Identifying Uncertainty Shocks due to Geopolitical Swings in Korea

Seohyun Lee, Inhwan So () and Jongrim Ha
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Inhwan So: International Department, The Bank of Korea

No 2018-26, Working Papers from Economic Research Institute, Bank of Korea

Abstract: Using a novel set of instrumental variables in a structural VAR framework, we investigate the economic impact of uncertainty shocks stemming from geopolitical swings in South Korea. We construct robust instrumental variables for examining the variations in uncertainty due to geopolitical swings by observing high-frequency changes in financial asset returns and their volatilities at around the times of such geopolitical events. Our empirical results show that heightened (reduced) geopolitical uncertainty has a negative (positive) impact on macroeconomic outcomes in South Korea. We provide evidence that financial and capital market movements - fluctuations in exchange rates and sovereign spreads, changes in financial asset prices and market volatility, and swings in foreign investment - play important roles in the transmission of uncertainty shocks.

Keywords: Uncertainty; Geopolitical risk; IV SVAR; South and North Korea. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C32 D81 E32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 82 pages
Date: 2018-09-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mac
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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http://papers.bok.or.kr/RePEc_attach/wpaper/english/wp-2018-26.pdf Working Paper, 2018 (application/pdf)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bok:wpaper:1826

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