Asymmetric Exchange Rate Pass Through to Consumer Prices: Evidence from Zambia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the asymmetric exchange rate pass through (ERPT) to consumer price inflation in Zambia. We examined ERPT to consumer price inflation arising from kwacha depreciation and appreciation for the period between the first quarter of 1985 to the fourth quarter of 2017. We employed the structural vector autoregressive model. The results showed that ERPT to consumer price inflation is incomplete and asymmetric. Consumer prices in Zambia are more responsive to kwacha depreciation than to appreciation. The depreciation of the kwacha has a greater significant impact on consumer prices than the appreciation of the kwacha. The impulse response function analysis showed that the shock to kwacha depreciation is very persistent than that of kwacha appreciation. Finally, the forecast error variance decomposition showed that a depreciation shock explains a bigger portion of the variance in consumer price inflation than an appreciation shock. These findings show that kwacha depreciation and appreciation have different effects on consumer price inflation, thereby confirming the presence of asymmetries in the ERPT. The study also accounted for the effect of commodity price booms in influencing ERPT. However, results of ERPT did not change much with the inclusion of commodity price booms. JEL Codes: E31, F31