Speculative attacks with unpredictable or unknown foreign exchange reserves

During a currency crisis, speculators usually do not know the value of a central bank's foreign exchange reserves. In this paper I show that modelling speculators as having imperfect knowledge of reserves enriches the predictions of the classical model of speculative attacks. With realistic lags in reserve reporting and costs to unsuccessful speculation, successful speculative attacks will involve a jump depreciation, unsuccessful attacks may occur, attacks may occur when fundamentals are improving, attacks may not be preceded by large increases in interest rates, and fixed exchange rates may be abandoned with no attack and no decline in the money supply. JEL Classification: F31     

解析外汇储备对中国货币政策的影响

本文从中国外汇储备的现状入手，分析了中国外汇储备迅猛增长的原因，封高外汇储备封中国货币政策影响的机理追行了探讨，从而得出结论：高外汇储备使基础货币的可调控空间减小，弱化了中国货币政策的自主性。     

外汇储备适度规模测度理论述评及新进展

外汇储备最优规模的确定是一国外汇储备管理的前提和基础,在当前我国持有巨额外汇储备和面临"双缩水"风险的背景下,如何科学合理地测度我国的外汇储备适度规模,对加强外汇储备的管理并使其保值增值有着重要的意义.本文以外汇储备测度理论的发展为视角,在对各种外汇储备适度规模测度理论进行分析和评价的基础上,介绍和梳理了近年来国内外相关研究的最新进展,以期为我国探寻外汇储备最优规模测度理论提供新的思路.     

略论我国巨额外汇储备对从紧货币政策的影响

外汇储备作为一国经济金融实力的标志,它是弥补本国国际收支逆差、稳定本国汇率以及维持本国国际信誉的物质基础,但外汇储备并非多多益善.尤其对我国2008年开始实行的从紧货币政策而言,巨额的外汇储备导致的外汇占款会形成强大的压力,以至削弱货币政策的有效性.从我国外汇储备状况的现实入手,分析了我国外汇储备迅猛增长的原因及巨额外汇储备对我国从紧货币政策造成的压力.     

The new exchange rate policy in the Asian emerging economies – goodbye trouble,hello comfort?

In this paper, we discuss new aspects of exchange rate policy that can be observed in the Asian emerging economies. In the first place, we show the alternative regimes they may choose and their respective pros and cons. Secondly, we concentrate on the recent strategy of systematic undervaluation of one's currency – figuring prominently among ‘big’ Asian players such as China and India – and the most likely implications of such a strategy for domestic allocation, distribution and stabilization goals. With the background of Germany's experiences in 1969, almost on the eve of the Bretton Woods' system collapse, we model a speculative attack on an undervalued currency in the vein of the Flood–Garber seminal paper from 1984. Now, however, the country in concern (just like India and China) possesses strong rather than weak fundamentals. The continuous accumulation of international reserves, in addition, leads to the question of an ‘optimal management’ of foreign exchange reserves in Asian emerging economies with regard to size and composition. We finally propose a sequence of reforms/policies that should be implemented in those Asian emerging economies on their still long journey to a regime featured by autonomous monetary policy, flexible exchange rate and capital mobility. A brief summary and an outlook for future research close the paper.     

Exchange market pressure and primary commodity – exporting emerging markets

This paper studies short-term sensitivity between exchange market pressure and various domestic and external factors in primary commodity-exporting emerging markets. The paper focuses on the top country-commodity groups in sugar, cereal, fuels, ores and coffee during the pre-peak and post-peak commodity price periods across floating and pegged exchange rate regimes, using the price of crude oil as a general benchmark. Employing a panel model and panel VAR analysis, the paper finds the heterogeneity of response patterns unique to country-commodity groups and exchange rate regimes. According to the results, in flexible regimes, volatility occurs via the foreign exchange market, interest rates, and domestic credit cycles, feeding into the social costs for structurally weaker economies. Hard exchange-rate pegs often result in a drain on international reserves as the terms of trade deteriorate following post-price peaks, leading to unpopular depreciation. These results accentuate concerns over uneven international trade patterns, an open economy’s short-term foreign exchange policy, and speculative capital flows. Such sensitivity has broad implications for macroeconomic balance and the sustainability of implied exchange rate targets in the presence of a foreign exchange constraint across emerging markets.     

外汇储备、银行危机与政府政策

本文探讨了在实行固定或钉住汇率制度条件下,面对商业银行清偿能力危机时,政府是否应该救助的问题。经研究发现:在外汇储备充足时,当商业银行的不良资产较多,或该国的信贷市场处于不断发展与扩张的阶段,政府应该救助;在外汇储备不充足时,当该国的信贷市场处于不断发展与扩张的阶段,政府应该救助;当商业银行的不良资产较多时,政府是否救助视该国具体情况而定;当该国外债规模较大时,政府不应该提供救助。     

基于数值模拟下的中国外汇储备潜在损失分析

外汇储备余额持续积累加剧了外汇储备资产潜在损失的进一步扩大。文章通过对中国外汇储备积累方式的分析,认为造成外汇储备损失的主要路径有三个:冲销债券的利息支付、国际短期资本的投机和人民币对美元汇率升值。在此基础上,文章数值模拟了不同路径下的外汇储备潜在损失,得出以下结论:一是人民币过快升值会加重我国外汇储备损失,应根据我国金融市场的发展状况,逐步改革汇率体系,令人民币更富弹性;二是改变中国外汇储备管理模式,从以往的被动型、防御型模式变成主动型、投资型模式,一方面逐步放松资本账户管制,允许个人和机构海外投资,另一方面加大中国的主权财富基金——中国投资公司的投资力度和规模,通过市场化手段获得更高收益。     

Even more on monetary policy in a small open economy

It is well known that in a small open economy with full capital mobility and a fixed exchange rate, monetary policy is ineffective in influencing real output (e.g. the works of Fleming [Int. Monetary Fund Staff Pap. 9 (1962) 369.] and Mundell [Can. J. Econ. Polit. Sci. 29 (1963) 475.]). However, Wu [Int. Rev. Econ. Finance 8 (1999) 223.] finds that when the credit channel is added to this model, monetary policy can have real effects under a fixed exchange rate system. This conclusion hinges on the assumption that open market operations have no effect on foreign exchange reserves of the central bank when evaluating how a change in monetary policy affects the loan market. This assumption is incorrect because under a fixed exchange rate regime, the quantity of foreign reserves becomes endogenous in the model. It is shown that when this assumption is relaxed, monetary policy is still ineffective in influencing output under a fixed exchange regime, even with an operative credit channel.     

The Impacts of Financial Integration on the Linkages Between Monetary Independence and Foreign Exchange Reserves

This paper investigates the short-run and long-run effects of financial integration on the dynamics between monetary independence and foreign exchange reserves using a GMM system estimation involving two-year non-overlapping average data (2000-2011) from 114 countries. The results indicate that the effect of foreign exchange reserves on the monetary independence is intensified by the level of financial integration. This suggests a positive spill over effect from the financial integration to the monetary policy independence. Besides, a positive implication of financial integration on monetary independence could be established when the foreign exchange reserves is at the maximum level. In addition, the comparisons between the mean of foreign exchange reserves and the threshold levels of foreign exchange reserves that neutralise the impact of financial integration indicate that on average, the foreign exchange reserves are sufficient to offset the effect of financial integration. A stable exchange rate will undermine the positive impact of foreign exchange reserves on monetary independence. Finally, the long-run and short-run impacts occur in the same direction. This paper ends with some policy implications and suggestions for future research.     

On causality and the monetary approach to the balance of payments: The European experience

Using Sims causality test it is shown that the negative relationship between the rate of domestic credit creation and the rate of change of foreign exchange reserves is consistent with the direction of causality proposed by the monetary approach to the balance of payments and it is not simply the result of central bank sterilization or private bank credit policy. Evidence of such opposite causality is present in Sweden and the United Kingdom but it is part of a two-way feedback structure still consistent with the monetary approach.     

Do sovereign rating announcements affect emerging market exchange rate correlations? A multivariate DCC-GARCH approach

This article investigates the effects of sovereign credit rating announcements on time-varying exchange rate return correlations for a sample of 11 emerging market countries over the period 2002–2015. The data set covers daily exchange rates and long-term foreign currency sovereign ratings, outlooks and watch list. The pairwise time-varying correlations are derived by corrected Dynamic Conditional Correlation (cDCC) modelling which is a member of multivariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) models family. Furthermore, to capture the global factor effect, a dynamic-weighted index is created by using dynamic principal component (DPC) analysis. Findings suggest that some of the emerging market exchange rate co-movements are affected by rating announcements. Upgrades of Moody’s and downgrades of Fitch lead to spillovers. Main source of these spillovers are sovereign credit rating changes of European countries, especially Czech Republic and Turkey. Countries with high amount of external debt, large current account deficit and speculative grade are more prone to be influenced by announcements on a foreign country’s long-term sovereign rating.     

The ‘compensation’ thesis,as exemplified by the case of the Chinese central bank

This paper extends the theory of demand-led money supply endogeneity to the case of an open economy with a fixed exchange rate. This theory is contrasted to the standard Mundell-Fleming view. In the compensation approach advocated here, central banks are able to set interest rates, even in a fixed exchange rate regime, either because there are automatic market mechanisms that will induce the private sector to act in such a way that changes in foreign reserves will be compensated by opposite changes in central bank claims over the domestic economy, or because the central bank will engage in endogenous sterilization operations in its efforts to enforce its benchmark interest rate. Analyzing the balance sheet of the Chinese central bank, we find that the large rise in foreign reserves on the asset side is compensated by large positive changes in items of the liability side, mainly bonds issued by the central bank. Foreign reserves are not cointegrated with the monetary base, meaning that there is no long-run relationship between foreign exchange reserves and the supply of base money. We also find no long-run relation between foreign exchange reserves and the consumer price index.     

外汇储备对我国物价水平的影响——基于协整检验与误差修正模型的分析

协整和格兰杰因果检验结果表明,我国外汇储备与物价水平存在协整关系,且外汇储备是物价水平的格兰杰原因,表明外汇储备增加将对通货膨胀形成压力。但从误差修正模型的检验结果看,我国外汇储备对物价水平的影响在短期内较为有限,其主要原因是我国央行短期内进行大量的外汇冲销操作。因此,我国需要采取有效的措施来缓解通胀压力,如加大央行公开市场业务操作、改革外汇管理体制、适当放宽汇率浮动幅度以及合理使用我国现有外汇储备等。     

Balance-of-payments anti-crises

China and Switzerland have recently experienced foreign exchange reserve accumulation far in excess of what would be implied by the literature on optimal reserves. Using a dynamic general equilibrium model, we show that the credible expectation of an upper limit to how many reserves a country is willing to accumulate would lead to a balance-of-payments anti-crisis. This is characterized by an accelerated pre-crisis accumulation of foreign exchange reserves, followed by a collapse of the monetary target that is instantaneous under exchange rate targeting and gradual under price level targeting. We argue that Switzerland has recently experienced such an event.     

Determinants of sovereign credit risk: the case of Russia

The article analyses external and domestic determinants of Russian sovereign credit risk from January 2001 to May 2015. The analysis is conducted in a time series framework, involving the ARDL approach and VECM model. External risk factors outperform domestic fundamentals. The VIX index and oil prices are the most important factors, followed by the Fitch credit rating changes and TED spread. There is evidence for the piggyback effect by S&P whose credit rating changes are driven by Fitch Ratings and Moody’s decisions. Among macroeconomic fundamentals only exchange rate dynamics and foreign reserves appear significant. The importance of the fundamentals further decreases when Granger (no) causality tests are conducted. The findings reveal a limited role of domestic macroeconomic policy in curbing Russian sovereign credit risk.     

Exchange Rate Dynamics with Foreign Reserves: Revisiting the Dornbusch Overshooting Model

The purpose of this study is to shed light on the management of foreign reserves that possibly have contradictory policy intentions and impacts, for instance, (1) to defend the domestic currency, (2) to depreciate the domestic currency. With this Möbius's strip‐like nature in mind, we extend the Dornbusch (1976) exchange rate overshooting model with the foreign reserves. Depending on financial vulnerability, the presence of foreign reserves could amplify or alleviate monetary policy shocks on the exchange rate.     

中国外汇储备投资组合选择——基于外汇储备循环路径的内生性分析

本文从中美两国经济的本质性差异出发,通过刻画中国外汇储备对外投资的"循环路径",构建了包括央行、金融市场和实体经济的斯塔克尔伯格及古诺模型,进而模拟出中国外汇储备对外投资对本国经济的间接贡献、合意的外汇储备投资组合,以及最优外汇储备投资规模。研究结果表明,中国外汇储备投资于美国风险资产的规模将影响外汇储备间接转化为美国对中国FDI的比例。同时,中国央行外汇储备规模及投资策略对危机时期的反应不足。改变外汇储备投资收益的主要方法包括降低居民的相对风险回避系数,通过政策引导促进居民消费,以及大力发展中国金融市场,降低对美国金融市场的依赖程度。     

外汇储备与金融危机中的汇率稳定

本文首先分析了2008年全球金融危机下的外汇储备与实际有效汇率,结果表明2007年外汇储备存量更高和2008年外汇储备流量增加更多的国家,在2008年发生全球金融危机时保持了更稳定的汇率.在进一步对外汇储备与实际有效汇率的关系做了面板数据分析后,得出以下结论:外汇储备可以降低实际有效汇率的波动率,但这种效应是非线性的;更高的外汇储备充足率代表在危机状况下实行外汇市场干预的更大潜力;其他经济变量如一国的经济增长速度提高、货币供应量的波动降低、贸易条件的改善以及国内金融深化程度的加强都能降低有效汇率的波动.     

通胀目标制与汇率目标制不能共存吗

基于汇率传递的风险溢价渠道，本文将我国利率调控通胀、外汇储备对冲干预汇率纳入新凯恩斯政策模型，构建双目标双工具政策分析框架，比较泰勒规则与双目标双工具规则下通胀目标与汇率目标共存的经济机制与效应。本文模拟显示：（1）双目标双工具政策框架下通胀目标与汇率目标能够共存，此时通过影响汇率风险溢价来盯住汇率不影响通胀；而单工具政策下两目标无法共存，此时降低国内资产的收益率盯住汇率会刺激居民的消费行为引起通胀。（2）国际资本冲击下，双目标双工具政策在固定汇率的同时能保证经济稳定；而当贸易条件恶化时，选择完全浮动汇率制度最优。央行政策损失分析进一步验证了以上结论。（3）随着金融市场化改革深入，外汇储备稳定汇率的有效性将下降，冲销成本会大幅提升。资本账户开放下，双目标双工具政策仍是央行抵御外部资本冲击的首选政策；但是汇率市场化后，通胀目标制与双目标双工具政策效果基本无差异。本文结论的启示是：面对国际资本，需必要的汇率管制；但是面对贸易冲击，可适度提升汇率弹性来减少冲击对产出和通胀的影响。