International Economic Studies

  The paper uses economic and energy data analysis and econometric modeling to study the prospects and challenges of Korea€™s 2003 FTA Roadmap (MOFAT 2013) in the form of potential comprehensive partnerships with its major trade and energy partners. It first reviews Korea€™s international economic and trade relations in recent years with a focus on its major merchandise export destinations and energy imports, and their association with the country€™s economic performance. A causal model of endogenous growth, gravity trade and energy imports for Korea in an economic integration theory framework (Tran 2012 Tran and Limskul 2013) is then developed to investigate the structural effects between these sectors. Empirical findings by system estimation are finally used to provide predictive policy implications for comprehensive partnerships between Korea and major resources-rich countries in the Middle East and potentially Iran.     

 International trade causes that markets to become more competitive and small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) learn to compete effectively within this increasingly competitive global market place. SMEs are able to take advantage of increased opportunities in domestic markets that follow from international trade. It is indeed a way for internationalization of SMEs. This paper analyzes income and price elasticities of the export model which has been specified for export market of SMEs€™ in the selected Asian countries. The estimated elasticities revealed the responsiveness of exporting goods supplied by the SMEs in these countries with respect to changes in different incomes and relative export price. Accordingly, we estimate an export regression model (including demand and supply equations) based on the cross-sectional observations of the selected Asian countries including China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Vietnam and Pakistan over the period 1990-2008. We have found that price and income elasticities are statistically significant and have the expected signs. The implication of our findings is that price and income are appropriate determinants for international trade expanded by Asian SMEs.       JEL Classification: C23, F14, O47, P42  

  The main purpose of present study is to analyze the relationship between stock and exchange markets in two Asian countries, Iran and South Korea. A monthly time series of stock price and exchange rate are used over the period 2002: 05 - 2012: 03. The data is collected from the Central Bank of each country and WDI. The calculated stock return and real exchange rate change are used in analysis. An econometric multiple generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (MGARCH) BEKK method and the Rats software are applied to analyze a dynamic relationship between two markets in each country. The estimated results show a bidirectional relationship between two markets in South Korean economy and only a unidirectional relationship from exchange market to stock market in Iranian economy. The persistence of volatility transmission effects of each market on its own is also found in each economy. In the exchange market, this effect is in opposite direction in Iran compared to Korea, whereas in the stock market both effects are positive and almost the same in two economies. The policy implication of finding is clear. The financial policymakers should watch both stock and exchange markets in two economies to prevent the bidirectional volatility effects between two markets in Korea and the unidirectional volatility from the exchange market to sock market in Iran.       JEL Classification : F31, G10  

 This work was supported by the Academy of Korean Studies of the Republic of Korea in year 2012-2013 (AKS-2010-CAA-2101) Energy security has assumed newfound geopolitical importance at the outset of XXI century (Moran and Russell, 2008). Diminishing fossil fuel supplies have led to fears of energy shortages, while rapid economic and population growth have fuelled the demand for cheap, clean and secure sources of energy. The provision of reliable and affordable energy, once the domain of domestic policy, has emerged as a key concern of policymakers. To ensure energy security, leaders confront a complex set of economic, political, and environmental issues that transcend national boundaries. Should they fail to meet this challenge, energy is one of the few issues in today€™s international system with a distinct possibility to incite conflict between major powers. At the same time, trade in energy resources has the potential to usurp pre-existing economic or cultural ties €“ and overcome deep-seated distrust €“ to create new geopolitical alignments and alliances.      JEL Classification : Q00

Consumption is the principal feature of Iran€™s Gross National Production. Therefore, recognizing of factors that influence it is quite crucial. This article, investigates habit formation, durability, relative risk aversion and intertemporal substitution in consumption expenditures of Iranian households. For empirical study, at first, we constructed two weighted portfolio of the main assets return that households hold them. Then, by using generalized method of moments, we examined some models with the mentioned factors in pattern of households€™ consumption for 1979-2012 periods. Our Empirical findings indicated that for durable goods, the effect of habit persistence dominated the effect of durability in consumption expenditures and for semi durable goods vice versa. Also, for semi-durable and durable goods the effect of durability dominated the effect of habit formation. Furthermore, the results indicate that coefficients of relative risk aversion and elasticity of intertemporal substitution are between 0.25 to 0.95 and 1.05 to 4, respectively.    JEL Classification: C26, D91, G11

Monetary policy rule is an approach to avoid time inconsistency problem as regarded by new classical economist to choose a time plan for policy making in order to maximize households€™ well-being. The foundation of time inconsistency problem is not coincidence of expectations as an ex-ante variable, which is expected variable, with actual variable as an ex-post variable. Expectations in Finn Kydland and Edward Prescott as the 2004 laureates of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, is rational and formed only by a representative agent because of the discretionary policy of benevolent planner. However the benevolent planner may be as an international planner. In this paper, we develop the model of Kydland and Prescott, by substituting the assumption of heterogeneous households (a domestic household and foreign household) instead of a representative agent and using heterogeneous beliefs. The recent assumption helps us to have an alternative time inconsistency equilibrium with at least two different sources of expectations, which is called Dichotomy Sources of Expectations (DSE) as the main contribution of this paper .We then use expectations-adjusted Phillips curve to see the conditions of time inconsistency of k percent monetary rule of Friedman in a framework of DSE €™s Model . The results show that expectations-adjusted Phillips curve in a society with DSE is not vertical and Friedman's k-percent rule may not be optimal. We find out that, not only an international benevolent planner but also a foreign household must set a rule to maximize the well-being of the world. Indeed, we need a multi-dimensional rule for any international monetary policy.   JEL Classification: D83, D81, D84, E52, E63