The Feldstein-Horioka Puzzle in South Africa: A Fractional Cointegration Approach

Luis Gil-Alana, Christophe André, Rangan Gupta, Tsangyao Chang and Omid Ranjbar ()

No 201501, Working Papers from University of Pretoria, Department of Economics

Abstract: The Feldstein-Horioka (FH) puzzle, that is the strong correlation between saving and investment in a world where obstacles to capital mobility are limited, has been studied extensively since it was exposed in 1980. Even though the theoretical and empirical literature has examined many of its potential causes, the puzzle persists. This paper aims at shedding further light on the issue by investigating the relationship between saving and investment in South Africa since 1946 using fractional integration and cointegration techniques to account for high persistence in the series. We find evidence of fractional cointegration between saving and investment, indicating some degree of persistence in the gap between the two variables. We also find a structural break in saving and investment ratios to GDP around 1980, which roughly coincides with the start of a financial deregulation process in South Africa. While fractional cointegration holds before the break, it does not thereafter. In other words, while the FH puzzle is observed before the start of financial deregulation, it subsequently disappears. This suggests financial deregulation may have loosened the link between saving and investment.

Keywords: Feldstein-Horioka Puzzle; Long-Memory; Fractional Cointegration; South Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C22 C32 E21 E22 F41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 23 pages
Date: 2015-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mac
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
Journal Article: The Feldstein--Horioka puzzle in South Africa: A fractional cointegration approach (2016)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pre:wpaper:201501

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from University of Pretoria, Department of Economics Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Rangan Gupta ().