货币政策目标和篮子货币最优权重的选取——基于贸易收支稳定的视角

本文首先建立模型分析在使贸易收支变动方差最小化条件下,汇率指数最优权重的选取,也就是把汇率指数的构建和货币政策的目标结合起来。本文构建了国际收支变动关于篮子货币权重的理论模型,根据贸易收支方差波动最小获得篮子货币的最优权重。进一步,本文对最优权重进行了数值模拟分析,得到出口或进口稳定的最优篮子货币的权重,在此基础上,本文模拟了人民币对美元汇率的走势,并比较了有效汇率稳定目标下篮子货币的权重和人民币对美元汇率的变化。结合宏观经济政策目标重新确定参考篮子货币汇率指数权重,有利于完善和建立参考一篮子货币的汇率制度,为篮子货币制度制定提供理论指导。     

Retrospect of the Chinese Exchange Rate Regime after Reform： Stylized Facts during the Period from 2005 to 2010

In the present paper, we estimate the de facto RMB exchange rate regime, the currency basket, the floating band and the foreign exchange market pressure before and after the reform of the Chinese exchange rate regime in 2005. We find the following stylized facts： the value of the RAIB became stable after the reform; the weight of the US dollar remained high in the basket, while other currencies remained statistically significant; and the floating band gradually increased to lO percent during 2005-2008, and then greatly narrowed from the late summer of 2008 under the assumption of a yearly resetting interval. We find that the foreign exchange market pressure increased from 2005 to 2008. A possible reason is that the weight of the US dollar in the basket was slightly lower than the share of the US dollar in total transactions on the Chinese foreign exchange market. Therefore, it is reasonable for China to adopt a dollar peg exchange rate regime.     

Managing the renminbi: should China peg to a trade‐weighted basket?

Pegging the renminbi (RMB) to the US dollar since 1994 has characterised China's exchange rate policy under a fixed peg or appreciating crawling peg. The current policy, announced in June 2010, of ‘floating with reference to a basket’ made the RMB 25 per cent stronger against a trade‐weighted basket by early August 2015, while it was 10 per cent stronger against the US dollar. Thus, 14 percentage points arose from changes in the cross rates of the other currencies, notably from the fall of the euro since December 2014. Devaluation of the RMB by 3 per cent in August 2015 just covered the effective appreciation since December 2014. Effects of the cross rates of other currencies could be eliminated by managing the external value of the RMB with reference to a genuine trade‐weighted basket. This could be a suitable intermediary exchange rate regime for China, as the risks associated with free floating are still great. Diversifying further the currency composition of the foreign exchange reserves and other foreign assets of the Chinese government, from US dollars towards euro and yen assets, would be a natural parallel shift. The euro–US dollar–yen exchange rates in late summer 2015 may offer a good opportunity to carry out this move.     

TRADE PATTERNS AND EXCHANGE RATE REGIMES: TESTING THE ASIAN CURRENCY BASKET USING AN INTERNATIONAL INPUT‐OUTPUT SYSTEM

This paper aims at analyzing exchange rates and trade patterns of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, China, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan in relation to Japan and the United States, with reference to the Asian currency crises in 1997. In order to analyze these issues, we constructed an international input‐output model linked with macroeconometric models of the ten countries/regions. Analyses on the Asian exchange rates with a currency basket peg framework show that the Asian exchange rate policy was the de‐facto dollar peg policy. As for trade patterns in relation to the yen‐dollar rate; when a country/region's industrial structure is similar to that of Japan's and the yen is weak, the appropriate change of the yen's weight proves to hold its competitiveness. By contrast, the weak yen shows a decrease of its imports, regarding complementary structure. In either case, however, effects are limited.     

货币互换协议、金融市场与中国对外直接投资

基于2003-2018年169个国家的面板数据,文章利用多期双重差分方法探讨了货币互换协议对我国对外直接投资规模与密集度的影响,并通过PSM-DID方法和证伪检验对模型的稳健性进行验证。在此基础上,运用中介效应和调节效应检验方法对货币互换政策的金融市场作用机制进行分析。研究发现,货币互换协议对我国OFDI规模与密集度均有显著积极影响;预期汇率风险是货币互换协议促进我国OFDI的重要影响机制,中介传导而非调节效应是主要影响渠道,而利率市场的影响机制尚未发挥作用。在经济全球化和复杂的国际形势下,这一研究对我国进一步推动国家间金融领域深化合作和推进人民币国际化以畅通国内国际双循环具有重要参考价值。     

Exchange rate regime switching in Malaysia and Singapore in response to China’s move to a basket peg: A DSGE analysis

Motivated by the observation that when China broke from its US dollar peg in 2005, Malaysia and Singapore likewise loosened their currency ties to the US dollar, this paper considers how these two countries might best respond to a hypothetical transition by China to a new basket peg regime. We specify five alternative exchange rate strategies that encompass fixed, basket, and floating regimes and gradual versus sudden transitions. To project outcomes for macroeconomic variables under these alternative regimes, we apply a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model of a small open economy and incorporate exogenous shocks as actually occurred from 2005 Q1 to 2014 Q4. We then compare the strategies based on values of a cumulative loss function defined on the output gap, the inflation rate, and the real effective exchange rate. The exercise reveals that a gradual adjustment to a basket peg with long-term optimal weights is the first-best policy for both countries, where optimal weights are derived to minimize the loss function. Further, both a sudden shift to a basket peg with optimal weights and a sudden shift to a floating rate regime are superior to maintaining the dollar peg in Malaysia, but not to maintaining the existing basket peg in Singapore.     

Directional accuracy tests of Chinese renminbi forecasts

This study investigates the directional accuracy of Chinese renminbi exchange rate forecasts by professional forecasters. The forecast with a horizon of one year is useful, whereas the forecasts with forecast horizons of one and three months are not useful in predicting the direction of the exchange rate change. The results for the long-term forecasts suggest that forecasters believe that the government maintains its foreign exchange rate policy of renminbi appreciation. In contrast, short-term forecasts show consistent evidence of exchange rate unpredictability.     

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)     

基于人民币国际化视角的人民币汇率形成机制改革问题研究

本文从人民币国际化的研究视角,分析货币国际化与汇率形成机制之间的内在联系,并通过人民币与美元、欧元、日元等主要货币的国际化程度的比较,揭示人民币国际化尚处在起步阶段,人民币汇率形成机制改革是直接影响人民币国际化进程的重要因素。在此基础上,本文探讨了人民币汇率形成机制为何采取钉住一篮子货币的改革方案,继而提出推进人民币汇率形成机制改革,促进人民币国际化的若干政策建议。     

东亚汇率合作的现实选择——基于汇率动态性的考察

从理论上看,东亚地区汇率合作有多种形式可以选择,然而,合作选择受制于双边汇率动态性。本文通过东亚主要国家汇率相关性和锚货币的动态性考察,推导出现阶段东亚汇率合作的方案选择,即从非正式的单独钉住货币篮子入手,逐步过渡到正式的共同钉住区域内外货币组成的混合货币篮子,最终的方向是构建东亚共同的由区域内货币组成的货币篮子或者说亚洲货币单位(ACU)。     

Exchange rate policy in the pacific: an evaluation of currency basket regimes

The Pacific island countries have opted for exchange rate regimes with varying degrees of flexibility. Whereas several microstates have adopted an external currency as their legal tender, others have decided to use a basket currency, and yet others have chosen a managed float. The choice of exchange rate regime can have far reaching economic consequences. In the paper, we study the basket currency arrangements by Fiji, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, and Tonga. We first build a new four‐country exchange rate model that illustrates how monetary authorities should best determine the weights of the basket currencies given certain macroeconomic objective functions. In this model, we explicitly include tourism flows. In the second part of the paper, we estimate the de facto weights of foreign currencies in the currency basket of the four countries. We show how the composition has changed amid the global financial crisis. Finally, we demonstrate that the current weights are not optimal compared with the predictions of our model.     

Re‐pegging the renminbi to a basket: issues and implications

On 19 June 2010, the Chinese authorities announced that the renminbi (RMB) was henceforth to be managed with reference to a currency basket. Yet, it has subsequently quite closely followed the USD, although having appreciated gradually by 7.7 per cent up to the time of writing. The details of the composition of the basket have not been announced. Despite having appreciated against the USD, the RMB became first significantly weaker against a broad trade‐weighted basket, and the EUR and the JPY, and this situation held until September 2011. China has announced at international forums that the RMB exchange rate regime will be reformed further. We discuss here what a transparent basket peg could mean for China. To reduce the overall volatility of the RMB exchange rate, the weight for the EUR should be significantly increased, with the special drawing right basket being one option for practical implementation. This would also have a positive impact on the EU. China's currency reform has possible implications for its USD‐dominated asset holdings. Reducing them could trigger a further depreciation of the USD. The potentially costly consequences call for new rules for the global financial architecture. However, China's economic expansion will inevitably lead to a diminishing international role for the USD.     

BASKET PEGS AND EXCHANGE RATE REGIME CHANGE: AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND IN THE MID‐SEVENTIES*

The adoption of a basket peg by China in July 2005 raised interest in this form of exchange rate regime. This paper explores the emergence of the basket peg in the early 1970s, using New Zealand and Australia as case studies to examine why it was adopted, how it operated, and their policy‐makers' use of it to influence various goals. We highlight the complexity of regime choice following the collapse of Bretton Woods. For Australia and New Zealand, the basket peg was a plausible (although interim) solution when they were reluctant either to peg to a single currency or float.     

Export Currency Pricing and Fiscal Multipliers

This paper develops a small open economy dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model to study the implications of the use of foreign currency in export pricing for fiscal policy in East Asian economies. The result shows that external currency pricing amplifies the effect of an exogenous government spending shock on output. The impact and cumulative multipliers are larger under external currency pricing. However, the result depends on the government policy regime. When the government allows for a systematic response of government spending to public debt, the multipliers in the medium-term are smaller under external currency pricing.     

The Russian foreign exchange market: Achievements on the path to liberalization

The paper analyzes Russia’s macroeconomic conditions and main trends in its foreign exchange market under financial liberalization. Structural changes in the Russian foreign exchange market are juxtaposed with major trends and proportions in the world’s forex market such as swap and futures operations and the increased role of the single European currency in the economy and finances. In the examination of the initial results of the dual currency basket policy of the Bank of Russia, the accent is on the foreign exchange market infrastructure, i.e., exchange business, clearing and settlements, as a necessary condition for Russia’s integration into the world’s financial system.     

人民币汇率形成机制的实证研究(2006～2011)

本文在构建两个关于人民币汇率形成机制假说的基础上,利用TARCH模型和篮子货币模型实证研究了人民币汇率的形成机制,得出了人民币汇率交易价格的市场化程度偏低和人民币汇率依旧是钉住美元进行调节的两个结论。据此,我们认为人民币汇率形成机制改革方向应该是减少对外汇市场交易的干预和参照篮子货币调节汇率。     

Stabilization of effective exchange rates under common currency basket systems

We investigate the extent to which a common currency basket peg would stabilize effective exchange rates of East Asian currencies. We use an AMU (Asian Monetary Unit), which is a weighted average of ASEAN10 plus 3 (Japan, China, and Korea) currencies, as a common currency basket to investigate the stabilization effects. We compare our results with another result on stabilization effects of the common G3 currency (the US dollar, the Japanese yen, and the euro) basket in the East Asian countries [Williamson, J., 2005, A currency basket for East Asia, not just China. In: Policy Briefs in International Economics, No. PB05-1. Institute for International Economics]. We obtained the following results: first, the AMU peg system would be more effective in reducing fluctuations of the effective exchange rates of East Asian currencies as a number of countries applied the AMU peg system increases in East Asia. Second, the AMU peg system would more effectively stabilize the effective exchange rates than a common G3 currency basket peg system for four (Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand) of the seven countries. The results suggest that the AMU peg system would be useful for the East Asian countries whose trade weights on Japan are relatively higher than others. J. Japanese Int. Economies 20 (4) (2006) 590–611.     

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.     

Twin Banking and Currency Crises and Monetary Policy

Currency crises are found to be strongly associated with banking crises. This paper constructs a twin banking and currency crisis model by introducing the banking sector into the currency crisis model and examining the case in which the exchange rate risk is located in the banking system. The model shows that an unanticipated shock caused by the shift of investors’ expectations and/or a negative productivity shock can trigger a twin banking and currency crisis. To achieve both financial stability and economic stability, the central bank uses multiple monetary policy instruments. In contrast to the conventional policy recommendation in response to a currency crisis, i.e., interest rate hike, we find that when the exchange rate risk is located in the banking sector, the monetary policy option to prevent a twin crisis is to lower the policy interest rate and the reserve requirement ratio and raise the interest rate on reserves. Our results show that the location of the exchange rate risk matters for the choice of an appropriate monetary policy response during a crisis.     

What Should the Weights of the Three Major Currencies be in a Common Currency Basket in East Asia?*

We consider what type of regional common currency should be introduced in East Asia in the future. The common currency basket is, in itself, more desirable as an anchor currency. In this paper we define two types of currency basket and investigate the long‐term sustainability of adopting a common currency basket in East Asia. From our empirical results, a larger weight (but less than 100 percent) for the US dollar in the common currency basket tends to make bilateral exchange rates among East Asian countries stable in the long run.