Exchange Rate Volatility and Growth in Emerging Europe and East Asia

The paper investigates the impact of exchange rate volatility on growth in Emerging Europe and East Asia. Exchange rate stability has been argued to affect growth negatively as it deprives countries from the ability to react in a flexible way to asymmetric real shocks and increases the probability of speculative capital inflows and overheating. In contrast, exchange rate stability can be argued to affect growth in emerging market economies positively as transactions costs for international trade decline, uncertainty for international capital flows is less and macroeconomic stability is enhanced. Cross country panel estimations provide evidence for a negative impact of the exchange rate volatility on growth in both Emerging Europe and East Asia. Parts of this negative growth effect can be associated with exchange rate volatility caused by macroeconomic instability.     

东亚的美元本位:影响和汇率协调及我国的对策

在以美元为主导的国际货币体系框架下,东亚地区事实上处于美元区内,没有自己的货币定价权。为了克服美元本位制度的弊端和对美元依赖造成的负面影响,东亚地区需要积极开展汇率协调或汇率合作,为本地区的经济发展营造良好稳定的宏观环境。我国应该积极参与东亚外汇储备库的建设,稳步推进人民币的区域化和国际化的步伐,以积极主动的姿态,参与东亚国家的汇率协调与合作。     

Stability of production networks in East Asia: Duration and survival of trade

This paper sheds light on the stability of international production networks in East Asia from the perspective of the duration and survival of bilateral trade relationships at the product-line level. Using highly disaggregated data for intra-East Asian machinery trade, survival analysis is conducted as well as the examinations of the duration and volatility of trade relationships. The product-level analyses reveal that, compared to machinery finished products, machinery parts & components are traded through longer-lived and more stable relationships among East Asian countries. Once transactions are started, trade relationships of machinery parts & components are more likely to be maintained between countries even at a long distance, regardless of the exchange-rate fluctuations. The probability of discontinuing trade relationships of machinery finished products, on the other hand, are more likely to be sensitive to the level of trading cost as well as the exchange-rate fluctuations.     

Should East Asia’s currencies be pegged to the yen? The role of invoice currency

Growing concern that a dollar peg exposes East Asian economies to fluctuations in the dollar–yen exchange rate has stimulated research on currency basket regimes as alternatives for these economies. However, existing studies have mostly ignored an important characteristic of East Asia, i.e., most of its international trade is invoiced in the U.S. dollars. This paper investigates how the preponderance of dollar invoicing affects optimal currency basket regimes for East Asian economies. I develop a three-country center-periphery sticky-price dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model for the analysis. The model is solved numerically by taking second-order approximations to the policy functions with the expected lifetime utility of households chosen as the welfare criterion. Contrary to the conjecture of existing literature, I show that predominance of dollar invoicing implies that the dollar should receive a smaller weight than suggested by bilateral trade shares between emerging markets in East Asia and the United States. The results hinge on the interaction of different degrees of pass-through implied by the choice of invoice currency and endogenous responses of monetary policies in the center countries.     

中国在东亚地区贸易结构中的地位和作用——基于零部件贸易的研究

本文从零部件贸易的角度分析了中国在东亚贸易结构中的地位。文中计算了中国和其他东亚经济体1992～2005年的零部件贸易额,在大量事实数据的基础上得出结论:中国在东亚地区以零部件进口为主,而与区域外市场之间以最终产品出口为主。同时,随着中国经济逐渐融入到东亚地区的生产网络中,东亚地区的"三角贸易"模式发生了转变:中国成为东亚地区的出口平台,进口来自于区域内较发达经济体的中间产品零部件,进行装配加工后将最终产品销往区域外市场。     

美国经济波动对东亚经济的影响

经济全球化使世界经济紧密联系在一起,各国经济也更易受到外部经济冲击的影响。本文考察了美国经济波动对东亚8个开放经济体的影响,结果显示,东亚经济大约有18%的波动来源于美国经济的冲击,这主要是因为美国和东亚保持着紧密的贸易和金融联系。由于各经济体在经济总量、汇率制度安排等方面的差异,造成受美国经济波动的影响也不相同。总体看,这些冲击持续的时间大约在15个季度。     

美元定价、汇率传递与美元贬值对东亚经济的冲击

本文对东亚国家和地区国际商品贸易定价货币的选择进行了考察,分析了东亚汇率传递的特征及美元贬值对东亚经济的影响与冲击,并提出中国的对策。研究发现:美元定价已成为外部冲击向东亚经济传导的重要渠道;美元定价导致美国和东亚之间只存在单向的汇率传递,从而削弱约束美元贬值的内在机制;在美元定价条件下,东亚国家在面对美元贬值对经济的刺激作用时乐观其成,但是在面对美元贬值所带来的"滞胀"冲击时却没有有效的隔离机制。     

Understanding FDI and production networks in East Asia

We provide evidence from the electronics industry in East Asia supporting Kojima's (1973) hypothesis that FDI moves from capital‐exporting countries' disadvantaged industries into host countries' advantaged industries. These results imply that FDI and trade are complementary, unlike in Mundell's (1957) model where they are substitutes. The results also indicate that exchange rate volatility deters trade, implying that reductions in the service link costs between production blocks can promote fragmentation. These findings imply that host countries in East Asia can receive technology transfers by lowering service link costs.     

Tracing Trade Interdependence between EU and East Asia

Abstract

There have been two related trends shaping global trade during the past couple of decades: the increasing role of international supply chains and the rise of China. Increased complexity in global trade has generated a need to construct more processed trade data — trade in value added — in order to deepen our understanding of trade relations between countries. In this article, we present a broad picture of trade in value added between the EU28 and East Asian countries. We find that East Asia is important as a final demand and supply chain export destination, especially for Northern European countries, while for CEE countries it is more important as an import source for both final demand and supply chain trade. Trade with East Asia is least important for Southern European countries. The production structure of an EU country seems to be one of the main factors explaining the importance of supply chain trade with East Asian countries. The data also suggest that supply chain trade could support the growth of domestic value-added exports to the supply chain trade partner country as well as to other countries.     

东亚垂直分工网络与技术梯度研究——基于零部件贸易的视角

东亚因其迅速发展的国际生产网络而得到经济学界的广泛瞩目。本文在整理相关理论和实证文献的基础上,通过对人均收入水平的分析提出了东亚区域内广泛存在技术梯度差异的现实。作者根据Jones等人提出的国际垂直分割理论,建立增广引力模型,在区分零部件贸易和传统贸易的情况下,利用联合国贸易统计面板数据,对东亚垂直分工网络的技术结构进行了细致梳理。结果显示,近年来日本在核心部件上的作用有所下降,而四小龙实现了技术升级,作用得到较大的提升。作为东亚生产共享网络中的重要一极,中国同四小虎之间呈现出较强的互补性而非替代性。     

Output volatility of five crisis-affected East Asia economies

A decade has passed since the Asian financial crisis (AFC) in 1997, and attention is drawn to the output performance of the crisis-affected economies in East Asia. Using the Hodrick–Prescott (HP) filter, this paper examines the growth volatility of GDP, its components and the stock market of five East Asia economies of Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR). Empirical evidences based on quarterly data show that output volatility for both Singapore and South Korea has increased after the AFC. For the GDP components, trade is a major factor in lowering GDP volatility in Chinese Taipei. The Hong Kong SAR economy has experienced an increase/decrease in the volatility of investment/private consumption. Among the five East Asia economies, government intervention is obvious in Singapore. The stock markets in both Hong Kong SAR and Chinese Taipei showed stronger ability in absorbing shocks.     

Trade creation and the status of FTAs: empirical evidence from East Asia

East Asia has been considered a latecomer with respect to Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Since the turn of the last century, however, FTAs with East Asian participation have seen an intra- and extra-regional expansion. Many trade initiatives have been proposed, negotiated or even implemented. This introduces interesting perspectives for the analysis of trade agreements regarding their anticipatory trade effects. This paper focuses on the trade impact of FTAs at different stages that East Asian economies participate in. The central part of this study is an econometric analysis that applies panel data to the gravity model of international trade flows. We augment the traditional model with variables to estimate trade effects of bilateral and multilateral agreements and year-to-year changes in the stages of their implementation. Our results reveal that there exist anticipatory effects preceding the actual implementation of bilateral FTAs with East Asian participation. Further, anticipation effects are larger for bilateral than for multilateral agreements, possibly because the realisation of bilateral agreements is considered more realistic.     

垂直分工、技术转移与东亚区域生产整合:中国视角

本文利用高度细分的贸易数据,在合理分类的基础上分析了中国在东亚区域生产中整合过程的国际分工地位和特点,以及中国高技术产品贸易对外资的高度依赖性,进而总结了东亚生产和贸易模式的变化和中国在新三角贸易中的主导作用。     

The dilemma of exchange rate arrangements in East Asia

This paper analyzes exchange rate flexibility in East Asia and explores what has changed since the Asian financial crisis. Our focus is not on the choice of an appropriate exchange rate regime in East Asia, but rather on exchange rate flexibility and management in the region. We find that exchange rate management in East Asia differs based on the country and the time period. We identify major concerns about current exchange rate arrangements in East Asia, including asymmetric responses to external shocks, competitive devaluation, and the dilemma of choosing between asset dollarization and liability dollarization. The paper concludes with some policy implications for an exchange rate arrangement in East Asia.     

External adjustments and coordinated exchange rate policy in Asia

In this paper, we estimate structural VAR models with contemporaneous restrictions based on neo-classical and Keynesian theories to investigate whether the cause of current account surpluses for East Asian economies is a “saving glut” or undervalued currencies. Analytical results show that the major determinant of the current account is the real effective exchange rate for all East Asian countries with the exception of China for which the major determinant is domestic GDP. Accordingly, the recently requested revaluation of the Chinese yuan may not be an effective policy for reducing the Chinese current account surplus, and may affect other Asian current accounts. We also investigate whether a Chinese currency revaluation would contribute to the improvement of current account imbalances in East Asia and find that a revaluation would, indeed, improve the current accounts of Japan, Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand. Since the trade structures of major East Asian countries are substitutes with that of China, a Chinese currency revaluation might not lead to a decrease in East Asian current account surpluses. Coordination of currency policy among East Asian countries is, therefore, needed to solve the global current account imbalance.     

Real effects of common currencies in East Asia

Since the 1997 Asian currency crisis, new interest has emerged in the formation of a common currency area in East Asia. This paper provides estimates of trade and welfare effects of East Asian currency unions, using a micro-founded gravity model. Counter-factual experiments to assess the effects of various hypothetical currency arrangements for East Asia suggest that an East Asian currency union will double bilateral trade in the region, but the resulting welfare effects will be moderate. However, if Japan, a major trade partner for East Asia, is included in the union, welfare effects increase substantially. The evidence thus suggests that certain regional currency arrangements in East Asia will stimulate regional trade rigorously and can generate economically significant welfare gains.     

Impact of the US Economic Crisis on East Asian Economies： Production Networks and Triangular Trade through Chinese Mainland

This paper investigates the impact of the 2008 economic crisis on industries in East Asia. It attempts to identify the transmission mechanism and the magnitude of the impact of the crisis on industries in East Asia using the updated Asian international input–output table for 2008. The analyses reveal that the crisis significantly affected industrial output of the nine East Asian economies included in the present study. The economies that are deeply involved in production networks were affected most seriously. Our analyses also show that the impact was transmitted to East Asian industries through triangular trade, in which Chinese mainland imports parts and components from neighboring East Asian economies and then exports final products to the US and EU markets. Although such intricate production networks have improved the competitiveness of East Asian economies, they have also increased vulnerability to external shocks.     

Do exchange rate arrangements and capital controls influence international capital flows and housing prices in Asia?

This paper investigates the influence of international capital flows on housing prices in eight Asian countries, including China. We focus on determining whether exchange rate arrangements and capital regulations influence capital inflows and housing prices. Our results show that an arrangement to restrain the fluctuation of the exchange rate and capital controls has the potential to raise housing prices in Asia. The strong prospect of the Chinese yuan's appreciation also pushed up housing prices in China. Another expected reason for the increase in capital inflows into Asian markets is the expansion of global liquidity. Such capital flows often have a sensitive reaction to market sentiment, and an increase in asset market volatility caused by the liquidity squeeze decreases Asian housing prices. These results suggest the need to review capital controls and future exchange rate system options for Asian countries.     

Surfing the waves of globalization: Asia and financial globalization in the context of the trilemma

Using the “trilemma indexes” developed by Aizenman et al. (2010) that measure the extent of achievement in each of the three policy goals in the trilemma—monetary independence, exchange rate stability, and financial openness—we examine how policy configurations affect macroeconomic performances, with focus on the Asian economies. We find that the three policy choices matter for output volatility and the medium-term level of inflation. Greater monetary independence is associated with lower output volatility while greater exchange rate stability implies greater output volatility, which can be mitigated if a country holds international reserves (IR) at a level higher than a threshold (about 20% of GDP). Greater monetary autonomy is associated with a higher level of inflation while greater exchange rate stability and greater financial openness could lower the inflation rate. We find that trilemma policy configurations affect output volatility through the investment or trade channel depending on the openness of the economies. Our results indicate that policy makers in a more open economy would prefer pursuing greater exchange rate stability while holding a massive amount of IR. Asian emerging market economies are found to be equipped with macroeconomic policy configurations that help the economies to dampen the volatility of the real exchange rate. These economies’ sizeable amount of IR holding appears to enhance the stabilizing effect of the trilemma policy choices, and this may help explain the recent phenomenal buildup of IR in the region.     

东亚货币合作研究文献综述

全球性金融危机的爆发再次助推了东亚地区货币合作的进程。本文详细梳理了东亚货币合作研究的线索,明确了东亚货币合作进一步的研究方向：从货币竞争和锚货币选择这个思路考察区域内核心货币（尤其是人民币）在汇率协调机制中发挥的作用,并对东亚汇率协调机制进行重估。同时,还需在新形势下从理论和实践层面探讨中国如何参与东亚货币合作以促进中国乃至东亚地区的繁荣和发展,为进一步推进东亚货币合作提供理论支持和政策依据。