The Role of the Exchange Rate as a Shock Absorber in a Small Open Economy

This paper analyses interactions between the real exchange rate and business cycles in a small open economy like Norway. Using a structural vector autoregression model, the role of different shocks are analysed, to investigate to what extent the real exchange rate is absorbing shocks, or a source of shocks itself. The results are ambiguous. Output and the real exchange rate are mainly explained by separate shocks, so that relinquishing exchange rate independence should come at little cost. However, the importance of nominal shocks in the business cycle emphasises that stabilisation is possible. Hence, remaining monetary independence may be attractive.     

The Effects of Fiscal Policy in a Small Open Economy with a Fixed Exchange Rate

We study the empirical effects of fiscal policy in Denmark since the adoption of a fixed exchange rate policy in 1982. Denmark’s fixed exchange rate implies that the nominal interest rate remains fixed after a fiscal expansion, facilitating a substantial impact of the fiscal stimulus on the real economy. On the other hand, the large degree of openness of the Danish economy means that a sizeable share of the fiscal stimulus will be directed towards imported goods. Our results suggest that the ‘monetary accomodation channel’ dominates the ‘leakage effect’ in the short run. We demonstrate that fiscal stimulus has a rather large impact on economic activity in the very short run, with a government spending multiplier of 1.1 on impact in our preferred specification. We also find that the effects of fiscal stimulus are rather short-lived in Denmark, with the effect on output becoming insignificant after around two years. The fiscal multiplier is above 1 only in the first quarter, and drops to 0.6 one year after the shock. We also find that in the short run, the government spending multiplier is larger than the tax multiplier. Finally, we demonstrate that exogenous shocks to government spending account for less than 10 % of the movements in output over the business cycle in Denmark.     

Exchange Rate Pass-through in China

During the second half of 2007 and early part of 2008 when there were intense inflationary pressures in China, RMB appreciation was advocated as a means of helping to curb inflation. The effectiveness of appreciation in controlling inflation depends on the impact of exchange rate movements on import and domestic prices. Our analysis finds fairly large and speedy exchange rate pass-through （ERPT） to import prices： 50 and 60percent for the short run and long run, respectively. However, the degree of ERPT decreases along the price chain from upstream to downstream prices. ERPT for consumer prices, the most downstream prices, is much milder and has substantial lags. A 10-percent rise in the nominal effective exchange rate will dampen consumer prices by 1.1 percent within a year, with very little pass-through in the first half year, and by 2.0percent over the long run. These findings, particularly the ERPT to consumer prices, suggest that RMB appreciation can help to reduce inflationary pressures over the longer term. However, it is unlikely to provide rapid relief to the current round of high inflation because of the long lags in ERPZ. The RMB needs to strengthen in effective terms to exert the desired dampening impact on prices.     

Exchange Rate Changes and Export Prices in a Small Semi-Open Economy

This paper analyses the reaction of export prices to exchange rate changes in Nigeria. The major proposition examined in the study is that, exchange rate changes are not reflected fully in the prices of the country's exports. The analysis suggests that manufactured export firms in the country may have been price discriminating between domestic and export markets; only about 93% of exchange rate changes occurring in the period 1986 to 1995 is shown as reflected in the domestic price of manufactured export. However, this result is qualified by the fact that, over 75% of the data analysed were generated.     

人民币汇率的价格传递效应研究

本文通过建立SVAR（Structure Vector Auto Regression）模型,实证研究了人民币名义有效汇率对国内进口价格、生产者价格和消费者价格的传递效应并分析了全球金融危机的爆发对汇率价格传递效应的影响。结果显示：①人民币名义有效汇率对三类价格的传递是不完全的且存在一定的时滞,在长期内,1个百分点的正...     

人民币汇率变动对中国商品出口价格的传递效应

本文在不完全竞争市场结构下构建了适合中国汇率传递研究的分析框架,并将其应用于对中国商品出口价格汇率传递效应的经验检验。本文通过一位数国际贸易标准分类的研究表明,中国商品出口价格的汇率传递程度是不完全的,而且不同分类之间存在较大差异。同时,我们还构建了一个依市场定价指数来衡量不同出口行业在世界市场上的竞争力强弱。在此研究的基础上我们还对改革开放以来中国商品总体出口价格竞争力进行了对比分析。     

Measuring Monetary Policy in a Small Open Economy with Managed Exchange Rates: The Case of Taiwan

We use sign restrictions to identify monetary policy for a small open economy with heavily managed exchange rates. We apply the proposed sign restrictions to the Taiwanese case, where existing studies tend to find no clear effect of monetary policy shocks on the output and price level. Our principal findings are that a contractionary monetary policy shock causes a permanent and significant decline in real gross domestic product, broad money, and price level. Our identification scheme is able to avoid the puzzling impulse responses from which other identification schemes more or less suffer. The fact that monetary policy has not been correctly identified may have led existing studies to conclude that monetary policy is ineffective.     

Financial Liberalization in a Small Open Economy

We address three related questions concerning financial liberalization in a small open economy. Does financial liberalization and the resulting capital inflow improve production efficiency in the domestic economy? Who benefits from financial liberalization in the long run and in the short run? Should financial liberalization be implemented gradually or hastily? Our main results are as follows. First, whether financial deregulation in one sector can improve production efficiency may depend on financial regulation in other sectors. Second, financial liberalization may have opposite welfare implications to domestic agents with different productivity in the long run. Third, although some domestic agents lose in the long run, they actually benefit from financial liberalization during the transitional process of deregulation. Finally, a gradual implementation helps achieve a smooth transition.     

汇率传递异质性对中美贸易失衡的解释

文章利用VAR模型考察2000~2015年期间中美货币政策对双边贸易的非对称传导事实,从理论上分析中美贸易失衡调整的汇率传递因素,并根据贸易价格汇率传递模型,估计了中美两国出口和进口价格方程,实证检验了中美两国进出口汇率传递的异质性:美国从中国进口的汇率弹性较低,对中国出口的汇率弹性较高,而中国从美国进口的汇率弹性较高,对美国出口的汇率弹性较低,贸易定价模式不同以及汇率制度、通胀率、企业经营效率及商品品质等方面的差异是中美汇率传递异质的主要影响因素。因此,美国扩张性货币政策对中美贸易余额调整的作用非常有限,中美贸易差额不在于人民币汇率的高低,而在于中美国际分工地位和经济结构差异。同时,中国应稳步推进人民币汇率形成机制改革,改善企业经营环境,提高出口商品质量,争取对外贸易定价权。     

有效汇率波动对国内价格的传递效应研究

随着我国对外贸易依存度的不断提高,外需成为拉动经济增长的重要动力。人民币相对于美元升值和国内面临的通货膨胀问题受到了国内舆论和国际社会的广泛关注。那么人民币名义有效汇率的变动是否就是国内通货膨胀的主要原因呢?本文利用VAR模型对人民币名义有效汇率的价格传递效应进行了实证分析。估计结果表明,人民币名义有效汇率对进口价格和工业品出厂价格的传递率较高,而对消费者价格的传递率则相对较低,汇率对国内通货膨胀有较弱的解释力。因此本文认为,通过调节人民币名义有效汇率对解决中国的外部失衡有一定的作用,货币政策制度者应当积极关注汇率变动等外部冲击。     

Monetary Policy Analysis in a Small Open Credit-Based Economy

This paper describes a simple framework for monetary policy analysis in a small open economy where bank credit is the only source of external finance. At the heart of the model is the link between banks’ lending rates (which incorporate a premium over and above the marginal cost of borrowing) and firms’ net worth. In contrast to models in the Stiglitz-Weiss or Kiyotaki-Moore tradition, the supply of bank loans is perfectly elastic at the prevailing rate. The central bank sets the refinance rate and provides unlimited access to liquidity at that rate. The model is used to study the effects of changes in official interest rates, under both fixed and flexible exchange rates. Various extensions are also discussed, including income effects, the cost channel, the role of land as collateral, and dollarization.

The Importance of the Exchange Rate Regime in Limiting Misalignment

This paper explores how the choice of a country’s exchange rate regime may affect exchange rate misalignment for developing and developed countries. A measure of misalignment is obtained by using a panel cointegration vector estimator. This paper finds that for developing countries, an intermediate exchange rate regime (a regime falling somewhere between a pure float and a hard peg) is most effective in preventing exchange rate misalignment. Additionally, the choice of an exchange rate regime as a means to limit misalignment matters for developing countries, but does not seem to matter for developed countries.     

Welfare Effects of Capital Taxation in a Small Open Economy

In a small open economy, the welfare effect of capital taxation depends on the allocation of the tax revenue as well as the tax system. If tax revenues are used to finance debt or government spending, an increase in either residential or territorial capital taxation will reduce the welfare of the representative individual. If tax revenues are transferred intergenerationally, an increase in the residential capital tax rate will increase the steady-state welfare when the after-tax interest rate is greater than the growth rate. If the revenue is rebated to the tax payer, an introduction of territorial capital taxation may increase welfare when the growth rate is relatively high. In the case where either the revenue from residential capital taxation is rebated to the tax payer or the revenue from territorial capital taxation is transferred intergenerationally, the welfare-maximizing tax rate appears to be zero.     

Reexamination of Real Business Cycles in a Small Open Economy

Standard dynamic small open economy models have predicted a counterfactual perfectly positive correlation between output and hours worked over the business cycle. In addition, this class of models exhibits a weak internal propagation mechanism. To address these anomalies, this paper incorporates intertemporally non‐separable labor supply and variable capital utilization into the canonical Mendoza (1991) model with adjustment costs of net investment. Our analysis shows that a dynamic, technology shock–driven small open economy model with internal habit formation in labor hours and endogenous capital utilization is able to account for the main real business cycle regularities of Canada after 1981.     

Monetary Policy in Illiquid Markets: Options for a Small Open Economy

Two impediments to effective monetary policy operation include illiquidity in bond markets and the zero bound of interest rates. Under these conditions alternative means of enacting monetary policy may be required. This paper empirically explores policy options implemented through equity and currency markets that will generate similar inflation responses at different time horizons. In terms of GDP loss the least costly means of achieving a particular long run inflation outcome is via the current monetary policy arrangements. Currency market alternatives are volatile but less expensive than the equity market in terms of output loss for short term inflation horizons.

贸易模式与不完全汇率传递——基于扩展的古诺模型的解释

本文采用一个扩展的古诺模型分析证明了贸易模式与不完全汇率传递的关系。首先,本文从破解人民币升值背景下中国贸易规模和贸易顺差仍持续增长这一谜题出发,分析了中国贸易模式和出口结构特征,描述了中国在国际生产价值链上的角色,阐述了垂直型产业内模式和中间产品占比较大的贸易结构对人民币汇率传递水平的影响。其次,对Dornbusch采用的古诺模型进行拓展,引入贸易模式变量,构建了一个局部均衡的理论模型。模型分析表明,产业市场结构、本国供应商的市场地位和贸易模式是影响出口价格的汇率传递水平的重要因素。最后,根据模型分析结论,提出相应的政策建议。     

Exchange Rate Policy in Small Rich Economies

We look at the exchange rate policy choices and outcomes for small rich economies. Small rich economies face significant policy challenges due to proportionately greater economic volatility than larger economies. These economies usually choose some form of fixed exchange rate regime, particularly in the very small economies where the per capita cost of independent monetary policy is relatively high. When such countries do choose a free or managed floating regime, they appear to derive no benefit from those regimes; their exchange rate volatility seems to rise without any significant change in fundamental economic volatility. Thus, for these countries, floating exchange rates seem to create problems for policy makers without solving any.