News Shocks in Open Economies: Evidence from Giant Oil Discoveries

This paper explores the effect of news shocks in open economies using worldwide giant oil and gas discoveries as a directly observable measure of news shocks about future output ̶ the delay between a discovery and production is on average 4 to 6 years. We first analyze the effects of a discovery in a two-sector small open economy model with a resource sector. We then estimate the effects of giant oil and gas discoveries on a large panel of countries. Our empirical estimates are consistent with the predictions of the model. After an oil or gas discovery, the current account and saving rate decline for the first 5 years and then rise sharply during the ensuing years. Investment rises robustly soon after the news arrives, while GDP does not increase until after 5 years. Employment rates fall slightly and remain low for a sustained period of time.

JEL Classification: E00, F3, F4.

Keywords: news shocks, current account, saving, investment, employment, oil, discovery

Click here to view paper.