Big Mac as an indi- economics is the theory of purchasing cator of PPP is its uniform composition. With few power parity (PPP), which states that price exceptions, the component ingredients of the Big O Mac are the same everywhere around the globe. levels in any two countries should be identical after converting prices into a common currency. As a (See the boxed insert, “Two All Chicken Patties?”) theoretical proposition, PPP has long served as the For that reason, the Big Mac serves as a convenient basis for theories of international price determina- market basket of goods through which the purchas- tion and the conditions under which international ing power of different currencies can be compared. markets adjust to attain long-term equilibrium. As As with broader measures, however, the Big Mac an empirical matter, however, PPP has been a more standard often fails to meet the demanding tests of elusive concept. PPP. In this article, we review the fundamental theory Applications and empirical tests of PPP often of PPP and describe some of the reasons why it refer to a broad “market basket” of goods that is might not be expected to hold as a practical matter. intended to be representative of consumer spending Throughout, we use the Big Mac data as an illustra- patterns. For example, a data set known as the Penn tive example. In the process, we also demonstrate World Tables (PWT) constructs measures of PPP for the value of the Big Mac sandwich as a palatable countries around the world using benchmark sur- measure of PPP. -
How Real Is the Threat of Deflation to the Banking Industry?
An Update on Emerging Issues in Banking How Real is the Threat of Deflation to the Banking Industry? February 27, 2003 Overview The recession that began in March 2001 has had a generally benign effect on the banking industry, which remains highly profitable and well capitalized. The current financial strength of the industry is an important buffer against the effects of economic shocks. Nevertheless, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) routinely considers a number of economic scenarios that could develop over the next several quarters to evaluate factors that could result in the erosion in the financial health of individual banks or the industry. One such scenario that could present a major challenge to the banking industry involves deflation. This paper outlines the current debate over deflation, focusing on its potential effect on the banking industry. What is Deflation and How Does It Affect the Economy? Deflation refers to a decline in the general price level, usually caused by a sharp decline in money or credit supply or a severe contraction in the economy.1 Although sometimes used interchangeably, deflation differs from disinflation -- a falling rate of inflation. Although there have been sector-specific downward price adjustments, the U.S. economy has not experienced an outright decline in the aggregate price level since World War II, except for a brief and mild deflation in 1949.2 However, the inflation rate in the U.S. has fallen steadily since the early 1980s. In order to fully understand the effect of deflation on economic output, it is important to differentiate the concept of a "real" value from a "nominal" value. -
Modern Monetary Theory: a Marxist Critique
Class, Race and Corporate Power Volume 7 Issue 1 Article 1 2019 Modern Monetary Theory: A Marxist Critique Michael Roberts [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/classracecorporatepower Part of the Economics Commons Recommended Citation Roberts, Michael (2019) "Modern Monetary Theory: A Marxist Critique," Class, Race and Corporate Power: Vol. 7 : Iss. 1 , Article 1. DOI: 10.25148/CRCP.7.1.008316 Available at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/classracecorporatepower/vol7/iss1/1 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts, Sciences & Education at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Class, Race and Corporate Power by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Modern Monetary Theory: A Marxist Critique Abstract Compiled from a series of blog posts which can be found at "The Next Recession." Modern monetary theory (MMT) has become flavor of the time among many leftist economic views in recent years. MMT has some traction in the left as it appears to offer theoretical support for policies of fiscal spending funded yb central bank money and running up budget deficits and public debt without earf of crises – and thus backing policies of government spending on infrastructure projects, job creation and industry in direct contrast to neoliberal mainstream policies of austerity and minimal government intervention. Here I will offer my view on the worth of MMT and its policy implications for the labor movement. First, I’ll try and give broad outline to bring out the similarities and difference with Marx’s monetary theory. -
Measuring the Great Depression
Lesson 1 | Measuring the Great Depression Lesson Description In this lesson, students learn about data used to measure an economy’s health—inflation/deflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), output measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and unemployment measured by the unemployment rate. Students analyze graphs of these data, which provide snapshots of the economy during the Great Depression. These graphs help students develop an understanding of the condition of the economy, which is critical to understanding the Great Depression. Concepts Consumer Price Index Deflation Depression Inflation Nominal Gross Domestic Product Real Gross Domestic Product Unemployment rate Objectives Students will: n Define inflation and deflation, and explain the economic effects of each. n Define Consumer Price Index (CPI). n Define Gross Domestic Product (GDP). n Explain the difference between Nominal Gross Domestic Product and Real Gross Domestic Product. n Interpret and analyze graphs and charts that depict economic data during the Great Depression. Content Standards National Standards for History Era 8, Grades 9-12: n Standard 1: The causes of the Great Depression and how it affected American society. n Standard 1A: The causes of the crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. National Standards in Economics n Standard 18: A nation’s overall levels of income, employment and prices are determined by the interaction of spending and production decisions made by all households, firms, government agencies and others in the economy. • Benchmark 1, Grade 8: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a basic measure of a nation’s economic output and income. It is the total market value, measured in dollars, of all final goods and services produced in the economy in a year. -
STATISTICS BRIEF Purchasing Power Parities – Measurement and Uses
STATISTICS Purchasing power BRIEF parities – measurement 2002 March No. 3 and uses by Paul Schreyer and Francette Koechlin How does one compare economic data between countries that is expressed in units of national currency? And in particular, how should measures of production and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) be converted into a common unit? One answer to this ques- tion is to use market exchange rates. While straightforward, this turns out to be an unsatisfactory solution for many purposes – primarily because exchange rates reflect so many more influences than the direct price comparisons that are required to make In this issue volume comparisons. Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs) provide such a price compari- son and this is the rationale for the work of the OECD and other international organisa- 1 What are PPPs? tions in this field (see chart 1). The OECD publishes new sets of benchmark PPPs every three years, drawing on detailed international price comparisons. Every time a new set of 2 Who uses them? benchmark PPPs is released, this also gives rise to a new set of international compari- 3 How to measure sons of levels of GDP and economic welfare. economic welfare, ... 3 ... the size of economies, ... What are PPPs? 4 ... productivity ? In their simplest form, PPPs are price relatives, which show the ratio of the prices in 5 Comparing price levels national currencies of the same good or service in different countries. A well-known 5 Inter-temporal compari- example of a one-product comparison is The Economist’s BigMacCurrency index, sons: using current presented by the journal as ”burgernomics”, whereby the BigMac PPP is the conversion or constant PPPs rate that would mean hamburgers cost the same in America as abroad. -
U.S. Policy in the Bretton Woods Era I
54 I Allan H. Meltzer Allan H. Meltzer is a professor of political economy and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University and is a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. This paper; the fifth annual Homer Jones Memorial Lecture, was delivered at Washington University in St. Louis on April 8, 1991. Jeffrey Liang provided assistance in preparing this paper The views expressed in this paper are those of Mr Meltzer and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. U.S. Policy in the Bretton Woods Era I T IS A SPECIAL PLEASURE for me to give world now rely on when they want to know the Homer Jones lecture before this distinguish- what has happened to monetary growth and ed audience, many of them Homer’s friends. the growth of other non-monetary aggregates. 1 am persuaded that the publication and wide I I first met Homer in 1964 when he invited me dissemination of these facts in the 1960s and to give a seminar at the Bank. At the time, I was 1970s did much more to get the monetarist case a visiting professor at the University of Chicago, accepted than we usually recognize. 1 don’t think I on leave from Carnegie-Mellon. Karl Brunner Homer was surprised at that outcome. He be- and I had just completed a study of the Federal lieved in the power of ideas, but he believed Reserve’s monetary policy operations for Con- that ideas were made powerful by their cor- gressman Patman’s House Banking Committee. -
World Gold Council – Our Mission
Gold in Islamic Finance – Opportunities for Standardisation November 2018 World Gold Council – Our mission • The gold industry’s market development organisation • The recognised global authority on gold and its uses • Active in stimulating and sustaining demand in key markets and sectors • Focused on: o lowering barriers to gold ownership o raising industry standards and enhancing market infrastructure to increase market efficiency, transparency and trust o increasing the understanding of gold as a mainstream investment asset • Offices in London (head office), New York, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Mumbai World Gold Council | Gold in Islamic Finance - Standardisation | November 2018 2 1 AAOIFI Shari’ah Standard on Gold World Gold Council | Gold in Islamic Finance - Standardisation | November 2018 3 AAOIFI Shari’ah Standard on Gold The AAOIFI Shari’ah Standard clarifies the Shari’ah treatment of gold trading and investing. It was launched at the World Islamic Banking Conference in 2016. A dedicated website (www.shariahgold.com) hosts the Standard and related materials. World Gold Council | Gold in Islamic Finance - Standardisation | November 2018 4 2 Industry reaction “AAOIFI’s Shari’ah expertise and the World Gold Council’s industry know-how have ensured that the Standard becomes the basis not only for the inclusion of a historically and economically important asset class, but for the stability of Islamic Financial Institutions around the world.” Sheikh Yusuf DeLorenzo International Shari’ah Scholar and advisor to Dow Jones -
Thomas Jordan: What Constitutes Sound Money?
Speech Embargo 8 October 2020, 11.30 am What constitutes sound money? Economic Conference, Progress Foundation Thomas J. Jordan Chairman of the Governing Board∗ Swiss National Bank Zurich, 8 October 2020 © Swiss National Bank, Zurich, 2020 (speech given in German) ∗ The speaker would like to thank Romain Baeriswyl and Peter Kuster for their support in preparing this text. He also thanks Simone Auer, Petra Gerlach, Carlos Lenz, Alexander Perruchoud and the SNB Language Services. Page 1/8 Ladies and gentlemen As the title of today’s event clearly states: supplying the economy with sound money is a constant challenge. I am therefore particularly pleased to have the opportunity to examine the issue of ‘What constitutes sound money?’ with you in more detail here. After all, as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, I represent an institution that is responsible for providing our country with sound money, a task we have performed since our foundation 113 years ago. Sound money is crucial in a society that is shaped by the division of labour and the exchange of goods and services – as has been demonstrated not least by the experience gained with a wide range of monetary orders over many centuries. Today, money is used in virtually all economic transactions. A sound monetary system is an essential prerequisite for a modern economy, for efficient trade and for social stability. Given how significant the monetary system is, it is only right and proper that the associated developments are also the subject of regular public debate. With this conference dedicated exclusively to the issue of sound money, you are making an important contribution in this regard.