How does real exchange rate influence labour productivity in China?

Since China's transition to a market economy, the labour productivity growth has been dramatically rapid, in particular since 1994. This speeding up has been accompanied by the reverse of the exchange rate policy of China, which has strongly depreciated its currency before 1994, and then either appreciated or stabilized it. The theoretical arguments suggesting several kinds of real exchange rate impact on labour productivity are developed. An econometric model is then proposed and estimated, using panel data for the twenty-nine Chinese provinces and for the period from 1986 to 2007. The econometric results show that the appreciation of the real exchange rate had a favourable effect on the labour productivity growth, leading to a kind of virtuous circle: the real appreciation of the currency boosts the growth of labour productivity while, according to the Balassa–Samuelson effect, productivity growth tends to push up the real appreciation. Moreover, this favourable effect is stronger in inland provinces than in coastal provinces, contributing to a minimizing of the gap between inland and coastal provinces.     

Real Exchange Rate in China：A Long-run Perspective

This paper investigates the RMB exchange rate from a long‐run viewpoint. Whether China's rapid economic growth brought about real exchange rate appreciation between 1975 and 2002 is empirically examined, based on a supply‐side model, the Balassa—Semuelson Hypothesis (BSH). The same test is conducted on Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and India. Our result indicates that the BSH only exists where the industrial structure has been upgraded and the economy has been successfully transformed from an agricultural economy to a manufacturing economy. Interestingly, China, among those where the BSH does not present, appears to be upgrading its industrial and trade structure. We then try to answer the question of why past rapid growth has no significant relationship with the RMB real exchange rate and what factors are underlying the trend of the RMB real exchange rate. We expect an appreciating trend of RMB real exchange rate in the foreseeable future, presuming that China's industrial upgrading process continues and the factors pertaining to the BSH's prediction, such as rise of wage rates in both tradables and nontradables, become more significant. (Edited by Xiaoming Feng)     

人民币均衡实际汇率研究:1978—2009

文章在总结了国内已有的关于人民币均衡汇率水平研究的基础上,以均衡实际汇率理论为依据,考虑中国实际国情和已有相关文献研究的结论,对均衡实际汇率模型进行了部分修正,筛选出人民币实际有效汇率的最优解释变量,并采用协整方法和H-P滤波技术,实证测算人民币均衡汇率水平,在此基础上,对改革开放以来尤其是2005年汇改之后人民币汇率失调情况进行深入分析,并对2005年汇改后央行出台的人民币汇率政策进行简单评估。     

Assessing the Equilibrium Exchange Rate of the Malaysian Ringgit: A Comparison of Alternative Approaches

Drawing on the behavioral equilibrium exchange rate and the fundamental equilibrium exchange rate approaches, this paper assesses the equilibrium value of the real effective exchange rate of the Malaysian ringgit over the past 25 years. For 2005, when the Malaysian authorities exited from the peg with the US dollar, both models determine a slight undervaluation of the currency. Openness and real GDP per capita have been the main drivers of real exchange rate movements in the past, although non-tradable productivity, government consumption, and net foreign assets have also had a sizable impact. The paper also highlights the limitations of applying the two approaches in the context of emerging countries.     

Changes in misalignment of the Korean won: Towards a flexible exchange rate regime

This paper investigates whether the adoption of a more floating exchange rate regime with inflation targeting has improved the vulnerability of the exchange rate, by looking at the Korean case. Using the NATREX model, I estimate the equilibrium real exchange rate of the Won and its misalignment. The unit‐root test for misalignment and the unrestrictive vector autoregressive (VAR) impulse response function test show that under a more flexible exchange rate regime, the vulnerability of the exchange rate regime to external shocks has declined.     

Dutch Disease Scare in Kazakhstan: Is it real?

In this paper we explore the evidence that would establish that Dutch disease is at work in, or poses a threat to, the Kazakh economy. Assessing the mechanism by which fluctuations in the price of oil can damage non-oil manufacturing—and thus long-term growth prospects in an economy that relies heavily on oil production—we find that non-oil manufacturing has so far been spared the perverse effects of oil price increases from 1996 to 2005. The real exchange rate in the open sector has appreciated over the last couple of years, largely due to the appreciation of the nominal exchange rate. We analyze to what extent this appreciation is linked to movements in oil prices and oil revenues. Econometric evidence from the monetary model of the exchange rate and a variety of real exchange rate models show that the rise in the price of oil and in oil revenues might be linked to an appreciation of the U.S. dollar exchange rate of the oil and non-oil sectors. But appreciation is mainly limited to the real effective exchange rate for oil sector and is statistically insignificant for non-oil manufacturing.

Estimating the equilibrium exchange rate of the Central and Eastern European acceding countries: The challenge of euro adoption

This study estimates the equilibrium real and nominal exchange rates for five Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. A new approach is adopted, which combines the fundamental equilibrium exchange rate (FEER) with the behavioural equilibrium exchange rate (BEER) methodology. In a VAR-based 3-equation cointegration system, we estimate structural equations for internal and external balances and link them to the real exchange rate. The estimated misalignment is used to derive equilibrium nominal exchange rates. The sustainability of an ERM-II-type exchange rate regime is investigated on ex post data, and the credibility problem of fixing the currencies of CEE countries vis-à-vis the single European currency is analysed. JEL no. E31, F31, O11, P17     

Exchange Rate Disconnect in a Standard Open-Economy Macro Model

This paper demonstrates that the well-documented exchange rate disconnect can be explained within traditional exchange rate models. It is shown that even if the underlying fundamentals are invariant across exchange rate regimes, equilibrium real exchange rates are more volatile under flexible nominal exchange rates than under fixed rates. In particular, fixed rates reduce the requisite adjustments of the real exchange rate in response to both nominal and real shocks relative to a floating-rate scenario.     

The Behavior of the Real Exchange Rate Under Fixed and Floating Exchange Rate Regimes

This article investigates the behavior of real exchange rates under fixed and flexible exchange rates. Using data from both the Bretton Woods and the modern floating periods, we decompose real exchange rate movements into components attributable to supply shocks, real demand shocks, monetary shocks, capital flows shocks, and real oil price shocks. Empirical results show that real demand shocks are an important source of real exchange rate movements under both fixed and flexible rates, while monetary shocks are negligible. Supply and oil price shocks seem to be more important under Bretton Woods, while capital flows shocks seem to explain a relatively higher proportion of real exchange rate movements under the modern floating period.     

Openness and Real Exchange Rate Volatility: In Search of an Explanation

The puzzle that real exchange rates are less volatile in open economies is an important challenge to exchange rate theory. Adjustment of domestic prices to nominal exchange rate movements can account for only a small proportion of this effect. Real and nominal shocks display no obvious correlation with openness. It is shown here that real effective exchange rates are more strongly mean-reverting in more open economies, even after controlling for exchange rate regime effects. This is predicted by the theory of current account sustainability, because of its emphasis on ratios to GDP rather than to trade flows.

An empirical analysis of China's equilibrium exchange rate: A co-integration approach

This paper estimates time specific values for China's long-run equilibrium exchange rate and develops measures of the direction and extent of misalignment based on a reduced-form real effective exchange rate (REER) model. An appropriately specified long-run equilibrium model is estimated and tested following Johansen and Juselius (1990) procedures, which is then used to construct an estimated time path for long-run equilibrium exchange rate values.Unit root tests indicated that each series can be considered as I(1) and that there was one cointegrating relationship linking the RMB series with its “fundamentals” – openness, money supply, productivity and government spending – with long-run elasticities of (0.41), (0.97), (0.51) and (0.75), respectively. The estimated error-correction model of REER determination showed that during China's latest exchange rate regime (from 2005:Q3) the RMB was undervalued by an average of 6.7 percent, which is modest compared to related studies.Estimation of the associated short-run error correction model shows that the error correction term has a statistically significant value of 0.85, implying that the actual real effective exchange rates would converge relatively quickly (just over one quarter, on average) towards their long-run equilibrium level in the absence of central bank intervention.     

Estimating Korea's Exchange Rate Exposure

This paper conducts an empirical analysis of the exchange rate exposure of 392 Korean firms by employing not only changes in the exchange rate but also the standard deviation of exchange rates as foreign exchange risk. A logit model is also used to identify the major factors in exchange rate exposure. The empirical results in the case of using the standard deviation of exchange rates suggest that: the number of firms showing significant exchange rate exposure has been relatively increasing; exchange rate exposure is more likely for export‐oriented manufacturing industries than for nonmanufacturing industries; and large firms using hedging methods are likely to show a low degree of exchange rate exposure.     

人民币实际汇率与外商直接投资的实证分析

本文通过运用协整分析和格兰杰因果关系检验方法对1980-2004年间的外商直接投资与人民币汇率的关系进行了研究,文章认为外商直接投资的增加会导致人民币汇率的升值,其研究结果表明:人民币汇率与外商直接投资之间存在着长期的均衡关系,而且外商直接投资是人民币汇率的格兰杰原因。     

人民币升值对广东机电产品进出口的影响分析

汇率改革以来,人民币逐渐升值,这对广东出口加工业产生了较大影响。本文通过对人民币实际有效汇率、广东机电产品进口、出口总额的月度数据进行处理,利用协整分析和向量自回归等计量工具,验证了实际有效汇率对广东机电产品贸易的影响。结果表明,本币升值对广东机电产品进出口有一定影响,并在金融危机中被放大,但总体上广东机电产品进出口对汇率变动的弹性不大。     

基于超调模型和虚拟经济视角的汇率动态分析

汇率决定及其动态调整分析是汇率理论的研究内核。文章以汇率超调模型为基础,突出虚拟经济与实体经济双轮驱动及其与宏观经济总供给和总需求关联运行的作用机理,结合非线性宏观金融理论在货币供需分析中引入可交易金融资产,尝试构建新的分析框架。在虚拟经济与实体经济视角下分析美元名义汇率的动态变化,并以此为基础进行实证研究,考察美元汇率及经济失调。     

汇率升值对就业影响的中日比较

关于就业问题,以往的研究主要从就业总量与就业结构两个角度进行探讨,本文对就业结构的研究进行了拓展,在实证研究中引入汇率,运用协整和误差修正模型对日中两国实际汇率与第三产业产值比重和就业比重之间的关系进行了国别比较。实证结果表明,从长期看日本第三产业就业比重上升与实际汇率升值正相关,而中国的相应变量间不存在类似长期关系。比较分析得出结论:只有在汇率适度浮动,资源在部门间流动壁垒减少这两个条件满足时,汇率升值才会产生资源配置作用,推动劳动向非贸易部门转移,逐步优化就业结构。     

Inflation Targeting in ASEAN‐10

The paper addresses the empirical question of whether economies that do not systematically target inflation (non‐inflation targeters) experience higher exchange rate volatility as compared with inflation targeters in 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) from 1990 to 2010. The paper examines the role of real exchange rate, exchange rate volatility and the reaction functions of central banks using dynamic panel estimation techniques. The results indicate that the output gap offers more useful information than the inflation gap in setting interest rates for inflation targeters, implying that the real term is more important than the nominal term. In turn, this suggests that an increase in interest rate can be wielded swiftly to reduce real gross domestic product and suppress inflation. The real exchange rate appears as a weaker determinant in setting interest rates for non‐inflation targeters. Inflation targeters experienced lower exchange rate volatility compared with non‐targeters in the ASEAN, which implies that implementation costs to their domestic economies may be marginally lower. Meanwhile, the non‐targeters follow a mixed strategy as both the inflation and real exchange rate are used as instruments to set the interest rates.     

Longevity,Fertility, and the Real Exchange Rate

We build a simple overlapping generation model to investigate the effect of life expectancy on the real exchange rate where fertility is chosen endogenously. The model reveals that, although the overall effect of life expectancy on the real exchange rate is not certain, longer life expectancy tends to cause the real exchange rate to depreciate by reducing fertility. Fertility thus serves as a mediator in the effect of life expectancy on the real exchange rate. Evidence from 148 economies (1980–2018) shows a statistically significant and robust negative relationship between life expectancy and the real exchange rate. It is estimated that a 1 year increase in life expectancy is associated with a 1.5 percent depreciation in the real exchange rate. The evidence also confirms the mediated effect of fertility. The mediated effect that fertility exerts accounts for 30 percent to 50 percent of the total effect, depending on the real exchange rate index used.     

Exchange Rates and the Trade Balance for Dynamic Asian Economies—Does the J-Curve Exist for Singapore,Malaysia, and Korea?

The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between the real trade balance and the real exchange rate for bilateral trade in merchandise goods between Singapore, Korea, and Malaysia and the USA and Japan on a quarterly basis over the period 1970 to 1996 using the partial reduced form model of Rose and Yellen (1989) derived from the two-country imperfect substitutes model. With the exception of Korean trade with the USA, and in line with recent work using a similar methodology, our findings suggest that the real exchange rate does not have a significant impact on the real trade balance, and for Singapore and Malaysia we can find no persuasive evidence for J-curves. For Korea, however, the data were consistent with some J-curve effects with respect to both Japan and the USA. Moreover, it is possible that for Korea these effects were being masked or muted by small country pricing of exports in foreign currency, but there was no evidence that imports subsequently fell as the lag length on the real exchange rate increased, which would be required to support a strict interpretation of the J-curve.     

人民币实际有效汇率的构建方法研究

当今外汇市场上每天用于贸易交易的外汇交易量不到5％,95％以上都是与贸易交易无关的虚拟资本流动。但迄今为止,理论界和实务部门仍主要从贸易角度入手构建人民币实际有效汇率。本研究从国际收支即同时从经常帐户和资本与金融帐户角度考虑人民币实际有效汇率的形成机制,将相对生产率进步指标纳入人民币实际有效汇率权重的构成中,既吸收了篮子货币的优点,又能减轻由于非汇率对实体经济的冲击造成汇率的较大波动,从而保持一个较稳定的人民币实际有效汇率。论文的模型比IMF的模型更符合当代汇率的形成机制,论文预测了2009和2010年人民币实际有效汇率分别较上一年升值1．36％和1．17％。