Vertical Product Differentiation and Exchange Rate Pass-Through: Evidence from Trade between China and Japan

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the impact of vertical product differentiation on exchange rate pass-through (ERPT). We define product vertical differentiation as a spectrum of products that range from high end to low end. Using a comprehensive dataset that includes highly disaggregated products traded between China and Japan from Jan 2000 to Dec 2008, we proxy product vertical differentiation with unit values of imports and exports and find that Japanese exports to China are more toward the high end while Chinese exports to Japan are more on the low end. Our further empirical tests show that exchange rate pass-through to Chinese Yuan selling prices of Japan imports is incomplete and is strongly affected by the degree of vertical differentiation. In particular, higher pass-through is observed where the vertical differentiation is larger between Japan import and China local-made, which suggests higher end Japan exporters are able to keep their Japanese Yen markup more stable.