Toward an Explanation of National Price Levels

Toward an Explanation of National Price Levels PDF Author: Irving B. Kravis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
"The purpose of this paper is to call attention to the need for a theory of comparative national price levels and to explore some of the elements that seem to belong to such a theory. Most theoretical discussions have maintained that national price levels tend towards equality and focus on presumably temporary divergences from equality. Yet strong evidence has been accumulating that there are large and long-standing differences inprice levels, the highest of which are more than twice those of countries with the lowest prices. Long-run price level differences are most clearly related to levels of real per capita output, with richer countries having higher price levels.These differences have been explained as resulting from greater advantages in productivity for the wealthier countries in goods production, mostly tradable, than in services production, mostly nontradable. The differences in relative productivity may be in total factor productivity or only in labor productivity, reflecting the greater capital intensity of goods production and possibly a higher elasticity of substitution between capital and labor in goods production.We find in the empirical analysis that a large part of the differences in price levels can be explained by structural factors such as real GDP per capita, the degree of openness of the economy, and the share of nontradable goods in output. The only non-structural factor emerging from a preliminary analysis of several of these was the rate of growth of the quantity of money"--NBER website

Toward an Explanation of National Price Levels

Toward an Explanation of National Price Levels PDF Author: Irving B. Kravis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
"The purpose of this paper is to call attention to the need for a theory of comparative national price levels and to explore some of the elements that seem to belong to such a theory. Most theoretical discussions have maintained that national price levels tend towards equality and focus on presumably temporary divergences from equality. Yet strong evidence has been accumulating that there are large and long-standing differences inprice levels, the highest of which are more than twice those of countries with the lowest prices. Long-run price level differences are most clearly related to levels of real per capita output, with richer countries having higher price levels.These differences have been explained as resulting from greater advantages in productivity for the wealthier countries in goods production, mostly tradable, than in services production, mostly nontradable. The differences in relative productivity may be in total factor productivity or only in labor productivity, reflecting the greater capital intensity of goods production and possibly a higher elasticity of substitution between capital and labor in goods production.We find in the empirical analysis that a large part of the differences in price levels can be explained by structural factors such as real GDP per capita, the degree of openness of the economy, and the share of nontradable goods in output. The only non-structural factor emerging from a preliminary analysis of several of these was the rate of growth of the quantity of money"--NBER website

Towards an explanation of national price levels

Towards an explanation of national price levels PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
The purpose of this paper is to call attention to the need for a theory of comparative national price levels and to explore some of the elements that seem to belong to such a theory. Most theoretical discussions have maintained that national price levels tend towards equality and focus on presumably temporary divergences from equality. Yet strong evidence has been accumulating that there are large and long-standing differences inprice levels, the highest of which are more than twice those of countries with the lowest prices. Long-run price level differences are most clearly related to levels of real per capita output, with richer countries having higher price levels.These differences have been explained as resulting from greater advantages in productivity for the wealthier countries in goods production, mostly tradable, than in services production, mostly nontradable. The differences in relative productivity may be in total factor productivity or only in labor productivity, reflecting the greater capital intensity of goods production and possibly a higher elasticity of substitution between capital and labor in goods production.We find in the empirical analysis that a large part of the differences in price levels can be explained by structural factors such as real GDP per capita, the degree of openness of the economy, and the share of nontradable goods in output. The only non-structural factor emerging from a preliminary analysis of several of these was the rate of growth of the quantity of money.

The Assessment of National Price Levels

The Assessment of National Price Levels PDF Author: Robert E. Lipsey
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
This paper attempts to find norms for long-run national price levels, and therefore, by implication, for exchange rates, that are superior to those implied by the absolute or relative versions of purchasing power parity theory. The structural variables we have found to determine these price levels, real income per capita, the openness of the economy, and the share of tradables in total output, are used to explain price levels in periods since 1960 and to some extent since 1950.The results suggest that there was a movement toward a more "orderly" alignment of price levels, especially in the period before the 1970's. That is, national price levels came to be explained to an increasing degree by our structural variables. The price levels implied by the structural equations appear to come closer to representing long-run equilibrium levels than do those implied by purchasing power parity. The deviations from the structural equations seem to have value inpredicting future changes in price levels or real exchange rates, in conbination with changes in the structural variables. And they also contribute to predicting changes in the balance of trade

National price levels and the prices of tradables and nontradables

National price levels and the prices of tradables and nontradables PDF Author: Irving B. Kravis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Foreign exchange
Languages : de
Pages :

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Book Description
This paper examines changes in national price levels and prices of tradables and nontradables and relates them to changes in variables found earlier to be associated with price level differences among countries. Across countries, national price levels increase systematically with the level of a country's per capita income, and the ratios of tradables to nontradables prices decrease. Over time, increases in per capita income are generally associated with increases in price levels in the industrial countries, although the opposite relationship tended to prevail among developing countries. Increases in income are associated with declines in the ratio of tradables to nontradables price levels more consistently than with the increases in general price levels. Increases in the exchange value of a currency are also associated with declines in the price levels for tradablesrelative to nontradables. Countries with price levels that were high or low relative to those predicted by the structural equations tended to move toward those predicted levels.

Understanding National Accounts Second Edition

Understanding National Accounts Second Edition PDF Author: Lequiller François
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 9264214631
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 520

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Book Description
This is an update of OECD 2006 "Understanding National Accounts". It contains new data, new chapters and is adapted to the new systems of national accounts, SNA 2008 and ESA 2010.

National price levels and the prices of tradables and nontradablespaise

National price levels and the prices of tradables and nontradablespaise PDF Author: Irving B. Kravis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : es
Pages : 23

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Book Description


Comparative National Products and Price Levels

Comparative National Products and Price Levels PDF Author: Milton Gilbert
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Gross national product
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Currency Politics

Currency Politics PDF Author: Jeffry A. Frieden
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400865344
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
The politics surrounding exchange rate policies in the global economy The exchange rate is the most important price in any economy, since it affects all other prices. Exchange rates are set, either directly or indirectly, by government policy. Exchange rates are also central to the global economy, for they profoundly influence all international economic activity. Despite the critical role of exchange rate policy, there are few definitive explanations of why governments choose the currency policies they do. Filled with in-depth cases and examples, Currency Politics presents a comprehensive analysis of the politics surrounding exchange rates. Identifying the motivations for currency policy preferences on the part of industries seeking to influence politicians, Jeffry Frieden shows how each industry's characteristics—including its exposure to currency risk and the price effects of exchange rate movements—determine those preferences. Frieden evaluates the accuracy of his theoretical arguments in a variety of historical and geographical settings: he looks at the politics of the gold standard, particularly in the United States, and he examines the political economy of European monetary integration. He also analyzes the politics of Latin American currency policy over the past forty years, and focuses on the daunting currency crises that have frequently debilitated Latin American nations, including Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. With an ambitious mix of narrative and statistical investigation, Currency Politics clarifies the political and economic determinants of exchange rate policies.

Wage Dispersion and Country Price Levels

Wage Dispersion and Country Price Levels PDF Author: Robert E. Lipsey
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Gross domestic product
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether there is a relationship between the degree of wage dispersion in a country and its price level relative to other countries, compared in a common currency. It was found that once a country's real per capita income and deviations of its exchange rate from its trend value are allowed for, there is a pervasive relationship between wage dispersion and prices. Low wage dispersion, defined as a relatively small difference between the median wage and that of the lowest paid decile of workers, is associated with high price levels. The relationship applies more frequently to service prices than to goods prices, but where it does apply, the effects of wage dispersion are as large for goods as for services.

Determinants of the National Price Level

Determinants of the National Price Level PDF Author: Christopher K. Clague
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Prices
Languages : en
Pages : 26

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Book Description