Real dollarization in Phnom Penh,Evidence from two surveys

This paper aims to identify real dollarization in markets in Phnom Penh and to investigate how U.S. dollar (USD) and Cambodian riel or Khmer riel (KHR) perform the three functions of money—a unit of account, a store of value and a medium of exchange in markets in Phnom Penh through two simple surveys. Real dollarization refers to the use of the U.S. dollar for purchasing goods and services and for paying salary. We find that the choice of currency for transactions varies with market types, sources of products whether they are imported or domestically produced, and prices of products. The survey about currency for salary payment shows that the majority of employed persons in the private sector and in non-government organization receive salary in U.S. dollar while those who work in public sector receive salary in Khmer riel. The majority of employed persons save their money in U.S. dollar. In general, U.S. dollar dominates Khmer riel in performing the three functions of money in Phnom Penh.     

Price adjustment after hyperinflation in Zimbabwe

This paper examines—post‐dollarization in Zimbabwe—the extent of price dispersion within Zimbabwe and between Zimbabwe and South Africa. We document the adjustment process, and the mechanisms of price adjustment after the introduction of the new currency system in Zimbabwe. We show that prices converged post‐dollarization. We argue that the fall in price dispersion is not a product or a Southern Africa region effect. Rather it is a Zimbabwe specific effect and given that price convergence happens quicker the closer the month is to the dollarization, we argue that the observed results are driven by the change in currency. Price dispersion happens faster between major cities and secondary cities, suggesting improvements in information and trade signals between major and secondary cities. These results suggest that the positive effects of a stable currency fall disproportionally on secondary cities, implying price stability not only has macroeconomic benefits, but also developmental benefits since secondary cities and rural areas are on average, poorer than main cities.     

柬埔寨吸引外商直接投资优惠政策之探究

自1993年新政府成立以来,由于柬埔寨深化实行自由市场经济体制和对外开放政策,努力完善外商投资法,改进投资环境,其外商直接投资不断发展。随着国家间的投资来往越来越多,为了挑战日益激烈的国际经贸竞争,目前柬埔寨政府出台一套新外商直接投资优惠政策,以吸引更多外国投资者来柬埔寨投资。本文对柬埔寨外商直接投资优惠政策之探究划分为四个部分来探讨:第一,柬埔寨外商直接投资的比较优势;第二,柬埔寨吸引外商直接投资政策的演变;第三,柬埔寨吸引外商直接投资优惠政策实施的主要制约因素;第四,柬埔寨吸引外商直接投资优惠政策的理性定位思考。     

Exchange Rate Choices of Microstates

In this paper I first explain why most microstates (countries with less than two million inhabitants) have gained independence only in the last 30 years. Despite the higher costs and risks microstates face, their ability to better accommodate local preferences, combined with a more integrated world economy, probably explains why there are now more benefits to independence. I explain why microstates at independence have chosen either dollarization, currency board arrangements, or fixed exchange rates rather than more flexible forms of exchange rate systems. I then, using the Geweke‐Hajivassiliou‐Keane multivariate normal simulator, model empirically the determinants of each of the different fixed exchange rate regimes in microstates and analyze the policy implications.     

Modeling the Dollarization: A Case Study for Cambodia,Laos, and Vietnam

Abstract

We model the dollarization of three transitional economies in south-east Asia: Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam which have been experiencing the transition and reform process of the economy for the time period 1992–2007. Based on Rojas-Suarez (IMF Working Paper WP/92/33, 1992) work, we examine whether the holdings of US dollars depend on the effect of the expected rate of depreciation in market exchange rates as expected by the model. Also, we examine whether the effects are proportional to the degree of the dollarization of the economy. The empirical results present that there are positive effects (expected) of the expected rate of depreciation in market exchange rates on the holdings of US dollars. The coefficients are statistically significant only for Cambodia and Laos, not for Vietnam. The effect is strongest for Cambodia, and this may reflect the fact that Cambodia's dollarization is stronger than those of Laos and Vietnam.     

Strong Currency and Weak Currency

This paper presents a two-country model in which two currencies compete with each other. There exists an equilibrium in which the two currencies with different rates of inflation circulate as media of exchange despite neither currency being required to be used for transactions. Taxes payable in local currency and asymmetric injection of fiat money by the government through purchases of a certain good generate demands even for the currency with a higher inflation rate. In such an equilibrium, the government that issues the currency with a lower rate of inflation collects seigniorage not only from its own residents but from the residents of the other country provided that the rate of inflation is positive. The strong currency in the sense of a low inflation rate becomes an international medium of exchange. Policy games, in which the two governments simultaneously choose and commit to tax rates and inflation rates, are also examined. We show, among other things, that the equilibrium rate of inflation is zero in this policy game. In other words, unlike a common argument, the rate of inflation does not go below zero. This result is due to the fact that a negative rate of inflation induces a negative amount of seigniorage andvice versa. Some alternative currency regimes are examined. Even for a country with a weak currency, abandonment of its currency leads to a lower level of welfare. Monetary unions are briefly discussed as well.J. Japan. Int. Econ., Dec. 199812(4), pp. 305–333. University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.     

中央银行利润、财政铸币税和最优铸币税的探讨

中央银行的利润主要受机会成本铸币税以及转移的机会成本铸币税二者共同作用的影响。文章定义的财政铸币税（fiscal seigniorage）包括央行上缴的利润,扣除对央行支付的利息,再加上央行对政府存款所支付的利息,以及央行对政府债权和政府存款的变动等。文章理论分析认为央行利润、财政铸币税和通货膨胀率存在非线性关系,在MIU模型下,铸币税呈U型特征或"倒U型"特征,这与铸币税因子和货币需求函数的变动特征有关。ARDL模型实证结果显示我国中央银行货币铸币税、央行利润和财政铸币税的变动存在"U型"特征;转移的机会成本铸币税呈现"倒U型"特征;机会成本铸币税既没有"U型"特征,也没有"倒U型"特征。以MIU模型中的货币需求函数为前提,铸币税的U型或倒U型特征取决于铸币税因子的变动特征。     

An Estimated Stochastic General Equilibrium Model with Partial Dollarization: A Bayesian Approach

In this paper, we develop and estimate a dynamic stochastic, general-equilibrium New Keynesian model with partial dollarization. Bayesian techniques and Peruvian data are used to evaluate two forms of dollarization: currency substitution (CS) and price dollarization (PD). The empirical results are as follow: first, it is noted that the two forms of partial dollarization are important in explaining the significance of the Peruvian data. Second, models with both forms of dollarization dominate models without dollarization. Third, a counterfactual exercise shows that by eliminating both forms of partial dollarization, the response of both output and consumption to a monetary policy shock doubles, making the interest rate channel of monetary policy more effective. Fourth, based on the variance decomposition of the preferred model (with CS and PD), it is found that demand type shocks explain almost all the fluctuation in CPI inflation, the monetary shock being the most important (39%). Remarkably, foreign disturbances account for 34% of the output fluctuations.     

Bank dependency on foreign funding and global liquidity shocks: The importance of US monetary policy for a developing country

We examine international spillover effects of US monetary policy on bank lending in Cambodia, using unique data about loan disbursements and the funding structures of Cambodian banks from 2013Q1 to 2019Q2. The banking sector in a developing country is likely dependent on foreign funding, while the dependency could be the source of vulnerability to international monetary and economic conditions. We empirically document that US monetary policy is likely to be transmitted to Cambodian bank lending through foreign funding. We also document that Cambodian banks change their risk-taking behavior in response to the spillover effects of US monetary policy. Furthermore, these results are robust for US monetary policy, but weak and not robust for the monetary policies of the Cambodian bank’s major shareholders’ home countries, suggesting that US monetary policy should be primarily taken into account in supervising banks that are reliant on foreign funding, in addition to domestic economic conditions.     

An empirical study on the hysteresis of currency substitution in Cambodia

This paper examines whether the currency substitution (CS) phenomenon in Cambodia is in a hysteresis state. We employ a simple model of money-in-the-utility function with two currencies (home and foreign), in which the effect of network externalities on the use of foreign currency is taken into account. The equation derived from the model is estimated using the autoregressive distributed lag approach to cointegration for the period from June 1993 to June 2009. Our estimation results indicate that (1) there exists a stable, long-run relationship among the variables considered, (2) the CS ratio increases when people expect a higher rate of depreciation in the exchange rate, and most importantly, (3) there is evidence supporting the existence of a network externality, thereby implying the hysteresis of the CS phenomenon in Cambodia. Given the characteristics of the CS process in Cambodia, any measure or policy option to bring down the CS degree must be carefully considered.     

Is Asian Currency Unit Attractive to East Asian Economies？

Pegging the RMB exchange rate to the Asian currency unit (ACU) has not, at least in the short term, been proved a better solution than pegging to the US dollar or pegging to a G‐3 (US$, Japanese yen and euro) currency basket. Although the Asian currency unit can help Asian economies to keep the relative price of regional currencies stable, the cost of joining a formal regional monetary cooperation is the relinquishment of the autonomy of their domestic policies. Asian monetary cooperation needs to provide more potential benefits if it is to attract Asian economies. We argue that Asian monetary cooperation should be designed to solve the problem of regional trade imbalance, and regional exchange rate policy coordination should be adopted as the first step towards exchange rate cooperation. (Edited by Zhinan Zhang)     

Seigniorage,Dollarization and Public Debt: The Lebanese Civil War and Recovery Experience, 1982–97

The paper develops theoretical frameworks to explain the phenomena of seigniorage, dollarization, and public debt; and then applies them to the Lebanese macroeconomic situation over 1982–97. More specifically, it analyzes the implications of seigniorage and dollarization to see what extent they were responsible for the inflation and exchange rate depreciations during the civil war period. It also studies the sustainability of postwar debt. The conclusions that emerge from the analysis are that budget deficits were only one of the reasons behind the war inflation and depreciations, dollarization could still impose some problems for macroeconomic stability, and tax reforms are essential for fiscal balance.     

PARTIAL DOLLARIZATION,EXCHANGE RATES,AND FIRM INVESTMENT IN PARAGUAY

Between 1989 and 1993 the government of Paraguay removed most restriction on financial transactions in domestic and foreign currency. The resulting financial deepening also involved partial dollarization. This investigation sought to determine whether partial dollarization led to negative balance sheet effects (in the form of reduced access to investment credit due to depreciation‐induced reduction in firms’ net worth as a result of currency mismatches on their balance sheets) and, therefore, to investment contractions, at the firm level, in the face of real currency depreciations. Support was found for that thesis. However, there was also evidence that banks expanded credit more rapidly in the face of currency depreciations. These apparent contradictory movements in credit and investment were shown to be a result of the absence of any clear causal link (in a Granger sense) between bank credit to the private sector and private investment in Paraguay.     

Currency Substitution and the Stability of the Demand for Money in East Asia

Abstract

This paper models and tests the stability of the demand for money in five East Asian countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand—in the context of an open economy. The Johansen multivariate cointegration vector error correction analysis against quarterly data covering the period 1985:1–2001:4 was used. It was found that a stationary long run cointegrating relationship exists between broad money, real income, domestic interest rates, foreign interest rates corrected for exchange rate depreciation, and the expected rate of depreciation of the exchange rate. The results show that US Treasury bills rates and the foreign exchange rate vis-à-vis the US dollar play a significant role in the East Asian countries money demand relationship. This suggests that currency substitution vis-à-vis the US dollar may be an important consideration in the design and implementation of monetary policy in the East Asian countries. Furthermore, the results show that the Asian currency crises impacted the money demand functions negatively in these countries. CUSUM and CUSUMSQ stability tests show no evidence of parameter instability of the money demand functions in three of the five countries throughout the period under investigation.     

Changes of Thai economy since 19701 1

Within the last 30 years, the number of Thai population increased from 35 million to 62 million, the general price level went up 6 times, and Thai currency baht devaluated 2.2 times against the dollar. The industrial production increased 36 times nominally. The biggest industry of Thailand changed from agriculture to manufacture, and the total value of exports jumped by 192 times and that of imports grew by 95 times. Thai current account balance had recorded a deficit every year from 1970 to 1996. During the same period of time, however, the capital account balance had shown surplus. The inflow of foreign capital was the only stronghold of Thai economy at that time. In 1997, Thailand suddenly experienced a total change of its external environment From then on, Thai current account shifted from a deficit to a surplus and Thai capital account turned from a surplus to a deficit. The conclusion of this paper indicates that the future of Thai economy is heavily dependent on whether the amount of surplus in Thai current account could surpass the deficit in Thai capital account     

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.     

The Euro as a Reserve Currency

This paper presents historical and econometric evidence that the euro will come to rival the dollar as a reserve currency only slowly. The fact that it pays for central banks to hold their foreign reserves in a currency that is widely used in international transactions creates a network externality that gives the dollar an incumbency advantage. In addition, creating a market with sufficient stability to be attractive to international investors requires continuous liquidity management and periodic lender-of-last-resort operations by the issuing central bank. That the Maastricht Treaty assumes a strong separation between monetary policy and prudential regulation consequently bodes ill for the euro's prospects as a reserve currency.J. Japan. Int. Econ., Dec. 1998,12(4), pp. 483–506. Department of Economics and Department of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720.Copyright 1998 Academic Press.Journal of Economic LiteratureClassification Number F3.     

美国量化宽松政策的溢出效应及对中国的影响

次贷危机爆发后,美联储为促进经济复苏,采取了扩张性财政政策和货币政策及非常规的量化宽松政策,向经济注入大量的流动性。现行的国际货币体系是以美元为主导的国际货币体系,美元作为国家货币充当国际货币使得位于中心的美国获得了铸币税,而其它国家则更多地承担了通货膨胀和金融危机的成本。当前美国量化宽松货币政策的溢出效应对中国的影响包括通货膨胀、人民币升值压力和外汇储备的损失。     

Optimal currency shares in international reserves: The impact of the euro and the prospects for the dollar

Foreign exchange reserve accumulation has risen dramatically in recent years. The introduction of the euro, greater liquidity in other major currencies, and the rising current account deficits and external debt of the United States have increased the pressure on central banks to diversify away from the US dollar. A major portfolio shift would significantly affect exchange rates and the status of the dollar as the dominant international currency. We develop a dynamic mean-variance optimization framework with portfolio rebalancing costs to estimate optimal portfolio weights among the main international currencies. Making various assumptions on expected currency returns and the variance–covariance structure, we assess how the euro has changed this allocation. We then perform simulations for the optimal currency allocations of four large emerging market countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), adding constraints that reflect a central bank's desire to hold a sizable portion of its portfolio in the currencies of its peg, its foreign debt and its international trade. Our main results are: (i) The optimizer can match the large share of the US dollar in reserves, when the dollar is the reference (risk-free) currency. (ii) The optimum portfolios show a much lower weight for the euro than is observed. This suggests that the euro may already enjoy an enhanced role as an international reserve currency (“punching above its weight”). (iii) Growth in issuance of euro-denominated securities, a rise in euro zone trade with key emerging markets, and increased use of the euro as a currency peg, would all work towards raising the optimal euro shares, with the last factor being quantitatively the most important. J. Japanese Int. Economies 20 (4) (2006) 508–547.     

人民币国际化决定因素分析

货币国际化收益公式是研究货币国际化理论的核心问题。一国货币到国际货币,铸币税收益与境外储备资产金融业收益远大于其所付出的相关成本。但是,货币国际化收益不是一国货币国际化的决定因素,其决定因素还在于该货币的市场选择与制度安排的结果,在于其内在的世界经济地位等因素。