Effects of exchange rate variations on bilateral trade with a vehicle currency: Evidence from China and Singapore

Using a testable gravity-type bilateral trade model derived from an underlying demand and supply model, this paper explores the effects of exchange rate variations on bilateral trade in an exchange rate regime with a vehicle currency. The introduction of the vehicle currency allows us to figure out whether variations in the trade volume due to the fluctuation of the bilateral exchange rate are primarily due to changes in demand or in supply, or both. More specifically, in this theoretical framework, the appreciation of one country's currency against the vehicle currency is expected to promote its imports, but the effect of revaluation of the country's currency against the vehicle currency on its exports is ambiguous. Moreover, high volatility of the exchange rate of one country's currency against the vehicle currency is also expected to depress its import volume. From the empirical point of view, the decomposition of the bilateral exchange rate of two currencies into the bilateral rates of these two currencies against the vehicle currency provides a new alternative to avoid the econometric problem of potential reverse causality in assessing the effects. Through compiling a novel monthly bilateral-trade dataset between China and Singapore over 21 years or 252 months, we empirically test the predictions of our model, which get robust support from the results.     

Impact of exchange rate movements on exports: An analysis of Indian non-financial sector firms

We explore the real effective exchange rate (REER) effects on the share of exports of Indian non-financial sector firms for the period 2000–2010. Our empirical analysis reveals that, on average, there has been a strong and significant negative impact from currency appreciation and currency volatility on Indian firms' export shares. Labor costs are found to intensify the exchange rate effects on trade. Further, there is evidence that the Indian firms considered here respond asymmetrically to exchange rates. For instance, the REER change effect is more likely to be driven by a negative appreciation effect than a depreciation effect. Also, Indian firms that have smaller export shares tend to have a stronger response to both REER change and volatility. Compared with those exporting goods, firms that export services are more affected by exchange rate fluctuations. The findings, especially those on asymmetric responses, have important policy implications.     

Official FX interventions through derivatives

We use high-frequency data to study the effects of currency swap auctions carried out by the Brazilian Central Bank on the USDBRL exchange rate. We find that official currency swap auctions impact the exchange rate in a significant way, even though they do not directly alter the supply of foreign currency in the market. We show that during our sample period auctions of contracts in which the Central Bank took a short position in USD had larger effects than those in which the Central Bank took a long position. The supply of currency swaps to the market provides an alternative for traders that demand foreign currency for financial (speculative or hedging) rather than transactional reasons, and thus affects the demand for foreign currency and its price. This mechanism is likely to be particularly relevant when forecasters extrapolate exchange rate trends at short-term horizons.     

经济增长、结构失衡与流动性过剩——论我国当前流动性过剩的成因与对策

由于社会保障制度的不完善和分配结构的不合理,经济增长带来居民收入增长的同时,消费需求难以有效放大,储蓄和净出口的高增长成为必然。储蓄的高增长导致银行的存贷差上升,其分流导致股市和房市的流动性过剩;净出口的持续高增长和国际资本的大量涌入导致国际收支持续的高顺差。由于汇率缺乏弹性,基础货币的被动增加和货币乘数的预期外上升一并导致货币供给过剩。强化储备货币发行国的发行约束;调整外贸发展战略,优化产业结构;扩大消费需求;扩大汇率浮动区间;提高货币政策的科学性等措施可以有效控制和利用流动性过剩。     

The transactions demand for money in a two-currency economy: A note

This note modifies transactions demands for monies, derived in a recent article in this Journal by Poloz (1984), by imposing a non-negativity constraint on balances of the superior currency. Imposition of this constraint alters the asset demand functions for the case where currency substitution is not profitable but bond transactions are. Currencies are held in a bundle, proportionate to transactions needs, and substitution occurs between bonds and the currency bundle based on the rate of return on bonds relative to the currency bundle. In contrast to Poloz, the relevant rate of return variable is independent of whether exchange rate appreciation or depreciation is expected.     

Identifying the effects of an exchange rate depreciation on country risk: Evidence from a natural experiment

A natural experiment is used to study exchange rate depreciation and perceived sovereign risk. France suspended coinage of silver in 1876 provoking a significant exogenous depreciation of all silver standard countries versus gold standard currencies like the British pound – the currency in which their debt was payable. The evidence suggests an exchange rate depreciation can significantly increase sovereign risk if a country is exposed to foreign currency debt. We implement a difference-in-differences estimator and find that the average silver country's spread on hard currency debt increased over ten percent relative to non-silver countries.     

Optimal exchange rate flexibility with large labor unions

We study the optimal volatility of the exchange rate in a two-country model with sectoral non-atomistic wage setters, non-traded goods, nominal rigidities and alternative pricing assumptions – producer or local currency pricing. Labor unions internalize the sectoral impact of their wage settlements through firms' labor demand. With local currency pricing, exchange rate depreciation raises sales revenue, which in turn boosts domestic consumption and labor demand. Unions anticipate this effect and set higher wages accordingly. With small unions and low wage markup, optimal monetary policy enhances exchange rate movements to improve its terms of trade. With large unions and high wage markup, optimal monetary policy curbs exchange rate movements to restrain inflationary wage demands and to stabilize employment.     

The role of saving and investment in exchange rate determination under alternative monetary mechanisms

We argue that the demand for national currencies depends on existing payment arrangements for imports and exports. Therefore, exchange rate movements depend on these arrangement. As a result, the relationship between exchange rate movements and various macroeconomic aggregates — like saving and investment — depend on what we call the monetary mechanism. These points are explicitly demonstrated by studying two extreme monetary mechanisms, one in which all payments are done with the seller's currency and one in which all payments are done with the buyer's currency.     

How do the Renminbi and other East Asian currencies co-move?

This paper investigates the degree and the nature of exchange rate co-movements between the Renminbi and a set of seven East Asian currencies by estimating Markov switching models with regime-dependent correlations and time-varying transition probabilities. These models have several advantages. First, exchange rate co-movements can vary across different depreciation and appreciation regimes. Second, the Renminbi can act as a transition variable that provides information regarding how the exchange rates evolve over time. After controlling for global effects and exchange market pressures, the results yield robust evidence of the Renminbi’s rising role in East Asia as a significant factor in currency fluctuations. A key result is that regional currencies tend to overreact when the Renminbi depreciates and underreact when it appreciates, suggesting that East Asian economies are not willing to allow their currency to substantially appreciate against the Chinese currency.     

双边出口全球价值链实际有效汇率弹性理论测度及解析

近年来,汇率与出口弱相关现象引起理论界和实务界的广泛关注。本文通过考虑全球价值链带来的供给侧联系和第三国汇率效应,使用双边出口全球价值链实际有效汇率弹性指标对双边层面的相对价格竞争力与出口关系作出新的测度和结构贡献度分解。研究发现,对相对价格竞争力与出口关系修正后测度的双边出口全球价值链实际有效汇率弹性值显著为负。出口对修正的汇率变动依旧富有弹性。“汇率对出口影响弱化”并没有传统实际有效汇率和双边汇率表现的那么严重,更没有出现“贬值抑制出口”等不符合理论预期的反常情况。双边出口全球价值链实际有效汇率弹性结构分解贡献度结果显示,伴随我国在全球价值链中参与度和地位的提升,中国对主要贸易伙伴出口中由相对价格变动引起中间产品结构变动对总弹性的贡献度不断提升。     

The relationship between investment and large exchange rate depreciations in dollarized economies

We use a simple financial friction in an economy with high degree of liability dollarization - and currency mismatch - to show that the negative balance-sheet effect of an exchange rate depreciation may be observable only if the magnitude of the depreciation is large enough. This result justifies the difficulty to find strong empirical evidence for balance-sheet effects and suggests the convenience of including a “large depreciation” term in empirical analyses. We review some of the related empirical literature and provide some new evidence of this large depreciation effect.     

The Impact of Exchange Rate on Firm Performance: Evidence from Korean Firms

This article analyzes the role of exchange rate in explaining firm investment between 2006 and 2014, considering both export and import channels as possible factors along with other firm-level characteristics based on the Census on Establishments. Using the detailed information on exports and imports from the data, we are able to capture the cost and revenue channel more precisely compared to the previous existing literature. The empirical analysis shows that the export channel appears to be insignificant as opposed to conventional wisdom. However, the import channel is significant and shows that currency appreciation may not necessarily decrease a firm’s investment level.     

新特里芬悖论的逻辑辨析及对中国的启示

本文从特里芬悖论的原意出发提出新特里芬悖论概念,通过协整检验和构建向量误差修正模型（VECM）,建立美元实际有效汇率与货币供应量、国际资本收支之间的长期均衡和短期动态关系,并利用脉冲响应函数和方差分解原理分析变量短期波动给美元实际有效汇率的冲击。本文分析表明,新特里芬悖论产生的问题对实际经济活动影响有限,当世界各国的美元需求增长可持续时,当前以美元为主导的国际货币体系不存在根本性矛盾,新特里芬悖论并不能作为美元贬值政策的理论依据,这也对人民币国际化和外汇政策有长期的借鉴意义。     

贸易摩擦、宏观经济波动与经济开放程度的选择

本文构建一个包含关税冲击以及外汇风险溢价的两国开放经济DSGE模型,创新地揭示了关税冲击造成实际汇率波动的“直接效应”与“间接效应”,刻画了关税变动、贸易条件与实际汇率之间的动态关系与作用机制。我们深入分析了不同经济开放程度下贸易摩擦造成的宏观经济波动以及经济福利损失。模拟结果表明,在一定贸易开放程度下,外国加收关税一方面会导致本国贸易条件恶化,引发出口及产出下降;另一方面会导致本国汇率贬值,引发出口及产出增长。关税冲击发生后短期中汇率贬值效应占优,本国产出会出现小幅上升,随后贸易条件恶化效应逐步显现,产出持续下降。福利分析结果表明,本国适度提升贸易开放度,虽然经济福利损失会小幅上升,但福利损失增加幅度小于外国,会在贸易摩擦竞争中形成相对优势;如果本国过度提高贸易开放度,则会导致本国福利损失大幅增加,并且大于外国福利损失增幅,会在贸易摩擦竞争中形成相对劣势。因此,应适度逐步有序地提升贸易开放度。此外,本国适度推进资本账户开放的政策能够改善贸易条件,促进本国经济增长。     

Exchange Rate Changes and Inflation in Post‐Crisis Asian Economies: Vector Autoregression Analysis of the Exchange Rate Pass‐Through

Macro‐economic consequences of large currency depreciations among the crisis‐hit Asian economies varied from one country to another. Inflation did not soar after the Asian currency crisis of 1997–98 in most crisis‐hit countries except Indonesia where high inflation followed a very large nominal depreciation of the rupiah. The high inflation meant a loss of price competitive advantage, a key for economic recovery from a crisis. This paper examines the pass‐through effects of exchange rate changes on the domestic prices in the East Asian economies using a vector autoregression analysis. The main results are as follows: (i) the degree of exchange rate pass‐through to import prices was quite high in the crisis‐hit economies; (ii) the pass‐through to Consumer Price Index (CPI) was generally low, with a notable exception of Indonesia; and (iii) in Indonesia, both the impulse response of monetary policy variables to exchange rate shocks and that of CPI to monetary policy shocks were positive, large, and statistically significant. Thus, Indonesia's accommodative monetary policy, coupled with the high degree of CPI responsiveness to exchange rate changes was an important factor in the inflation‐depreciation spiral in the wake of the currency crisis.     

开放经济下的“双支柱”调控稳定效应研究

本文研究了管理浮动汇率制下我国货币政策和宏观审慎政策双支柱的调控稳定效应。首先,本文从实证层面考察了人民币汇率升贬值对央行货币政策的非对称影响。接着,本文构建了包含银行部门与货币错配的开放宏观经济模型,重点分析了在面对美联储加息、人民币贬值压力的情况下,货币政策(包括对汇率的反应)和宏观审慎政策(对外债的逆周期调节)的配合如何影响宏观经济和金融的稳定。结论表明,如果缺少宏观审慎政策的配合,货币政策对汇率的反应将导致产出、通货膨胀和资产价格等经济金融变量的波动增大。在存在宏观审慎政策的前提下,相对于完全浮动汇率制,管理浮动汇率制从中长期看能进一步促进产出和外债等核心变量的稳定。     

Devaluation, Fiscal Deficits, and the Real Exchange Rate

This article examines the use of fiscal policies to sustainthe effects of a nominal devaluation on the real exchange rate.It is shown that the magnitude of the change in the real exchangerate depends not only on the size of the devaluation and thedegree of fiscal adjustment but also on the means by which thefiscal deficit is reduced. The change in the nominal exchangerate necessary to maintain the depreciation of the real exchangerate will depend on whether the fiscal deficit is eliminatedby increasing taxes or by reducing government expenditures ontraded and nontraded goods. The required depreciation of thedomestic currency will be larger if the fiscal deficit is reducedby increasing taxes than it will be if the deficit is cut bylowering government expenditures. Further, the depreciationwould be smaller if the cuts in expenditure fell on traded ratherthan nontraded goods. This result implies that the authoritiesmust ensure consistency between exchange rate action and policiesto reduce fiscal imbalances in order to achieve a desired levelof the real exchange rate necessary to attain balance of paymentsequilibrium.     

人民币汇率波动对我国与东亚地区双边贸易影响的实证研究

国际金融危机过程中,东亚部分国家和地区货币竞相贬值以促进出口的做法使得国内要求人民币贬值的呼声甚高。实证结果表明,中国与东亚地区收入水平差距、市场经济化程度以及商品价格水平拉大将导致双边贸易收支的扩大,而人民币相对汇率的升值将缩小中国与东亚地区的双边贸易收支。与此同时．人民币汇率波动对中国与东亚地区贸易收支的影响还存在着国别（地区）效应。对于中国而言,在努力扩大出口的同时应兼顾国家发展战略,坚持产业升级、慎用货币贬值措施,并应通过多次、小幅升值的方式保持人民币的强势地位。     

贸易摩擦、宏观经济波动与经济开放程度的选择

本文构建一个包含关税冲击以及外汇风险溢价的两国开放经济DSGE模型,创新地揭示了关税冲击造成实际汇率波动的“直接效应”与“间接效应”,刻画了关税变动、贸易条件与实际汇率之间的动态关系与作用机制。我们深入分析了不同经济开放程度下贸易摩擦造成的宏观经济波动以及经济福利损失。模拟结果表明,在一定贸易开放程度下,外国加收关税一方面会导致本国贸易条件恶化,引发出口及产出下降;另一方面会导致本国汇率贬值,引发出口及产出增长。关税冲击发生后短期中汇率贬值效应占优,本国产出会出现小幅上升,随后贸易条件恶化效应逐步显现,产出持续下降。福利分析结果表明,本国适度提升贸易开放度,虽然经济福利损失会小幅上升,但福利损失增加幅度小于外国,会在贸易摩擦竞争中形成相对优势;如果本国过度提高贸易开放度,则会导致本国福利损失大幅增加,并且大于外国福利损失增幅,会在贸易摩擦竞争中形成相对劣势。因此,应适度逐步有序地提升贸易开放度。此外,本国适度推进资本账户开放的政策能够改善贸易条件,促进本国经济增长。     

The transactions demand for money in a two-currency economy

In this paper the model of the transactions demand for money of Baumol (1952) is extended to an economy where transactions are conducted in two currencies. The currency substitution hypothesis - that the domestic demand for domestic money depends on the expected rate of depreciation, as well as the domestic rate of interest and level of income - is derived from the model. In addition, several new insights into the implications of currency substitution are provided.