Economic Fundamentals and Exchange Rate Movements

This paper provides a non-parametric test of modern exchange rate models that is an alternative to econometric methods. The economic fundamentals from three well-known exchange rate theories are used to devise quarterly net predictions for the movement of sterling against four major currencies over the period 1973-98. Each model is examined under six expectations mechanisms. Although the test can lead to very diverse predictions from different models, it is shown that there is very little difference in the predictive success of rival exchange rate theories. The paper shows that the role assigned to market expectations is more crucial to the success of the models than the particular specification of the fundamental variables.We find some weak evidence to suggest that extrapolative and adaptive expectations mechanisms seem to offer a better specification of exchange rate expectations as compared to regressive and rational expectation mechanisms. One significant advantage of the test is that it can readily deal with hybrid models and heterogeneous expectations; however, neither route seems to improve exchange rate forecasts.     

Export pricing and exchange rate expectations under uncertainty

This paper contributes to the literature on firms’ export pricing by assessing whether and to what extent firms take into account the expected future evolution of the exchange rates while setting their prices. Using French micro-level trade data, our empirical analysis reveals that by adjusting their export prices, firms partly absorb information about future exchange rate variations. The extent to which individual exporters absorb future exchange rate fluctuations is found to depend on their market power, in accordance with theoretical dynamic demand-side models encompassing mechanisms creating an inter-temporal relationship between current market shares and future profits. The analysis also shows that the strength of such expectation-related mechanism is considerably reduced with greater future exchange rate uncertainty, in line with an interpretation of pricing-to-market as an investment decision under uncertainty. In a comparative perspective our results are shown to drive asymmetric responses across destinations of aggregate bilateral export flows to expected exchange rate movements.     

Does exchange rate variability matter for welfare? A quantitative investigation of stabilization policies

This paper studies what degree of exchange rate stabilization is optimal for several types of open economies. This is accomplished through a quantitative evaluation of optimal monetary policy rules in a two-country sticky-price model. First, a calibrated benchmark model with incomplete asset markets supports past conclusions from simpler models, emphasizing inflation stabilization rather than exchange rate stabilization. It also highlights that the utility gains from optimal stabilization policy are small. Second, while an economy extended to include consumer habits implies greater sensitivity by households to consumption variability, it has only minor effects on the benchmark conclusions and benefits. Finally, these conclusions are altered under an alternative environment where international asset markets exhibit asymmetry in the form of “original sin.” Such countries can benefit from policies that aggressively stabilize the exchange rate, with utility gains larger than the previous cases.     

Dynamic forecasting of monetary exchange rate models: Evidence from cointegration

The Frenkel-Bilson and Dornbusch-Frankel monetary exchange rate models are used to estimate the out-of-sample forecasting performance for the U.S. dollar/Canadian dollar exchange rate. By using Johansen's multivariate cointegration, up to three cointegrating vectors were found between the exchange rate and macroeconomic fundamentals. This means that there is a long-run relationship between the exchange rate and economic fundamentals. Based on error correction models, two monetary models outperform the random walk model at the three-, six-, and 12-month forecasting horizons. Therefore, monetary exchange rate models are still useful in forecasting exchange rates.     

Towards a consistent comparison of alternative exchange rate systems

Equilibrium allocations of alternative exchange rate regimes are compared in an intertemporal framework. When money serves only as a store of value, the same real allocations are attainable under all regimes. However, if money also serves other functions, there are equilibria under the fixed rate system that eliminate those under floating rates, and vice versa.     

Nonlinear exchange rate dynamics under stochastic official intervention

Many studies employ non-linear models to explain or forecast the exchange rate and find their superiority. This article builds an exchange rate model of managed float under conditional official intervention. In the model, the government minimizes social loss through a trade-off between targeting the exchange rate and lowering intervention costs. We obtain an endogenous threshold model and derive an analytical solution of the exchange rate stochastic interventions. The implication of a managed float causing a lower volatility of the exchange rate has been found by past empirical studies. Our model provides not only a justification for the central banks' conditional interventions but also a rationale for the use of regime-switching models of two states (intervention vs. non-intervention) in the empirical studies of exchange rates.     

A heterogeneous agent exchange rate model with speculators and non-speculators

This paper constructs a heterogeneous agent exchange rate model of speculators and non-speculators from a simple monetary framework. The model replaces rational expectations with an adaptive learning rule that forecasts future exchange rates with an econometric model, and assumes two types of market participants, speculators and non-speculators, that differ by their forecasting model. Speculators employ a correctly specified forecasting model, are relatively short-term oriented, and are subject to momentum and herding effects via an expectation shock; non-speculators utilize a simple forecasting model, have no incentive to be short-term oriented, and are not subject to herding effects. Parameters are calibrated and estimated using the method of simulated moments, and simulation results show that the model is able to replicate foreign exchange market stylized facts better than a model of representative agent rational expectations. Furthermore, the dynamics of the model are shown to derive from both agent heterogeneity and the expectation shock.     

Modelling the impact of central bank intervention on exchange rate volatility under inflation targeting

This article empirically investigates the effect of central bank’s foreign exchange interventions on the level and volatility of the Uganda shilling/US dollar exchange rate (UGX/USD) under an inflation-targeting regime. Utilizing daily data spanning the period 1 September 2005, to 31 December 2015, we estimate a foreign exchange intervention model within a GARCH theoretic framework. Empirical results indicate that foreign exchange interventions have had mixed impact on the volatility of the exchange rate. We find that inflation targeting is capable of curbing temporary exchange rate shocks. Empirical results indicate that while order flow is capable of reducing exchange rate volatility, an increase in the operating target rate, the 7-day interbank rate tends to exacerbate exchange rate volatility. Our empirical results are robust to alternative model specifications. We argue that inflation targeting is an effective monetary policy tool for curbing exchange rate volatility.     

China's economic growth and its real exchange rate

The shocks that underlie China's comparatively rapid growth include gains in productivity, factor accumulation and policy reforms that increase allocative efficiency. The well-known Balassa–Samuelson hypothesis links productivity growth in tradable industries with real appreciations. Yet it relies heavily on the law of one price applying for tradable goods, against which there is now considerable evidence. In its absence, other growth shocks also affect the real exchange rate by influencing relative supply or demand for home product varieties. This paper investigates the pre-conditions for the Balassa–Samuelson hypothesis to predict a real appreciation in the Chinese case. It then quantifies the links between all growth shocks and the Chinese real exchange rate using a dynamic model of the global economy with open capital accounts and full demographic underpinnings to labor supply. The results suggest that financial capital inflows most affect the real exchange rate in the short term, while differential productivity is strong in the medium term. Contrary to expectation, in the long term demographic forces prove to be weak relative to changes in the skill composition of the labor force, which enhances services sector performance and depreciates the real exchange rate.     

Testing the currency-substitution model under the German hyperinflation

In this paper the currency-substitution model is tested under the German hyperinflation using several expectations-formation mechanisms. The maximum-likelihood estimates of the currency-substitution model reveal that extrapolative and adaptive expectations seem to have been predominant and that there was a significant degree of currency substitution. The results also reveal that expectation was destabilizing and that it was not possible to distinguish between the effects of the expected change in the exchange rate and the expected inflation.     

Revisiting the interest rate–exchange rate nexus: a Markov-switching approach

In this paper the interest rate–exchange rate nexus and the effectiveness of an interest rate defense are investigated empirically. I present a reduced form evidence which characterizes the empirical relationship between interest rates and exchange rates. I use a Markov-switching specification of the nominal exchange rate with time-varying transition probabilities. Empirical evidence from six developing countries: Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Mexico, and Turkey indicates that raising nominal interest rates leads to a higher probability of switching to a crisis regime. Thus, the empirical results presented here may support the view that a high interest rate policy is unable to defend the exchange rate. Unlike other studies which consider linear models only, my findings are robust and consistent over different countries and crisis episodes (Asian 1997 crises, Mexico 1994 crisis, and Turkey 1994, 2001 crises). In order to explain the empirical findings, I construct a simple theoretical model by incorporating an interest rate rule in the model proposed by Jeanne and Rose (2002) [Jeanne, O., Rose, A.K., 2002. Noise trading and exchange rate regimes, Quarterly Journal of Economics. 117 (2) 537–569]. The model has multiple equilibria, and under plausible conditions, higher exchange rate volatility is associated with higher interest rates.     

Seasonal fluctuations and equilibrium models of exchange rate

Most of the evidence on dynamic equilibrium exchange rate models is based on seasonally adjusted consumption data. Equilibrium models have not worked well in explaining the actual exchange rate. However, the use of seasonally adjusted data might be responsible for the spurious rejection of the model. This article presents a new equilibrium model for the exchange rates that incorporates seasonal preferences. The fit of the model to the data is evaluated for five industrialized countries using seasonally unadjusted data. Our findings indicate that a model with seasonal preferences can generate monthly time series of the exchange rate without seasonality even when the variables that theoretically determine the exchange rate show clear seasonal behaviours. Further, the model can generate theoretical exchange rates with the same order of integration than actual exchange rates, and in some cases, with the same stochastic trend.     

Exchange rate indeterminacy in portfolio balance, Mundell-Fleming and uncovered interest rate parity models

With full stock/flow accounting respected, the two-country openeconomy portfolio balance model has just two independent equationsfor asset market clearing. It can determine home and foreigninterest rates but not the exchange rate. If asset market equilibriavary smoothly over time, the balance of payments equation inthe Mundell–Fleming model is not independent and cannotset the exchange rate either. The familiar fixed reserves/‘floatingrate’ vs endogenous reserves/‘fixed rate’dichotomy does not exist, and ‘fundamentals-based’econometric models of the exchange rate are bound to fail. Analternative is a two-country IS/LM model with exchange ratedynamics added. Its dynamic properties under uncovered interestrate parity are briefly explored.     

Calibration of implied volatility for the exchange rate for the Chinese Yuan from its derivatives

Revised implied volatility curves and surfaces for the Chinese Yuan (CNY) exchange rate are obtained from market quotations for CNY non-deliverable options by solving an inverse problem of foreign exchange option pricing, which is calculated using a regularization approach in an optimal control framework. To take account of the market expectation for the CNY exchange rate, a stochastic adjusted factor is applied that follows a Vasicek model with parameters fitted from market quotations for CNY non-deliverable forwards. A well-posed numerical scheme is implemented.     

预期作用下人民币汇率对出口价格的非线性传递效应研究

对外贸易中贸易款项的支付大多数都在远期,因此对未来汇率变化幅度的预期,会影响汇率对出口价格的传递效应,从而导致汇率传递出现非线性特点。本文对此进行了理论分析,结果显示,预期未来汇率变化幅度较大时,汇率对出口价格的传递程度会下降甚至可能出现负向传递。实证部分本文使用STR模型分析了1999年1月—2016年7月在汇率预期的作用下人民币汇率对出口价格的传递效应。研究发现当人民币汇率预期变动幅度较小时,汇率传递系数为正,人民币汇率升值会导致出口价格上涨,贬值导致出口价格的下降。但是当人民币预期汇率的变化幅度达到一定的阈值后,人民币汇率升值会导致出口价格下降,而贬值会导致出口价格上涨。因此货币当局有必要关注汇率预期尤其是大幅度汇率变化预期的存在对进出口价格和需求的影响。     

The effects of exchange rate uncertainty on exports

We investigate the effects of exchange rate uncertainty on exports in the context of a multivariate framework in which a structural open economy vector autoregression is modified to accommodate multivariate GARCH-in-Mean errors, as detailed in Elder (Elder, J., 2004. Another perspective on the effects of inflation uncertainty. Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking 36, 912–928). Our measure of exchange rate uncertainty is the conditional standard deviation of the forecast error of the change in the exchange rate. We isolate the effects of exchange rate uncertainty on exports and also analyze how accounting for exchange rate uncertainty affects the response of exports to exchange rate shocks. We estimate the model using aggregate monthly data for the United States, over the flexible exchange rate period (since 1973). We use full information maximum likelihood estimation procedures and find that exchange rate uncertainty has a negative and significant effect on US exports. We also find that accounting for exchange rate uncertainty tends to strengthen the dynamic response of exports to shocks in the exchange rate and that exports respond asymmetrically to positive and negative exchange rate shocks of equal magnitude.     

Autoregressive conditional durations: An application to the Surinamese dollar versus the US dollar exchange rate

The parallel market nominal exchange rate of the United States dollar vis-à-vis the Surinamese dollar (USD/SRD) exhibited periods of severe volatility which were often followed by episodes of stability, usually at a cost of sharp depreciations. This study seeks to model this exchange rate using autoregressive conditional duration models. These models are suitable for modelling events occurring with irregular intervals. Exchange rates in developing countries have distinct features compared to exchange rates in countries with well-established and accessible financial markets. A key feature is that for these developing countries, exchange rates only occasionally experience jumps. Our findings suggest that past exchange rate changes appear to be a significant driver of future exchange rate jumps. Furthermore, our results show that money, international reserves, and commodity prices can explain jumps in the market USD/SRD exchange rate.     

Time-varying exchange rate exposure and exchange rate risk pricing in the Canadian Equity Market

This paper aims to extend the existing literature on foreign exchange rate risk pricing. Unlike the existing studies on Canada, we use six alternative bilateral and one multilateral exchange rate proxies. Furthermore, using both a two-factor and a three-factor capital asset pricing model (CAPM), we test for the presence of a long-run relationship among exchange rate risk pricing, herding behavior, term structure and the interest rate. The estimated results based on both the ordinary least squares (OLS) and generalized least squares (GLS) estimation techniques confirm that exchange rate risk in the Canadian equity market is priced and that the pricing of this risk is time-varying. This result holds for all seven exchange rate proxies. Our empirical analysis also suggests the presence of a long-run relationship among exchange rate risk pricing, herding behavior, term structure and the interest rate. This relationship is found to be insensitive to variations in the world market return.     

Exchange rate dynamics and currency unification: The Ostmark-DM rate

This paper estimates a simple model of the exchange rate between the East and West German Mark immediately preceding German monetary union. Although there is a theoretical literature on exchange rate dynamics when the introduction of a fixed exchange rate is anticipated, the absence of data has limited empirical work on the subject. We show that in the first part of the sample, the DM-Ostmark exchange rate behaves as a random walk. In the second half, when monetary union appeared more likely, the exchange rate behaves as a weighted average of fundamentals and the expected “terminal” exchange rate.     

A re-examination of the impacts of macroeconomic and financial shocks on real exchange rate fluctuation: evidence from G7 and Asian countries

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to investigate the sources of real exchange rate fluctuation by utilizing sign restrictions in structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) method. Under an agnostic identification scheme, the empirical results show that the delayed overshooting puzzle still exists in response to monetary shock even if price puzzle is ruled out by construction. In contrast, all countries experience a significant initial real depreciation, and then gradually appreciate in response to currency risk premium (CRP) shock. This finding is consistent with Dornbusch’s overshooting model. In addition, I examine the importance of investors’ expectations in determining the short-term variations in the real exchange rate. The results indicate that the CRP and expectation shocks obviously outperformed the demand, supply and monetary shocks in terms of explaining the real exchange rate fluctuation.