We propose a method of constructing multisector-multiregion input-output tables, based on the standard multisector tables and the tools of spatial econometrics. Voivodship-level (NUTS-2) and subregion-level data (NUTS-3) on sectoral value added is used to fit a spatial model, based on a modification of the Durbin model. The structural coefficients are calibrated, based on I-O multipliers, while the spatial weight matrices are estimated as parsimoniously parametrised functions of physical distance and limited supply in certain regions. We incorporate additional restrictions to derive proportions in which every cross-sectoral flow should be interpolated into cross-regional flow matrix. All calculations are based on publicly available data. The method is illustrated with an example of regional economic impact assessment for a generic construction company located in Eastern Poland.

We attempt to apply a New Keynesian open economy model to simulate the economic consequences of influenza epidemic in Poland and measure the output loss (indirect cost) related to this disease. We introduce a negative health shock on the supply side of the economy and demonstrate that such a shock – implemented as a reduction in labour utilisation under unchanged labour cost – is not equivalent to negative labour supply shock. As expectational effects may hypothetically play a significant role in determining the economic cost of influenza, we attempt to endogenise the mechanism of epidemic in the model for the rational expectations solution algorithm to take account for the possibility of epidemic. This attempt has failed for the standard SIR model of epidemic and for the standard Blanchard-Kahn-like local solution methods, as the SIR block is only consistent with Blanchard-Kahn conditions under herd immunity of the population. In the deterministic simulation with the number of infected given exogenously, the output loss resulting from influenza-related presenteeism and absenteeism was estimated at 0.004% of the steady state level on average in the period 2000‒2013. The simulated indirect cost in the New Keynesian model has turned out to be lower than the estimates that one could possibly obtain using the human capital approach. The reason for this discrepancy is the demand-oriented construction of the New Keynesian framework, and we treat this result as closer in notion to what the friction cost approach might suggest.

This article introduces and applies two refinements to the algorithm of solving rational expectations models of a currency union. Firstly, building upon Klein (2000), it generalizes the standard methods of solving rational expectations models to the case of time-varying nonstochastic parameters, recurring in a finite cycle. Such a specification occurs in a simple stylized New Keynesian model of the euro area after a joint introduction of (i) rotation in the ECB Governing Council (as constituted by the Treaty of Nice) and (ii) home bias in the interest rate decisions preferred by its members. Secondly, we apply the method of Christiano (2002) to solve the model with heterogenous information sets. This is justified if we argue that the information set of domestic economic agents in a currency union is home-biased (i.e. foreign shocks enter only with a lag). Both methods of solution are illustrated with simulation results.

The Walters critique of EMU presumed that pro-cyclical country-specific real interest rates would incorporate significant macroeconomic instability in an environment of asymmetric shocks. The literature on optimum currency areas suggests a number of criteria to minimize this risk, such as market flexibility, high degrees of openness, financial integration or similarity in inflation rates. In this paper, we argue that an essential part of macroeconomic volatility in a monetary union’s member country also depends on the mechanism of forming expectations. This is mainly due to (i) the construction of ex ante countryspecific real interest rate, implying a strong or weak negative correlation with current inflation rate and (ii) anticipated (and hence smoothed) loss in competitiveness and boom-bust cycle. In a 2-region 2-sector New Keynesian DSGE model, we apply 5 different specifications of ex ante real interest rates, based on commonly considered types of expectations: rational, adaptive, static, extrapolative and regressive, as well as their hybrids. Our simulations show that rational expectations dominate the other specifications in terms of minimizing the volatility of the most macroeconomic variables. This conclusion is generally insensitive to which group of agents (producers or consumers) and which region (home or foreign) forms the expectations. It also turns out that for some types of expectations the Walters critique indeed applies, i.e. the system does not fulfil the Blanchard-Kahn conditions or the system’s companion matrix has explosive eigenvalues.

In the public debate, it is argued that Poland avoided a massive drop in output during the 2008/2009 economic crisis in part thanks to substantial nominal zloty’s depreciation against the euro. The Polish case is often contrasted with Slovakia that adopted the euro in January 2009 and, since the Ecofin Council decision in summer 2008, exhibited virtually no nominal exchange rate volatility while facing deep losses in output. In this paper we attempt to validate this contrast by reversing the roles, i.e. checking if Poland really would have faced the same drop – and Slovakia would have remained relatively resilient – if it had been Poland, not Slovakia, that adopted the euro at that point. Our counterfactual simulations based on a New Keynesian DSGE model indicate that, indeed, the Polish tradable output could have been 10‒15 percent lower than actually observed in 2009, while the Slovak one – approximately 20 percent higher. This asymmetry results mainly from structural differences between the two economies, such as size, openness, share of nontradable sector and foreign trade elasticities. The difference of this size would have been short-lived (3‒4 quarters), and the difference of the nontradable output would have been of much lower magnitude.

This paper estimates the magnitude of the Baumol-Bowen and Balassa-Samuleson effects in the Polish economy. The purpose of the analysis is to establish to what extent the differential price dynamics in Poland and in the euro area and the real appreciation of PLN against EUR are explained by the differential in respective productivity dynamics. The historical contribution of the Baumol-Bowen effect to Polish inflation rate is estimated at 0.9 − 1.0 percentage points in the short run. According to estimation results, the Balassa-Samuelson effect contributed around 0.9 to 1.0 percentage point per annum to the rate of relative price growth between Poland and the euro area and 1.0 to 1.2 p.p. to real exchange rate appreciation. The long-run effects are of an approximately twice larger magnitude. Sub-sample calculations and productivity trends over the last decade suggest that this impact should be declining. However, its size is still non-negligible for policymakers in the context of euro adoption in Poland.

In a national economy, are individual subnational regions business cycle takers or setters? We address this important regional policy question by investigating regional business cycles at NUTS-3 granularity in Poland (N = 73), using two metrics in parallel: GDP dynamics and unemployment. To extract the business cycle, we use a spatial Markov switching model that features both idiosyncratic business cycle fluctuations across regions (as a 2-state chain), as well as spatial interactions with other regions (as spatial autoregression). The posterior distribution of the parameters is simulated with a Metropolis-withinGibbs procedure. We find a clear division into business cycle setters and takers, the latter being largely (but not only) non-metropolitan regions.