Relative Price Of Nontraded Goods Research Articles

The Brexit Vote, Productivity Growth, and Macroeconomic Adjustments in the U.K.

Abstract The U.K. economy experienced significant macroeconomic adjustments following the 2016 referendum on its withdrawal from the European Union. To understand these adjustments, this paper presents empirical facts using novel U.K. macroeconomic data and estimates a small open economy model with tradable and non-tradable sectors. We demonstrate that the referendum outcome can be interpreted as news about a future decline in productivity growth in the tradable sector. An immediate fall in the relative price of non-tradable goods induces a temporary “sweet spot” for tradable producers. Economic activity in the tradable sector expands in the short run, while the non-tradable sector contracts. Aggregate output, consumption, and investment growth decelerate.

Trade, Structural Transformation, and Development: Evidence from Argentina 1869–1914

We provide new theory and evidence on the role of external and internal integration in structural transformation and economic development, using Argentina’s integration into the world economy in the late nineteenth century. Our theoretical model provides microfoundations for a spatial Balassa-Samuelson effect, in which locations closer to world markets have higher population densities, urban population shares, relative prices of nontraded goods, and land prices relative to wages, as well as specializing in traded goods that are transport-cost sensitive. We estimate the model’s parameters, provide evidence in support of this spatial Balassa-Samuelson mechanism, and find substantial effects of both external and internal integration on economic development.

Excess Labor Supply, Structural Change and Real Exchange Rate

Since China joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001, the Chinese economy has grown rapidly, especially the tradable goods sector. However, the Chinese real exchange rate did not exhibit a persistent and stable appreciation until 2005. This is a puzzling fact that is inconsistent with theories. This paper documents several stylized facts during the economic transition and argues that two features of the Chinese economy may help explain the puzzling real exchange rate pattern for the Chinese economy: i) the faster total factor productivity (TFP) growth in the export sector compared with the import sector; and ii) excess supply of unskilled labor. We construct a small open economy model with an H-O trade structure. We show that, due to heterogeneous skilled labor intensity in export and import sectors, faster TFP growth in the export sector over that in the import sector will lead to the decline of return to capital and a rise of the skilled wage. Therefore, the decrease of return to capital and the persistent low unskilled wage, which is caused by the excess supply of unskilled labor, inhibit the rise in the relative price of non-tradable goods to tradable goods and the appreciation of the real exchange rate. Furthermore, we develop a dynamic small open economy model with multiple tradable goods sectors. We show that the model does fairly well in explaining the Chinese real exchange rate and other stylized facts in the economic transition. Finally, we demonstrate that our hypotheses are supported by cross-country evidence.

Structural changes and the real exchange rate dynamics

Since China joined the WTO in 2001, the Chinese economy has grown very rapidly, especially, the tradable goods sector. However, the Chinese real exchange rate did not exhibit a persistent and stable appreciation until 2005. This is a puzzling fact that is inconsistent with theories. This paper documents several stylized facts during the economic transition and argues that two features of Chinese economy may help explain the puzzling real exchange rate pattern for Chinese economy: (i) the faster total factor productivity (TFP) growth in export sector compared with the import sector; (ii) excess supply of unskilled labor. Our hypotheses are supported by cross-country evidence. Furthermore, we construct a small open economy model with an H-O trade structure and show that, due to heterogeneous skilled labor intensity in export and import sectors, the faster TFP growth in the export sector over that in the import sector will lead to the decline of return to capital and the rise of skilled wage. Therefore, the decrease of return to capital and the low unskilled wage, which is caused by the excess supply of unskilled labor, inhibit the rise in the relative price of non-tradable goods to tradable goods as well as the appreciation of real exchange rate. Finally, we show that a dynamic small open economy model with multiple tradable goods sectors does fairly well in explaining the Chinese real exchange rate and other stylized facts in the economic transition.

Can Financial Development Mitigate the Impact of Remittances on Real Exchange Rate Appreciation?

Remittances have been blamed for causing real exchange rate appreciation by raising the relative prices of nontraded goods and services in the recipient countries. However, empirical studies seeking to support this claim are lacking in Asia, despite the huge amount of remittances received by the region. In view of that, this paper used a panel dataset from eighteen remittance-recipient Asian countries during the period of 1981 – 2010 and Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimator to examine the effect of remittances and financial sector development on real exchange rate. The paper, specifically, questions if the real exchange rate appreciation caused by the inflow of remittances varies with the degree of financial sector development in these countries. The paper finds that inflow of remittances has significant long-run impact on the appreciation of the real exchange rates in the remittance-recipient Asian countries. However, such effect of appreciation declines in countries with enhanced financial sector development.

Public debt and relative prices in a cross-section of countries

This paper examines the effects of debt and distortionary labor taxation on the long-run behavior of the relative price of nontraded goods. At the theoretical level, in a two-sector open economy model we demonstrate that higher public debt, associated with higher taxation, contracts labor supply in both traded and nontraded goods sectors. Relative prices move inversely with relative supply shifts which, in turn, depend on relative factor intensities. At the empirical level, for a panel of advanced economies, we find statistically significant effects of public debt and taxes on the relative price of nontraded goods, with higher debt and taxes associated with higher relative prices.

Effects of Variations in Government Fiscal Expenditure on Real Exchange Rate in Korea: ARDL-EC Model Estimation

The aim of this study is to investigate effects of changes in government expenditure on real exchange rate for Korea during the period of 1998. I - 2016. IV. We use Error Correction model based on Pesaran, Shin and Smith (2001)’s ARDL bounds test to estimate long run and short run relationship between changes in government expenditure and real exchange rate. The results show that changes in government expenditure during the period had a significant positive effect on real exchange rate in Korea. The long run response of real exchange rate was more than twice larger than the short run response. To be more specific, one percent increase of the ratio of government expenditure to GDP raised the real exchange rate by 0.99% in the short run while the same change raised the real exchange rate by more than 2.55% over the long run. The positive empirical effect of government expenditure increase on the real exchange rate found by the present study is broadly in line with many other previous studies. Theoretically, this result is in line with the assertion that an expansionary government expenditure would raise relative price of non-tradable goods when the government expenditure has a home bias and so a positive effect on the real exchange rate.

Exchange Rate Policy and the Role of Non-Traded Goods Prices in Real Exchange Rate Fluctuations

This paper uses a DSGE model of two small open economies to explain certain features of real exchange rate cyclical fluctuations in countries with fixed and flexible exchange rates, focusing on the role of traded and non-traded goods prices. In particular, the model illustrates why the relative price of nontraded goods and the relative price between domestic and foreign traded goods are more volatile than the real exchange rate under a fixed exchange rate but not under a flexible exchange rate, why deviations from purchasing power parity for traded goods prices can be more volatile under a fixed exchange rate than under a flexible exchange rate, and why there is no correlation between the volatility of the real exchange rate and its variance decomposition.

Exchange rate policy and the role of non-traded goods prices in real exchange rate fluctuations

AbstractThis paper uses a DSGE model of two small open economies to explain certain features of real exchange rate cyclical fluctuations in countries with fixed and flexible exchange rates, focusing on the role of traded and non-traded goods prices. In particular, the model illustrates why the relative price of non-traded goods and the relative price between domestic and foreign traded goods are more volatile than the real exchange rate under a fixed exchange rate but not under a flexible exchange rate, why deviations from purchasing power parity for traded goods prices can be more volatile under a fixed exchange rate than under a flexible exchange rate, and why there is no correlation between the volatility of the real exchange rate and its variance decomposition.

A European Disease? Non-tradable Inflation and Real Interest Rate Divergence

This paper studies the contribution of real interest rate divergence to the dynamics of the relative price of non-tradables within Europe. Based on a model by De Gregorio et al. (1994), it shows that the real interest rate fall in the Euro Area (EA) periphery following the single currency's inception induced an increase in the relative price of non-tradable goods. using a new dataset, it documents the dynamics of the tradable and the non-tradable sectors over 1995-2013 and the expansion of the non-tradable sector in the periphery before the euro crisis. it then carries out an econometric estimation for 11 EA countries over 1995-2013 and quantifies the contribution of the pure Balassa-Samuelson effect and the impact of the interest rate on non-tradable relative prices. Diverging evolution in the interest rate impacted greatly the evolution of non-tradable relative prices within the euro area over the period. In Greece, the fall in the real interest rate over 1995-2008 could explain almost half of the non-tradable price increase relative to the EA average, while in Germany the increase in the real interest rate might have contributed up to 7% of the decrease of the non-tradable price relative to the average of the EA.

Real Exchange Rate Movements and the Relative Price of Non-Traded Goods

Real Exchange Rate Movements and the Relative Price of Non-Traded Goods

Are there bubbles in Chinese RMB–dollar exchange rate? Evidence from generalized sup ADF tests

This article uses recently developed generalized sup ADF (GSADF) unit root tests into the analysis of nominal RMB–dollar exchange rates bubbles. Based on the results from the GSADF tests, we find strong evidence of explosive behaviour in the nominal exchange rate and investigate two bubbles there. The first bubble is during 2005–2006 which is determined neither by the relative prices of traded goods nor the relative price of nontraded goods. The second bubble busts in 2008 during subprime crisis period, and which is determined by the relative prices of traded goods but not the relative price of nontraded goods. There is no bubble before 2005 as the exchange rate is under fixed regime. As for this result, some expansionary monetary and fiscal policies are required in China since these are the most efficient and effective under a bubble burst scenario.

Productivity, Trade, and Relative Prices in a Ricardian World

In an extended Ricardian model of trade, we study the effects of improving trade deficits on relative prices, and the relation between productivity improvements and real exchange rates. An improvement in the trade balance induces relative wages to overshoot their long-run value, placing downward pressure on the terms of trade of the same order of magnitude found in Armington type models. Once the pattern of specialization changes, some of the decline is reversed with a smaller value of depreciation. We find that persistent productivity differentials do not cause distinct trends in the terms of trade. The result depends on the size of the non-tradable sector and the variability of industry-specific efficiencies. We also find that self-selection into export markets causes the relative price of non-tradable goods to respond to exogenous shift, giving birth to an endogenous Balassa-Samuelson effect. The model also suggests that in the long-run the variation of the real exchange rate is dominated by the volatility of the terms of trade.

The impact of market regulations on intra-European real exchange rates

We study the contribution of market regulations to the dynamics of the real exchange rate within the European Union. Based on a model proposed by De Gregorio et al. (Rev Int Econ 2(3):284–305, 1994a), we show that both product market regulations in nontradable sectors and employment protection tend to raise the real exchange rate. We then carry out an econometric estimation for European countries for 1985–2006 to quantify the contributions of the pure Balassa–Samuelson effect and those of market regulations on real exchange-rate variations. Based on this evidence and on a counter-factual experiment, we conclude that the relative evolutions of product market regulations and employment protection across countries play a very significant role for real exchange-rate variations within the European Union and especially within the euro area, through their impacts on the relative price of nontradable goods.

The Impact of Market Regulations on Intra-European Real Exchange Rates

We study the contribution of market regulations in the dynamics of the real exchange rate within the European Union. Based on a model proposed by De Gregorio et al. (1994a), we show that both product market regulations in nontradable sectors and employment protection tend to inflate the real exchange rate. We then carry out an econometric estimation for European countries over 1985-2006 to quantify the contributions of the pure Balassa-Samuelson effect and those of market regulations in real exchange-rate variations. Based on this evidence and on a counter-factual experiment, we conclude that the relative evolution of product market regulations and employment protection across countries play a very significant role in real exchange-rate variations within the European Union and especially within the Euro area, through theirs impacts on the relative price of nontradable goods.

The Relative Price of Non-traded Goods under Imperfect Competition*

We consider the role of imperfect competition in explaining the relative price of non-traded to traded goods within the Balassa–Samuelson framework. Under imperfect competition in these two sectors, relative prices depend on both productivity and mark-up differentials. We test this hypothesis using a panel of sectors for 12 OECD countries. The empirical evidence suggests that relative price movements are well explained by productivity and mark-up differentials.

Real Exchange Rates and Productivity: Evidence from Asia

This paper examines a productivity‐based explanation of the long‐run real exchange rate movements of six Asian economies. Using industry level data, we construct total factor productivities (TFPs) for the tradable and nontradable sectors. We find that (i) within each country the relative price of nontradable goods is cointegrated with the sectoral TFP differential, and (ii) the real exchange rates are cointegrated with the home and foreign sectoral TFP differentials. Using the predicted real exchange rate as a measure of the “long‐run equilibrium,” we find that most Asian economies’ real exchange rates were overvalued before the Asian Financial Crisis.

The Penn–Balassa–Samuelson effect through the lens of the dependent economy model

The positive correlation between per capita income and cross-country price levels is called the “Penn–Balassa–Samuelson effect.” The most influential explanation of this effect centers around sectoral output productivities as the determinant of the relative price of nontraded goods. The interaction between the change in relative prices and the change in per capita income, the dynamic PBS effect, is less well known. This paper extends the Turnovsky and Sen (1995) model of a small open economy by adding external economies into the production function. The model's dynamics accord well with several features of the empirical data on the dynamic PBS effect.

The Long-Run Macroeconomic Impacts of Fuel Subsidies in an Oil-Importing Developing Country

Analytical and numerical results show how the presence of a subsidy on household and firm purchases of oil products distorts long-run macroeconomic aggregates in an oil-importing developing country. Beyond leading to over-consumption of oil products these subsidies also lead to increased labor supply, a distorted emphasis on producing traded goods, and higher real wages. The subsidy also impacts the relative price of non-traded goods, causing it to fall when the non-traded sector is more oil-intensive than the traded sector and vice-versa.

The Real Exchange Rate Fluctuations Puzzle: Evidence For Advanced And Transition Economies

This paper tries to analyze the sources of the real exchange rate fluctuations for a set of advanced economies and Central and Eastern European transition economies. To address this, in a first step, we compute two measures of the share of the variance of the real exchange rate accounted for movements in the relative prices of traded goods between the countries. One measure is based on R2 coefficient and the other one is based on the mean-squared error (MSE) of the changes in the real exchange rate. In a second step, we estimate structural (identified) vector autoregression (SVAR) models, and decompose real and nominal exchange rate movements into those caused by real and nominal shocks. In a third step, we complete previous ones with an impulse-response analysis. Three central messages are derived from results: (1) for transition economies, under regimes of managed nominal exchange rates, the relative price of non-traded goods explain a large percentage of the variance of the real exchange rate; (2) there is evidence of instability in the variance decomposition of the real exchange rates for advanced economies across samples, and (3) as result of diverse fiscal and monetary policies in transition economies, real exchange rates in some economies are driven mostly by real shocks while in others are driven mostly by nominal shocks.