Are the current accounts of Asian-5 economies mean-reverting? New evidence from Fourier panel stationarity tests

Abstract

AbstractThis study offers a novel examination of the mean-reversion properties of the current account balances, expressed as a percentage of GDP, for the Asian-5 economies: Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. While prior studies mainly employed traditional unit-root tests, our research stands out for its use of novel panel stationarity tests that account for cross-sectional dependence and incorporate both sharp and smooth structural breaks via a Fourier function. Our findings robustly indicate the sustainability of the current accounts of the Asian-5 nations. The emphasis on the significance of structural breaks with a Fourier component sets this research apart, offering fresh perspectives on the intricacies of current account mean-reversion dynamics and the long-term sustainability implications for these economies.

Keywords

• stationarity
• nonlinearity
• Fourier function
• current account
• C22
• F32