The foreign exchange exposure of Chinese banks

Using the capital market approach and the equity price data of 14 listed Chinese banks, this empirical study finds that there is a positive relationship between bank size and foreign exchange exposure. This relationship may reflect the larger foreign exchange operations and trading positions of larger Chinese banks and their significant indirect foreign exchange exposure arising from impacts of the renminbi exchange rate movements on their customers. Empirical evidence also suggests that the average foreign exchange exposures of state-owned and joint-stock commercial banks in China are higher than those of banks in Hong Kong, notwithstanding their limited participation in international banking businesses compared with their Hong Kong counterparts. It is also found that negative foreign exchange exposure is prevalent for larger Chinese banks, suggesting that an appreciation of the renminbi tends to reduce their equity value. It is therefore likely that the banking sector's performance will be hampered. Together with the fact that decreases in equity values generally imply a higher default risk, the effects of different scenarios of renminbi appreciation on the default risk of Chinese banks should therefore be closely monitored.     

转轨时期的中国汇率制度选择

在一个开放经济体中,汇率是处于核心地位的经济变量;汇率制度是一国经济实现内外均衡的桥梁。文章通过对各种汇率选择理论的分析,结合转轨时期中国经济的特点,讨论了人民币汇率制度的选择,提出爬行钉住美元制是较为合适的汇率安排。     

Cambium non est mutuum: exchange and interest rates in medieval Europe

A major gap in our understanding of the medieval economy concerns interest rates, especially relating to commercial credit. Although direct evidence about interest rates is scattered and anecdotal, there is much more surviving information about exchange rates. Since both contemporaries and historians have suggested that exchange and rechange transactions could be used to disguise the charging of interest in order to circumvent the usury prohibition, it should be possible to back out implied interest rates from exchange rates. The analysis presented in this article is based on a new dataset of medieval exchange rates collected from commercial correspondence in the archive of Francesco di Marco Datini of Prato, c. 1383–1411. It demonstrates that the time value of money was consistently incorporated into market exchange rates. Moreover, these implicit interest rates are broadly comparable to those received from other types of commercial loan and investment. Although on average profitable, the return on any individual exchange and rechange transaction did involve a degree of uncertainty that may have justified their non‐usurious nature. However, there were also practical reasons why medieval merchants may have used foreign exchange transactions as a means of extending credit.     

我国外汇储备影响因素分析与汇率制度选择

本文通过误差修正模型分析了我国外汇储备长期和短期的影响因素,认为短期影响因素是进出口额与外商直接投资。根据模型结论,本文认为继续深化汇率体制改革,适度加快人民币升值和扩大波动区间,利用汇率自身与对进出口额的杠杆作用,直接和间接地将外汇储备控制在合理的范围内。     

Central bank intervention and exchange rate volatility: Evidence from Japan using realized volatility

This paper presents new empirical evidence on the effectiveness of Bank of Japan's foreign exchange interventions on the daily realized volatility of USD/JPY exchange rates using high frequency data. Following Huang and Tauchen (2005) and Barndorff-Nielsen and Shephard, 2004, Barndorff-Nielsen and Shephard, 2006, we use bi-power variation to decompose daily realized volatility into two components: the smooth persistent and the discontinuous jump components. We model exchange rate returns, the different components of realized volatility and the central bank intervention using a system of simultaneous equations. We find strong support that interventions by Bank of Japan had increased both the continuous and the jump components of daily realized volatility. This suggests that the interventions by Bank of Japan had increased market volatility which not only caused short-lived positive jumps, but were also persistent over time. We did not find any evidence that interventions were effective in influencing the exchange rate returns for the entire sample period.     

Firms’ heterogeneity,demand accumulating,and exchange rate pass-through

In this article, we study how the export behaviors of new and incumbent exporters differentially respond to exchange rate shocks. We establish a dynamic model, in which new exporters strategically charge a lower price than incumbent exporters to grow their customer base and increase future sales. The model predicts that new exporters adjust their prices more aggressively relative to their incumbent counterparts in response to exchange rate fluctuations. Using a transaction-level data set containing all Chinese exporters during the 2000–2009 period, we find supporting evidence for the model's predictions: new exporters adjust their price 1.5 times more than incumbent exporters. This, in turn, results in export quantities being less responsive to exchange rate shocks among new exporters. The result holds for a series of robustness checks. The findings imply that there are different degrees of exchange rate pass-through among new and incumbent exporters.     

Fundamental equilibrium exchange rates and exchange rate dynamics

This paper examines whether there is a tendency for actual exchange rates to return to their fundamental equilibrium exchange rates (FEERs) when the latter are estimated based on popular exchange rate models. Co-integration tests and unit root tests are applied. There is little evidence that the exchange rates of Japan and Germany have a reversion to the purchasing-power-parity (PPP) rates or Williamson's FEERs or the underlying external and internal balance (UEI) FEERs.     

中、美汇率之争的博弈分析

经济全球化时代,两国汇率的形成是两国间博弈的结果。中国是世界上最大的发展中国家,而美国是当今世界上最大的发达国家。从博弈论角度考察,两国在汇率问题上的重复博弈能够达到一个子博弈完美那什均衡。本文对人民币和美元汇率的波动运用了博弈理论分析了双方的得益和支付,并提出了中方在汇率问题上的政策建议。     

我国外汇储备高额增长的原因及对策分析

本文认为我国外汇储备的高额增长既有世界流动性过剩的外部原因,又有国内经济结构失衡导致国际收支顺差的内部原因,所以在治本之策短期内难以奏效的条件下,我们应加快我国外汇储备管理体制的改革,推动外汇资产持有主体的多元化,促进外汇储备的多渠道使用,来积极缓解我国外汇储备增长压力。     

关于中、韩货币兑换问题的几点思考

中韩经贸合作全面展开,民贸发展迅速。民间贸易大量使用现钞结算,而我国尚未开通人民币与韩币兑换业务。适时开办中韩货币兑换业务是经济、金融发展的需要。本文对中韩货币兑换的必要性及可行性进行了分析,并提出了相关建议。     

人民币汇率制度改革以及汇率波动性研究

自我国1978年改革开放以来,我国汇率制度的改革大体上经过了3个阶段:复汇率制度、单一有管理浮动汇率制度、参考"一篮子货币"有管理浮动汇率制度。本文着重讲述了这三个阶段汇率制度的改革情况,分析了人民币兑美元的汇率走势,并对汇率波动性进行实证研究,然后指出我国汇率制度当前存在的问题,以及针对这些问题提出改革的下一步路径。     

Fiscal announcements and real exchange rate dynamics

This paper examines the dynamic impact of anticipated government spending on real exchange rates in a general-equilibrium framework. I show that an increase in government spending causes persistent movements in real exchange rates, and that the time profile of real exchange rates differs with patterns of government spending. Hence, one of the explanations for the misalignment and excess volatility of real exchange rates during the flexible exchange rate system may be volatile changes in government spending.     

Exchange rate regimes and real exchange rate volatility: Does inflation targeting help or hurt?

This paper revisits the comparison of the effects of inflation targeters versus hard fixers and intermediate exchange rate regimes. In particular, we are interested in exploring the impact of inflation targeting (IT) on real effective exchange rate (REER) volatility for a panel of 62 developing countries over the period 2006–2012. We also analyze the impact of IT regimes on REER in terms of its two component parts, i.e. relative tradable prices across countries as well as sectoral prices of tradables and nontradables within countries. The paper accounts for self-selection concerns regarding policy adoption and examines the effects of commodity exports and foreign exchange intervention. Notably, IT regimes seem to have experienced greater REER volatility, largely driven by external prices in developed countries. For developing countries, IT regimes show no difference in REER volatility, though there is some evidence that they have lower volatility in internal prices.     

新汇率制度下我国外向型企业汇率风险的防范

2005年我国实行新的汇率制度,人民币汇率的波动和弹性增强,给我国外向型企业的稳健经营带来了冲击。本文在对人民币汇率的未来走势以及由此带来的汇率风险进行分析的基础上,探讨了我国外向型企业应对汇率风险应采取的防范措施。     

中国外汇储备积累实证研究

为了深刻理解我国外汇储备增长的原因并找出应对策略,本文用向量自回归方法研究了外汇储备积累的原因和机制。实证结果表明,中国实际利率高于外国、货币贬值、经济增长都是导致外汇储备增加的原因。短期内,实际利差、实际汇率、经济增长是影响外汇储备积累的主要因素;而在长期,开放度是影响外汇储备积累的决定性因素,这意味着国内贸易政策比经济活动对外汇储备积累有着更深层次的影响。其政策含义是:缓解外汇储备剧增对经济活动带来的不利影响,重要的是调整出口导向、吸引外资、结售汇等贸易政策,而非人民币升值。     

Credit policy,real exchange rate volatility and moral hazard

We extend the well-developed theoretical literature on unconventional credit policy from a closed economy to a small open economy. Consistent with the literature, we find that credit policy has positive effects on output and consumption by raising investment demand. In terms of expanding output, it is more effective to extend government credit to banks than to the goods-producing sector because for each unit of credit supplied to banks, banks - through leverage - can supply greater than one unit of intermediation to firms. We find the welfare implications are ambiguous and depend on the type of policy chosen. A policy of providing funds to goods-producing firms tends to be welfare-improving because it dampens the responses of all variables after a negative shock, including the real exchange rate. However, providing government assistance to the banking sector may be a costly policy because it encourages greater risk-taking on part of banks, leading to higher bank leverage. All else equal, this increases the volatility of the economy, raising the variances of consumption and of the real exchange rate, which is welfare-deteriorating. We interpret this as indicative of the problem of moral hazard associated with a policy of providing support to failing banks.     

The Swedish real exchange rate under different currency regimes

This paper presents evidence on the behaviour of the Swedish real exchange rate relative to Germany under different currency regimes during the period 1973:1–2001:4. The results suggest that the real exchange rate is cointegrated with Swedish and German productivity, which is consistent with Balassa (1964) and Samuelson (1964). In the short run, the exchange rate regime has mattered for the dynamics of the real exchange rate. Deviations from long-run equilibrium have been adjusted more quickly when the nominal exchange rate has been allowed to float freely. JEL no. C22, E31, F41     

Roman technological progress in comparative context: The Roman Empire,Medieval Europe and Imperial China

The Roman Empire experienced both extensive and intensive economic growth. This article first surveys the role of technology in that process, engaging with recent literature on intensive growth under Malthusian constraints. It goes on to investigate the difference in technological progress between the Roman Empire and medieval Europe. It argues that political fragmentation explains why medieval Europe was more innovative than the Roman world, invoking a comparison with imperial China to complement the analysis. The technological success of China under the Tang and Song shows that political fragmentation is not a precondition for progress. However, Roman emperors never invested in the practical application of useful knowledge, the way Chinese rulers did.     

Free trade zones,tariffs and the real exchange rate

This article examines the consequences of changes in final and intermediate good tariffs on structural adjustment, urban unemployment, and the real exchange rate in the presence of a free trade zone (FTZ) and foreign capital in the host country. The location of the FTZ and the disaggregation of the economy allows us to examine the consequences of a tariff change on regional incomes. It is shown that as a consequence of a tariff change the urban and rural incomes need not necessarily move in the same direction (hence the potential for rural and urban conflict in policy making). It is also shown that an increase in the tariff on an immediate good may result in both export promotion and an increase in welfare. Such expansion is a nonconventional result, since raising barriers to trade normally leads to a contradiction in the volume of the trade. The interconnection between the real exchange rate and intermediate good tariff is also explored in this article. It is shown that a policy of imposing tariffs on these goods may result in the appreciation of the real exchange rate.     

The impact of a change in exchange rate pass-through on U.S. imports

The Impact of a Change in Exchange Rate Pass-Through on U.S. Imports. - One import demand equation is specified that is potentially affected by a breakdown in pass-through and one that is not. From the difference in the forecasts of these two equations an upper-bound estimate is derived for the impact on U. S. non-oil imports of the breakdown in exchange rate pass-through during the 1980s. The empir-ical evidence suggests that exchange rate pass-through may have changed after 1985. Without this shift in pass-through U. S. non-oil imports may have been a maximum of 15 percent lower by 1990.