Expenditure Switching and Exchange Rate Policy

Expenditure Switching and Exchange Rate Policy PDF Author: Charles Engel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description
Nominal exchange rate changes can lead to 'expenditure switching' when they change relative international prices. A traditional argument for flexible nominal exchange rates posits that when prices are sticky in producers' currencies, nominal exchange rate movements can change relative prices between home and foreign goods. But if prices are fixed ex ante in consumers' currencies, nominal exchange rate flexibility cannot achieve any relative price adjustment. In that case nominal exchange rate fluctuations have the undesirable feature that they lead to deviations from the law of one price. The case for floating exchange rates is weakened if prices are sticky in this way. The empirical literature appears to support the notion that prices are sticky in consumers' currencies. Here, additional support for this conclusion is provided. We then review some new approaches in the theoretical literature that imply an important expenditure-switching role even when consumer prices are sticky in consumers' currencies. Further empirical research is needed to resolve the quantitative importance of the expenditure-switching role for nominal exchange rates.

Expenditure Switching and Exchange Rate Policy

Expenditure Switching and Exchange Rate Policy PDF Author: Charles Engel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description
Nominal exchange rate changes can lead to 'expenditure switching' when they change relative international prices. A traditional argument for flexible nominal exchange rates posits that when prices are sticky in producers' currencies, nominal exchange rate movements can change relative prices between home and foreign goods. But if prices are fixed ex ante in consumers' currencies, nominal exchange rate flexibility cannot achieve any relative price adjustment. In that case nominal exchange rate fluctuations have the undesirable feature that they lead to deviations from the law of one price. The case for floating exchange rates is weakened if prices are sticky in this way. The empirical literature appears to support the notion that prices are sticky in consumers' currencies. Here, additional support for this conclusion is provided. We then review some new approaches in the theoretical literature that imply an important expenditure-switching role even when consumer prices are sticky in consumers' currencies. Further empirical research is needed to resolve the quantitative importance of the expenditure-switching role for nominal exchange rates.

Expenditure Switching Vs. Real Exchange Rate Stabilization

Expenditure Switching Vs. Real Exchange Rate Stabilization PDF Author: Michael B. Devereux
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Foreign exchange administration
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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Book Description
This paper develops a view of exchange rate policy as a trade-off between the desire to smooth fluctuations in real exchange rates so as to reduce distortions in consumption allocations, and the need to allow flexibility in the nominal exchange rate so as to facilitate terms of trade adjustment. We show that optimal nominal exchange rate volatility will reflect these competing objectives. The key determinants of how much the exchange rate should respond to shocks will depend on the extent and source of price stickiness, the elasticity of substitution between home and foreign goods, and the amount of home bias in production. Quantitatively, we find the optimal exchange rate volatility should be significantly less than would be inferred based solely on terms of trade considerations. Moreover, we find that the relationship between price stickiness and optimal exchange rate volatility may be non-monotonic.

Expenditure-switching Effect and the Exchange Rate Regime Debate

Expenditure-switching Effect and the Exchange Rate Regime Debate PDF Author: Wei Dong
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description


Expenditure Switching vs. Real Exchange Rate Stabilization

Expenditure Switching vs. Real Exchange Rate Stabilization PDF Author: Michael B. Devereux
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 37

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Book Description
This paper develops a view of exchange rate policy as a trade-off between the desire to smooth fluctuations in real exchange rates so as to reduce distortions in consumption allocations, and the need to allow flexibility in the nominal exchange rate so as to facilitate terms of trade adjustment. We show that optimal nominal exchange rate volatility will reflect these competing objectives. The key determinants of how much the exchange rate should respond to shocks will depend on the extent and source of price stickiness, the elasticity of substitution between home and foreign goods, and the amount of home bias in production. Quantitatively, we find the optimal exchange rate volatility should be significantly less than would be inferred based solely on terms of trade considerations. Moreover, we find that the relationship between price stickiness and optimal exchange rate volatility may be non-monotonic.

Limits of Floating Exchange Rates

Limits of Floating Exchange Rates PDF Author: Mr.Sebastian Weber
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1455219002
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 53

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Book Description
A traditional argument in favor of flexible exchange rates is that they insulate output better from real shocks, because the exchange rate can adjust and stabilize demand for domestic goods through expenditure switching. This argument is weakened in models with high foreign currency debt and low exchange rate pass-through to import prices. The present study evaluates the empirical relevance of these two factors. We analyze the transmission of real external shocks to the domestic economy under fixed and flexible exchange rate regimes for a broad sample of countries in a Panel VAR and let the responses vary with foreign currency indebtedness and import structure. We find that flexible exchange rates do not insulate output better from external shocks if the country imports mainly low pass-through goods and can even amplify the output response if foreign indebtedness is high.

Expenditure-Switching Effect and the Choice of Exchange Rate Regime

Expenditure-Switching Effect and the Choice of Exchange Rate Regime PDF Author: Wei Dong
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Dominant Currency Paradigm: A New Model for Small Open Economies

Dominant Currency Paradigm: A New Model for Small Open Economies PDF Author: Camila Casas
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1484330609
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 62

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Book Description
Most trade is invoiced in very few currencies. Despite this, the Mundell-Fleming benchmark and its variants focus on pricing in the producer’s currency or in local currency. We model instead a ‘dominant currency paradigm’ for small open economies characterized by three features: pricing in a dominant currency; pricing complementarities, and imported input use in production. Under this paradigm: (a) the terms-of-trade is stable; (b) dominant currency exchange rate pass-through into export and import prices is high regardless of destination or origin of goods; (c) exchange rate pass-through of non-dominant currencies is small; (d) expenditure switching occurs mostly via imports, driven by the dollar exchange rate while exports respond weakly, if at all; (e) strengthening of the dominant currency relative to non-dominant ones can negatively impact global trade; (f) optimal monetary policy targets deviations from the law of one price arising from dominant currency fluctuations, in addition to the inflation and output gap. Using data from Colombia we document strong support for the dominant currency paradigm.

The Expenditure Switching Effect, Welfare and Monetary Policy in a Small Open Economy

The Expenditure Switching Effect, Welfare and Monetary Policy in a Small Open Economy PDF Author: Alan Sutherland
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This paper analyses the implications of the 'expenditure switching effect' for the role of the exchange rate in monetary policy in a small open economy. It is shown that, when the elasticity of substitution between home and foreign goods is not equal to unity, welfare depends on the variances of producer prices and the terms of trade. Producer-price targeting is compared to consumerprice targeting and a fixed exchange rate. It is found that a fixed exchange rate yields higher welfare than the other regimes only when the elasticity of substitution between home and foreign goods is very high.

The Responsiveness of Consumer Prices to Exchange Rates and the Implications for Exchange-rate Policy

The Responsiveness of Consumer Prices to Exchange Rates and the Implications for Exchange-rate Policy PDF Author: Charles Engel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 54

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Book Description
The traditional case for flexibility in nominal exchange rates assumes that there is nominal price stickiness that prevents relative prices from adjusting in response to real shocks. When prices are sticky in producers' currencies, nominal exchange rate changes can achieve the relative price change that is required between home and foreign goods. The nominal exchange rate flexibility provides the desired 'expenditure-switching' effect of relative price changes. But if prices are fixed ex ante in consumers' currencies, nominal exchange rate flexibility cannot achieve any relative price adjustment. In fact, nominal exchange rate fluctuations are undesirable because they lead to deviations from the law of one price. So, fixed exchange rates are optimal. The empirical literature appears to support the notion that prices are sticky in consumers' currencies. This paper surveys the approaches taken in the new open economy macroeconomic literature to formalize the role of optimal monetary policy. The survey explores how this literature has dealt with the empirical evidence on pass-through of exchange rate changes to consumer prices.

International Financial Issues in the Pacific Rim

International Financial Issues in the Pacific Rim PDF Author: Takatoshi Ito
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226387089
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 441

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Book Description
The imbalanced, yet mutually beneficial, trading relationship between the United States and Asia has long been one of international finance’s most perplexing mysteries. Although the United States continues to post a substantial trade deficit—and China reaps the benefits of a surplus—the dollar has yet to sink in the face of ever-increasing account disparities. International Financial Issues in the Pacific Rim explains why the United States enjoys a seemingly symbiotic relationship with its trading partners despite stark inequities in the trade balance, especially with Asia. This timely and well-informed study also debunks the assumed link between economic openness and low inflation in the region, identifies the serious gap between academic and private-sector researchers’ understanding of exchange rate volatility, and analyzes the liberalization of Asian capital accounts. International Financial Issues in the Pacific Rim will have broad implications for global trade and economic policy issues in Asia and beyond.