In contrast to existing studies that have paid limited attention to comovement in the current account balances of inter-related countries, we employ a dynamic factor model to evaluate the contributions of the common global factor, group factors (advanced or emerging countries), and country-specific factors for 12 advanced and eight emerging economies from 1970 to 2017. We find that current account balances are largely driven by the group factor for advanced economies; however, current account balances in most emerging economies are primarily driven by country-specific factors. We then investigate the roles of these factors using the traditional empirical model for current account determination. Global and group factors are essential for addressing current accounts’ cross-sectional dependence in panel data models. We find that the empirical results introducing these factors are stronger, and the coefficients of relevant variables become more significant. Furthermore, we examine how these factors are related to the structural determinants of current account balances, revealing that more capital mobility and trade openness tend to increase the share of the group factor, while increases in country-specific determinants lead to a greater share in the country factor.

中文翻译：

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经常账户的联动和全球失衡

与有限关注相互关联国家经常账户余额联动性的现有研究相比，我们采用动态因素模型来评估全球共同因素、群体因素（发达国家或新兴国家）和国家因素的贡献。 - 1970年至2017年12个发达经济体和8个新兴经济体的具体因素。我们发现，经常账户余额很大程度上是由发达经济体的群体因素驱动的；然而，大多数新兴经济体的经常账户余额主要是由具体国家因素驱动的。然后，我们使用经常账户确定的传统经验模型研究这些因素的作用。全球和群体因素对于解决面板数据模型中经常账户的横截面依赖性至关重要。我们发现引入这些因素的实证结果更强，相关变量的系数变得更显着。此外，我们研究了这些因素与经常账户余额的结构性决定因素之间的关系，发现更多的资本流动性和贸易开放往往会增加群体因素的份额，而特定国家决定因素的增加会导致更大的份额国家因素。