International Competitiveness of the Mediterranean Quartet:A Heterogeneous-Product Approach

International Competitiveness of the Mediterranean Quartet: A Heterogeneous-Product Approach

The real effective exchange rate (REER) is the most commonly used measure for assessing international competitiveness. This paper develops a methodology to estimate the REER that incorporates two distinctive elements that are not considered in the current literature and applies it to the Mediterranean quartet (MQ) of Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, whose common pattern of real appreciation has created concern in policy and academic circles. The two elements that this paper adds to the existing literature are (1) product heterogeneity when identifying each country's international competitors and their weights, and (2) a comprehensive treatment of services exports. Our refined measure suggests a modest reduction in the observed REER gap between the MQ countries and the other euro area countries. In particular, considering product heterogeneity and services exports implies a lower real appreciation from 1998 to 2006 on the order of 2 to 3 percent for all MQ countries. These are difference-in-difference estimates relative to the results obtained for the rest of the euro area countries using the same methodology.

The study examined the determinants of real effective exchange rate on selected African countries, namely, Nigeria, Libya, Angola, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, and Chad over the sample period of 1980 to 2023. The vector error correction methodology was used in the study. The results suggest the following findings; In Nigeria, variations in the real effective exchange rate responded significantly and positively to Brent crude oil prices, domestic inflation rate, external debt burden, the volume of foreign exchange reserves, and prices of primary export. It also responded negatively to foreign investment flows. Whenever the real effective exchange rate deviated from its equilibrium, 74% of its disequilibrium was restored in Nigeria. In Libya, the response of real effective exchange rate was positive and significantly related to commodity prices of primary export but responded negatively and significantly to Brent crude oil prices, foreign investment inward stock, and foreign reserve holdings. In addition, 57% of the disequilibrium in the real effective exchange rate of the Libya currency was restored to the long-term value. In Angola, it was found that the variations in the real effective exchange rate had a positive and significant response with Brent crude oil prices and foreign investment inflows. It however responded negatively with a significance balance of payments and the volume of foreign reserves. About 60% of the disequilibrium in the real effective exchange rate was restored to the long-term value in Angola. In Egypt, the real effective exchange rate responded positively with significance to Brent crude oil prices, foreign investment inflows, and prices of primary export. Additionally, it responded negatively and significantly to the domestic inflation rate and external reserve holdings. Within the period of study in Egypt, 53% of the disequilibrium in the real effective exchange rate was restored to equilibrium. In Gabon, variations in the real effective exchange rate had a positive and significant response with Brent crude oil prices, real interest rate, external debt burden, and the volume of foreign exchange reserves. Also in Gabon, the real effective exchange rate responded negatively and significantly to the inflation rate and prices of primary export. Accordingly, 82% of the disequilibrium in the real effective exchange rate was restored to equilibrium. The Ghanaian real effective exchange rate relative to the dollar responded significantly and positively to Brent crude oil prices, domestic inflation rate, foreign debt burden, and foreign investment flows while it negatively responded to the Ghanaian balance of payment position. Each time the real effective exchange rate of the Ghanaian cedi deviated from its equilibrium value, 79% of its disequilibrium was restored. In Chad, variations in the real effective exchange rate responded significantly but negatively to the domestic inflation rate while it positively and significantly responded to Brent crude oil prices, external balance position, the volume of foreign reserve holdings, and foreign direct investment inflows. Also, whenever the real effective exchange rate deviated from its equilibrium value in Chad, 65% of its disequilibrium was restored in the long run. Based on these results, policymakers should focus on addressing structural constraints, commodity price fluctuations, and improve the business environment by anchoring policies of economic stability to boost competitiveness in trade and industry. There is also the need for policymakers to consider country-specific factors when formulating exchange rates.

Background: Enhancing South Africa-Southern African Development Community (SADC) intra-regional trade can strengthen economic connections, foster shared growth, and lessen reliance on external market shocks. Aim: The study aimed to determine the conditional effect of real exchange rate on agricultural export. Setting: The study used a panel of SADC countries for the period 2010 to 2022. Method: A Method of Moment Regression (MMQR) was used to determine the flow of agricultural exports between South Africa and SADC countries. Results: The MMQR results revealed valuable insights into how different quantiles of agricultural export flows change with varying levels of exchange rates in the region. The real effective exchange rates analysis indicated that all quantiles are significant. This showed that a depreciating currency can have a positive impact on agricultural exports in the SADC region, making agricultural products more competitive in international markets. Conclusion: These findings correlate with the quantile MMQR graphs that, upon observation, indicate a wider U-shape, which implies higher variability in the real effective exchange rates, with significant fluctuations in both directions because of the instability of markets that can negatively affect agricultural exports. Therefore, the SADC region must maintain a stable exchange rate and diversify its agricultural exports to remain competitive in the market. Contribution: The study contributes to the literature on exchange rate and agricultural sector in the region. Also, it provides a fresh perspective on quantile conditional effects of agricultural exports and real exchange rates between South Africa and SADC region.

The paper examines the issues regarding the effects of inflation and real exchange rate on unemployment: if change in real exchange rate and inflation reduce the level of unemployment and that inflation moderates the effect of real exchange rate on unemployment in Nigeria The author employs the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) technique which is able to control endogeneity of variables in the study. The findings show that real exchange rate depreciation and inflation have positive impact on unemployment which in turn erodes the economic growth. Besides, the positive effect of real exchange rate depreciation on unemployment was contributed by high inflation level; the marginal effect of real exchange rate depreciation on unemployment increase with the level of inflation. This signifies that the higher the rate of inflation, the more real exchange rate depreciation spurs unemployment. Based on the findings, there is a need by the economic policy makers and authorities to establish drastic measures towards curbing high inflation level to a moderate and stable level which can stimulate a certain level of real exchange rate which in turn can urge economic growth through increase in employment opportunity.

Does the Euro Make a Difference? Spatio-Temporal Transmission of Global Shocks to Real Effective Exchange Rates in an Infinite VAR

This paper uncovers the response pattern to global shocks of euro area countries' real effective exchange rates before and after the start of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), a largely open ended question when the euro was created. We apply to that end a newly developed methodology based on high dimensional VAR theory. This approach features a dominant unit to a large set of over 60 countries' real effective exchange rates and is based on the comparison of two estimated systems: one before and one after EMU. ; We find strong evidence that the pattern of responses depends crucially on the nature of global shocks. In particular, post-EMU responses to global US dollar shocks have become similar to Germany's response before EMU, i.e. to that of the economy that used to issue Europe's most credible legacy currency. ; By contrast, post-EMU responses of euro area countries to global risk aversion shocks have become similar to those of Italy, Portugal or Spain before EMU, i.e. of economies of the euro area's periphery. Our findings also suggest that the divergence in external competitiveness among euro area countries over the last decade, which is at the core of today's debate on the future of the euro area, is more likely due to country-specific shocks than to global shocks.

How Have Global Shocks Impacted the Real Effective Exchange Rates of Individual Euro Area Countries Since the Euro's Creation?

This paper uncovers the response pattern to global shocks of euro area countries’ real effective exchange rates before and after the start of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), a largely open ended question when the euro was created. We apply to that end a newly developed methodology based on high dimensional VAR theory. This approach features a dominant unit to a large set of over 60 countries’ real effective exchange rates and is based on the comparison of two estimated systems: one before and one after EMU. We find strong evidence that the pattern of responses depends crucially on the nature of global shocks. In particular, post-EMU responses to global US dollar shocks have become similar to Germany’s response before EMU, i.e., to that of the economy that used to issue Europe’s most credible legacy currency. By contrast, post-EMU responses of euro area countries to global risk aversion shocks have become similar to those of Italy, Portugal or Spain before EMU, i.e., of economies of the euro area’s periphery. Our findings also suggest that the divergence in external competitiveness among euro area countries over the last decade, which is at the core of today’s debate on the future of the euro area, is more likely due to country-specific shocks than to global shocks.

We examine whether oil prices help produce accurate forecasts of the real broad effective exchange rate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Using monthly data for 1994–1999, we formulate a univariate moving average (MA) and an augmented moving average (A‐MA) model to generate multi‐period forecasts of UAE real exchange rates for 2000–2019. The MA model utilises past information in real exchange rates, while the A‐MA model utilises past information in both real exchange rates and oil prices. Our results indicate that oil prices help produce accurate forecasts of UAE real exchange rates only for 2000–2009; that is, for this period, the A‐MA forecasts are unbiased, outperform the MA forecasts and are directionally accurate. As for 2009–2019, we take a non‐parametric approach and show that oil price changes accurately predict directional change in UAE real effective exchange rates.

This paper calculates the equilibrium real effective exchange rate for the Egyptian economy during the period (1974-2012). The paper reviews the evolution of Egypt’s exchange rate policy and the most significant developments of its real effective exchange rate during the same period. Using a structural vector auto-regression model identified with long-run restrictions, it evaluates the relative importance of real supply, demand and nominal shocks to the disturbances of Egypt’s real effective exchange rate. The identified shocks and their impulse responses are consistent with the theoretical priors stemming from the Mundell-Fleming model. The main contribution to the fluctuations of the real effective exchange rate, roughly 80 percent, comes from both real demand and supply shocks. The model is used to check if the real exchange rate in Egypt is misaligned during the period under investigation. It shows that the actual real effective exchange rate has deviated from the equilibrium real effective rate with various degrees during the estimation period

Recent episodes of excessive volatility in the foreign exchange market have brought to the fore the interest in studying the transmission mechanism of global uncertainty on the domestic economy. At the core is the degree of adjustment in the exchange rate as a shock absorber and the impacts of domestic policies in mitigating the spillover effects of global volatility. Using data for a sample of advanced and developing countries, the paper studies the responses of the nominal effective exchange rate, the real effective exchange rate, and price inflation to domestic and external sources of economic shifts. Subsequently, the analysis evaluates the degree of correlations between the responses of these variables to each economic shift. The objective is to study sources of movements in the real effective exchange rate and bilateral nominal exchange rates versus price inflation. The analysis then turns to evaluation of the determinants across countries of the time-series correlations between the change in the real effective exchange rate and its underlying components—nominal change and inflation—within countries over time. Cross-country regressions establish the relevance of the trend and variability of each of price inflation, the change in the nominal exchange rate, and the change in the real exchange rate on the degree of association between each pair. The evidence attests to a high pass-through from fluctuations in the nominal exchange rate to price inflation, which is more pronounced in developing countries, attesting to the need to target the real effective exchange rate as a framework for monetary policy.

This study investigated the relationship between real effective exchange rate and balance of payment in Ethiopia using annual data spanning the period of 1976 to 2015. The analysis was based on a cointegrated vector autoregressive approach. The methodology of the study begins with Augmented Dickey-Fuller stationarity tests of the data and the Johansen cointegration rank test that revealed current account, real gross domestic product, real effective exchange rate, budget deficit, interest rate and inflation rate to be cointegrated with one cointegrated relationship and thus share long-run equilibrium relationships. Empirical results suggest that real effective exchange rates do play a role in determining the short and long-run behavior of the Ethiopian current account. Thus, there is strong indication for the Marshall-Lerner condition to hold in Ethiopia, as the current account improved in the long run in response to depreciation in the real effective exchange rate. The result of the long run relationship from the vector error correction model, together with the outcome of impulse response function signify that, following devaluation in the real effective exchange rate, current account first deteriorates before it later improves, that is exhibiting the J-curve pattern. Accordingly, the major policy implication of this study is the depreciation of the real effective exchange rate by taking the macroeconomic realities of the country into account while advocating export promotion and import substitution strategies. Key words: Current account, real effective exchange rate, cointegration, vector autoregression, vector error correction model.

PurposeThe literature mostly investigates the impact of trade and financial integration on business cycle synchronization. The author differs by focusing on the real effective exchange rate as the target variable in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) region. In particular, the author investigates synchronization by analyzing the short- and long-run dynamics of the real effective exchange rates of Canada, Mexico and the US for 2008–2019.Design/methodology/approachThe author first employs stationarity and cointegration tests to specify and estimate the long-run equilibrium relation between the real effective exchange rates of Canada, Mexico and the US. The author then specifies and estimates an error-correction model for each real effective exchange rate in order to investigate whether the adjustment in eliminating disequilibrium is asymmetric.FindingsThe results indicate that the real effective exchange rates of Canada, Mexico and the US are cointegrated with only one long-run equilibrium relation. Canada's real effective exchange rate responds symmetrically to eliminate both negative and positive disequilibrium with a similar speed of adjustment. However, the response of Mexico's real effective exchange rate is asymmetric, as it responds to eliminate only positive disequilibrium. The US real effective exchange rate does not respond to disequilibrium, perhaps because it has a large economy with much stronger competition beyond the NAFTA region than both Canada and Mexico.Originality/valueThis is the first study that investigates real effective exchange rate synchronization in the NAFTA region.

This study analyzes the dynamic relations between economic activity, tourism expenditures, and real exchange rate in 9 most visited OECD countries using annual panel data for 2005-2019. To examine the dynamic relations, we first carried out the panel unit root tests to determine the degree of the integration of the variables. And then, using the Westerlund error-correction-based panel cointegration test, we found evidence of the existence of long-run relationships among variables. Therefore, we estimated a panel VECM model to obtain evidence of the causal relationship between the variables. According to the major finding of the studies, there is unidirectional causality from the real effective exchange rate and tourism expenditures to real GDP. Also, real exchange rate granger causes tourism expenditures in the short run. Test results also provide evidence that both real effective exchange rate and tourism expenditures granger cause to real GDP in the long run. However, there is no evidence of long-run granger causality when real effective exchange rate and tourism expenditures are dependent variables. The results of the study imply that to create sustainable growth in the sample countries, they should increase the tourism sector's contribution to GDP, and the countries also should maintain their external competitiveness.