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Tobias Schuler
Economics
- Division
Euro Area External Sector
- Current Position
-
Senior Economist
- Fields of interest
-
Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics,International Economics
- Education
- 2017
PhD in Economics, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
- Professional experience
- 2021
Senior Economist - Euro Area External Sector Division, Directorate General Economics, European Central Bank
- 2019
Economist - Euro Area External Sector Division, Directorate General Economics, European Central Bank
- 2017-2018
Economist and Post-doctoral Researcher - ifo Institute, Center for Macroeconomics, University of Munich
- Awards
- 2019
Best Paper Award in Fiscal Policy Seminar - German Ministry of Finance
- Teaching experience
- 2018
Current Topics in International Finance, Coburg University, Germany
- 2017
International Financial Management, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy
- 23 September 2024
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - ARTICLEEconomic Bulletin Issue 6, 2024Details
- Abstract
- Over the past few decades, the euro area has gradually lost market share in global trade. This article describes the long-term trends underlying the decline in the euro area’s market share, relating it to losses in competitiveness in foreign markets. It explains how a series of recent global shocks – such as pandemic-related supply disruptions, geopolitical tensions and the energy shock following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – as well as other factors affecting price and non-price competitiveness had an asymmetric impact on the euro area compared with its main trading partners and exposed important vulnerabilities in its external competitiveness. These vulnerabilities are particularly significant in view of the challenges ahead, which are linked to the persistence of the energy shock, risks associated with geo-economic fragmentation and the ongoing structural transformation of the European and global economies.
- JEL Code
- F14 : International Economics→Trade→Empirical Studies of Trade
- 3 September 2024
- THE ECB BLOGDetails
- JEL Code
- F13 : International Economics→Trade→Trade Policy, International Trade Organizations
H25 : Public Economics→Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue→Business Taxes and Subsidies
- 9 November 2023
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - BOXEconomic Bulletin Issue 7, 2023Details
- Abstract
- The decrease in euro area import prices since March 2023 has been associated with the normalisation of global supply chains amid the re-opening of the Chinese economy. Meanwhile, Chinese producer price inflation has been negative for some time, mainly driven by declining Chinese commodity prices and other China-specific factors. Lower producer prices have put downward pressure on China’s export prices and, in turn, on euro area import prices. Economic developments in China also affect euro area import prices indirectly, given China’s important role in the global demand for commodities and as a supplier of intermediate and capital goods to the rest of the world. Empirical evidence from a structural VAR analysis points to tangible spillovers to euro area import prices from Chinese demand and supply shocks, both during the surge in import prices in 2021-22 and in the subsequent plunge in 2023. The magnitude of the estimated disinflationary impact of falling Chinese producer/export prices on euro area HICP inflation is more limited, as euro area consumer price developments also depend on many other factors.
- JEL Code
- E31 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Price Level, Inflation, Deflation
F41 : International Economics→Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance→Open Economy Macroeconomics
- 19 May 2023
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - BOXEconomic Bulletin Issue 3, 2023Details
- Abstract
- This box provides empirical evidence on the role of the recent energy price shock in affecting price competitiveness and euro area export performance. At the aggregate level, an analysis based on a structural vector autoregression (SVAR) shows that the chief drivers of export dynamics in the past two years have been shifts in global demand conditions and the effects of supply bottlenecks. The energy supply shock has played a relatively minor role in dampening overall export growth, lowering it by about one percentage point on average over the past year. However, the energy shock may have played a greater role in more exposed sectors, as euro area exports have decreased strongly in high energy-intensive sectors over the past year. Indicators based on relative prices point to a loss of competitiveness for the euro area during 2022. The medium-term outlook for euro area competitiveness may deteriorate further on account of structural changes in energy costs because of the diversification of gas sources and the energy transition, which may lead to higher input costs for euro area exporters compared with their foreign competitors.
- JEL Code
- F1 : International Economics→Trade
- 7 November 2022
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - BOXEconomic Bulletin Issue 7, 2022Details
- Abstract
- This Box provides an assessment of trends in European trade in goods and the tourism sector in 2022 using Purchasing Manager Indices (PMI). For goods trade, the analysis shows that bottlenecks in the international supply chain tend to precede upward pressures on import prices for intermediate goods. These pressures are now slowly easing as export demand weakens and supply chains adjust. For services, an earlier surge in bookings in the tourism sector has led to higher prices in that sector. Higher input prices in the tourism and recreation sector, waning pent-up demand for travel, falling real incomes and rising uncertainty may start to dampen demand for European tourism and recreation trade in services in the coming months.
- JEL Code
- E31 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Price Level, Inflation, Deflation
F10 : International Economics→Trade→General
L83 : Industrial Organization→Industry Studies: Services→Sports, Gambling, Restaurants, Recreation, Tourism
- 4 August 2022
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 2696Details
- Abstract
- We investigate the factors driving current account and monetary policy developments in the euro area. We estimate an open-economy structural vector autoregression (VAR) model with zero and sign restrictions derived from a multi-country dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model to identify relevant shocks and analyse their impact on the current account and interest rate. Examining the VAR impulse responses for Germany, Italy and Spain we find that investment shocks and preference shocks drive the current account and interest rates in the opposite directions. By contrast, external demand shocks and productivity shocks cause both the current account balance and interest rate to move in the same direction. We also provide evidence for spillovers to the euro area from US preference shocks and US interest rate policy shocks.
- JEL Code
- E32 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Business Fluctuations, Cycles
F32 : International Economics→International Finance→Current Account Adjustment, Short-Term Capital Movements
F45 : International Economics→Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance
- 21 June 2022
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - BOXEconomic Bulletin Issue 4, 2022Details
- Abstract
- This box examines recent developments in euro area food inflation and the channels through which it is being affected by the Russia-Ukraine war. Euro area HICP food inflation reached a historical high in April 2022. The rise has been driven primarily by increasing global energy and food commodity prices since the second half of 2021. The war and its repercussions are hindering the import of energy and food commodities in the euro area and contributing to further increases in global prices. While the European Union is mostly self-sufficient in terms of agricultural products, producing more than it consumes, this is exacerbating already existing pressures in euro area food markets.
- JEL Code
- E31 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Price Level, Inflation, Deflation
F10 : International Economics→Trade→General
F51 : International Economics→International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy→International Conflicts, Negotiations, Sanctions
- 21 June 2022
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - BOXEconomic Bulletin Issue 4, 2022Details
- Abstract
- This box provides an overview of the impact that the war in Ukraine has had on euro area energy markets. Energy commodity and electricity prices spiked in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and have been highly volatile ever since. Russia supplies a considerable amount of energy to the euro area, particularly gas. The European Union introduced economic sanctions targeting the Russian energy industry, most notably the coal and oil sectors, while steps are also being taken towards becoming independent of Russian gas. After the initial price spikes, energy commodity prices moderated, owing partly to the EU’s sanctions and also helped by other policy initiatives such as historically large releases of strategic oil reserves. Higher energy commodity prices intensified the pressure on euro area consumer prices in February and March 2022, while some of this pressure was alleviated in April and May as a result of government measures.
- JEL Code
- Q43 : Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics, Environmental and Ecological Economics→Energy→Energy and the Macroeconomy
E31 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Price Level, Inflation, Deflation
Q02 : Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics, Environmental and Ecological Economics→General→Global Commodity Markets
N44 : Economic History→Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation→Europe: 1913?
- 25 April 2022
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - BOXEconomic Bulletin Issue 3, 2022Details
- Abstract
- The recent sharp increase in energy prices has significantly pushed up euro area import prices, resulting in a deterioration in the euro area terms of trade. As the demand for energy is rigid in the short term, this implies a transfer of purchasing power from the euro area to the rest of the world. We estimate a net income loss of 1.3 percentage points of GDP in the last quarter of 2021 as compared with the previous year. This consists in a drop of 3.5 percentage points of GDP due to the rise in energy prices, which is only partly offset by higher euro area export prices. The resulting widening of the deficit in the energy trade balance has reduced the euro area current account balance, and this effect is only partially compensated for by other components.
- JEL Code
- B17 : History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches→History of Economic Thought through 1925
F4 : International Economics→Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance
- 23 September 2021
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - BOXEconomic Bulletin Issue 6, 2021Details
- Abstract
- This box documents recent transport and input-related bottlenecks in global trade and shows how euro area countries have been particularly affected. An empirical analysis assesses the impact of supply bottlenecks on global and euro area export growth and estimates the cumulated shortfall for the level of goods exports to be 6.7% for the euro area and 2.3% for the rest of the world.
- JEL Code
- F10 : International Economics→Trade→General
D24 : Microeconomics→Production and Organizations→Production, Cost, Capital, Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity, Capacity
E23 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy→Production
E31 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Price Level, Inflation, Deflation
- 13 September 2021
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 2588Details
- Abstract
- In response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, there has been a complementary approach to monetary and fiscal policy in the United States with the Federal Reserve System purchasing extraordinary quantities of securities and the government running a deficit of some 17% of projected GDP. The Federal Reserve pushed the discount rate close to zero and stabilised financial markets with emergency liquidity provided through a new open-ended long-term asset purchase programme. To capture the interventions, we develop a model in which the central bank uses reserves to buy much of the huge issuance of government bonds and this offsets the impact of shutdowns and lockdowns in the real economy. We show that these actions reduced lending costs and amplified the impact of supportive fiscal policies. We then run a counterfactual analysis which suggests that if the Federal Reserve had not intervened to such a degree, the economy may have experienced a significantly deeper contraction as a result from the Covid-19 pandemic.
- JEL Code
- E31 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Price Level, Inflation, Deflation
E40 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Money and Interest Rates→General
E51 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Money Supply, Credit, Money Multipliers
- 27 August 2021
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 2586Details
- Abstract
- We investigate, in the case of Germany, the positive correlation between the cyclical components of the corporate saving glut in the non-financial corporate sector and the current account surplus from a capital account perspective. Employing sign restrictions, our findings suggest that mostly labor supply, world demand and financial friction shocks account for the joint dynamics of excess corporate saving and the current account surplus. Household saving shocks, by contrast, cannot explain the correlation. We conclude that, explained through these factors, the corporate saving glut is an important driver of the cyclical component of the current account.
- JEL Code
- E32 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Business Fluctuations, Cycles
F32 : International Economics→International Finance→Current Account Adjustment, Short-Term Capital Movements
F45 : International Economics→Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance
- 4 May 2021
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - ARTICLEEconomic Bulletin Issue 3, 2021Details
- Abstract
- This article aims to take stock of how Brexit-related developments in UK import demand affected euro area foreign demand over the period 2016-19. UK import growth has slowed markedly since the Brexit referendum in 2016, particularly in terms of imports from the EU. We find that the depreciation of sterling squeezed UK household purchasing power, leading to lower import demand. We employ an ECM regression of UK import growth on the various GDP components and relative prices and detect a reduction in the UK’s overall import propensity since the referendum. We also identify sustainability risks for euro area foreign demand emanating from the UK’s balance of payments.
- JEL Code
- F14 : International Economics→Trade→Empirical Studies of Trade
F17 : International Economics→Trade→Trade Forecasting and Simulation
F32 : International Economics→International Finance→Current Account Adjustment, Short-Term Capital Movements
- 4 January 2021
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - BOXEconomic Bulletin Issue 8, 2020Details
- Abstract
- This box assesses the implications of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic for the euro area tourism sector, trade in travel services and consumption of non-residents. Declining mobility during the pandemic has led to a slump in trade in services and tourism. As a result, the drop in non-resident consumption has acted as a shock amplification mechanism in countries exporting tourism services, i.e. countries which receive a lot of tourists, and as a shock absorption mechanism in countries importing tourism services. The partial recovery of tourism services observed during the summer months was mostly generated by domestic tourism substituting foreign tourism. The reintroduction of travel restrictions in October will likely imply that this substitution will continue to affect the dynamics of tourism services. High-frequency data on tourism, travel and services production point to a renewed overall deterioration of tourism services in the final quarter of 2020.
- JEL Code
- E01 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→General→Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth, Environmental Accounts
E21 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy→Consumption, Saving, Wealth
F14 : International Economics→Trade→Empirical Studies of Trade
Z3 : Other Special Topics
- 31 August 2020
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 2463Details
- Abstract
- The Federal Reserve responded to the global financial crisis by initiating an unprecedented expansion of central bank money (bank reserves) once the policy rate had reached the lower bound. To capture the salient features of the crisis, we develop a model where the central bank can provide reserves on demand and also use reserves to buy government bonds. We show that the provision of reserves through either channel reduces the cost of providing loans as they act as a substitute for private sector collateral and costly monitoring activity. We illustrate this mechanism by examining the role of reserves in projecting stable growth in broad money after the financial crisis. We also run a counterfactual which suggests that, if the Federal Reserve had not provided bank reserves on such a large scale, broad money would have fallen, the economy might have experienced a deeper contraction, and the recovery would have been more protracted, taking perhaps twice as long to return to equilibrium.
- JEL Code
- E31 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Price Level, Inflation, Deflation
E40 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Money and Interest Rates→General
E51 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Money Supply, Credit, Money Multipliers
- 17 June 2020
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - BOXEconomic Bulletin Issue 4, 2020Details
- Abstract
- The lockdown measures adopted to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and confidence effects are having a significant impact on euro area trade in services. Among several heterogeneous sectors, those involving physical contact are severely affected. The travel sector has been particularly disrupted owing to travel restrictions and the closure of tourist sites. With regard to passenger transportation, the airline industry in particular faces sustained headwinds. Some euro area countries which depend on travel and tourism face particularly adverse economic consequences.
- JEL Code
- F14 : International Economics→Trade→Empirical Studies of Trade
L83 : Industrial Organization→Industry Studies: Services→Sports, Gambling, Restaurants, Recreation, Tourism
- 26 May 2020
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 2416Details
- Abstract
- After a first phasing out of the ECB’s net asset purchases at end-2018, the question of how a future tightening of the ECB’s monetary policy may affect countries located in the vicinity of the euro area has gained prominence, but has been left largely unanswered so far. Our paper aims to close this gap for the CESEE region by employing shock-specific conditional forecasts, a methodology that has been little exploited in this context. Besides demonstrating the usefulness of our framework, we obtain three key findings characterising the spillovers of ECB monetary policy to CESEE economies: first, a euro area monetary tightening does trigger sizeable spillovers to the CESEE region. Second, we show that in the context of a demand shock-induced monetary tightening, which is more realistic than the usual approach taken in the literature, CESEE countries’ output and prices actually respond positively. Third, spillovers on output and prices in CESEE countries are heterogeneous, and depend on the trajectory of euro area tightening.
- JEL Code
- C11 : Mathematical and Quantitative Methods→Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General→Bayesian Analysis: General
C32 : Mathematical and Quantitative Methods→Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models, Multiple Variables→Time-Series Models, Dynamic Quantile Regressions, Dynamic Treatment Effect Models, Diffusion Processes
E52 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Monetary Policy
F42 : International Economics→Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance→International Policy Coordination and Transmission
- 3 December 2019
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 2336Details
- Abstract
- This paper analyzes the effects of several policy instruments for mitigating financial bubbles generated in the banking sector. We augment a New Keynesian macroeconomic framework by endogenizing boundedly-rational expectations on asset values of loan portfolios, allow for interbank trading and show how a credit bubble can develop from a financial innovation. We then evaluate the efficacy of several policy instruments in counteracting financial bubbles. We find that an endogenous capital requirement reduces the impact of a financial bubble significantly while central bank intervention (“leaning against the wind”) proves to be less effective. A welfare analysis ranks the policy reaction through an endogenous capital requirement highest. We therefore provide a rationale for the use of countercyclical capital buffers.
- JEL Code
- E44 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Money and Interest Rates→Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
E52 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Monetary Policy
- 2018
- EconPol Policy Brief
- 2017
- Journal of Financial Stability