Winfried Koeniger
Thumbnail Image
Title
Prof. Dr.
Last Name
Koeniger
First name
Winfried
Email
winfried.koeniger@unisg.ch
Phone
+41 71 224 23 09
Homepage

Filters

6
Reset filters

Settings
Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Publication
    Monitoring Consumption Switzerland: Data, Background, and Use Cases
    (School of Economics and Political Science, 2023-01)
    Brown, Martin
    ;
    Fengler, Matthias
    ;
    Huwyler, Jonas
    ;
    Koeniger, Winfried
    ;
    Lalive, Rafael
    ;
    Rohrkemper, Robert
    Type: working paper
    Volume: 2023
    Issue: 01
    URL: https://ideas.repec.org/p/usg/econwp/202301.html
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/107842
  • Publication
    Opportunity and Inequality across Generations
    (CESifo Working Paper No. 8099, University of St.Gallen SEPS Working Paper No. 2020-03, 2020-02)
    Koeniger, Winfried
    ;
    Zanella, Carlo
    We analyze inequality and mobility across generations in a dynastic economy. Nurture, in terms of bequests and the schooling investment into the next generation, is observable but the draw of nature in terms of ability is hidden, stochastic and persistent across generations. We calibrate the model to U.S. data to illustrate mechanisms through which nurture and nature affect mobility and the transmission of income inequality across generations, thus complementing the vast empirical literature. To provide a benchmark for the observed status quo, we solve for the social optimum in which the planner weighs dynasties equally and chooses optimal tax schedules subject to incentive compatibility. Analyzing the transition from the calibrated steady state to this social optimum, we find that insurance against intergenerational ability risk increases on the transition path by making welfare of family dynasties more dependent on nurture relative to nature. The insurance comes at the cost of less social mobility. We compare welfare in the social optimum and economies with a simple history-independent tax and subsidy system.
    Type: working paper
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/112429
  • Publication
    Differences in Euro-Area Household Finances and their Relevance for Monetary-Policy Transmission
    (CESifo Working Paper No. 7088, University of St.Gallen SEPS Working Paper No. 2018-06, 2018-05)
    Hintermaier, Thomas
    ;
    Koeniger, Winfried
    This paper quantifies the extent of heterogeneity in consumption responses to changes in real interest rates and house prices in the four largest economies in the euro area: France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. We first calibrate a life-cycle incomplete-markets model with a liquid financial asset and illiquid housing to match the large heterogeneity of households asset portfolios, observed in the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) for these countries. We then show that the heterogeneity in household finances implies that responses of consumption to changes in the real interest rate and in house prices differ substantially across the analyzed countries, and across age groups within these countries. The different consumption responses quantified in this paper point towards important heterogeneity in monetary-policy transmission within the euro area.
    Type: working paper
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/100527
  • Publication
    Home Ownership and Monetary Policy Transmission
    ( 2018-11)
    Koeniger, Winfried
    ;
    Ramelet, Marc-Antoine
    We present empirical evidence on the heterogeneity in monetary policy transmission across countries with different home ownership rates. We use household-level data together with shocks to the policy rate identified from high-frequency data. We find that housing tenure reacts more strongly to unexpected changes in the policy rate in Germany and Switzerland –the OECD countries with the lowest home ownership rates– compared with existing evidence for the U.S. An unexpected decrease in the policy rate by 25 basis points increases the home ownership rate by 0.8 percentage points in Germany and by 0.6 percentage points in Switzerland. The response of non-housing consumption in Switzerland is less heterogeneous across renters and mortgagors, and has a different pattern across age groups than in the U.S. We discuss economic explanations for these findings and implications for monetary policy.
    Type: working paper
    Journal: CESifo Working Paper No. 7361, CFS Working Paper No. 615, IZA Discussion Paper No. 11950, University of St.Gallen SEPS Working Paper No. 2018-14.
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/99905
  • Publication
    Towards Understanding Differences in European Household Finances
    (ADEMU Working Paper Series, Working Paper No. 2016/017, 2016)
    Koeniger, Winfried
    ;
    Hintermaier, Thomas
    Type: working paper
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/105226
  • Publication
    Currency Mismatch, Uncertainty and Debt Maturity Structure
    ( 2004-11)
    Fratzscher, Marcel
    ;
    Bussière, Matthieu
    ;
    Koeniger, Winfried
    The academic literature has so far little to say about the underlying causes of the large structural asset and liability imbalances of emerging markets that frequently contributed to financial crises. The aim of the paper is to contribute to filling this gap by proposing a theoretical model that links currency and maturity mismatches with real volatility in the economy. We show that if (i) a significant share of the debt is denominated in foreign currency-creating a currency mismatch- and (ii) borrowing is constrained by solvency, then currency mismatch can create and exacerbate a maturity mismatch. An important feature of the model is that higher economic or political uncertainty tightens solvency constraints and tilts the debt profile towards short term debt, thereby increasing the volatility of output. Taking the model implications to the data, we find empirical support for the model's predictions using data for 28 emerging market economies.
    Type: working paper
    Journal: Working Paper Series 409, European Central Bank.
    URI: https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/67354