Several alternative measures of "effective" exchange rates are discussed in the context of their theoretical underpinnings and actual construction. Focusing on contemporary indices and recently developed econometric methods, the empirical characteristics of these differing series are examined,...

This report presents two unrelated, short papers on exchange rate rules and on the real value of the external debt. The paper on exchange rate policy uses the Taylor model of overlapping, long term wage contracts to ask whether accommodating or PPP oriented exchange rate policies tend to...

Using the sticky price monetary model of exchange rate determination and the sunk cost model of trade hysteresis, we show that a sufficiently large policy misalignment can induce hysteresis in the trade balance and thereby alter the steady?state real exchange rate. Thus in our model exchange...

This paper develops a view of exchange rate policy as a trade-off between the desire to smooth fluctuations in real exchange rates so as to reduce distortions in consumption allocations, and the need to allow flexibility in the nominal exchange rate so as to facilitate terms of trade adjustment....

This paper reexamines the choice between fixed and flexible rates to take into account wage indexation and flexible prices. The model employed is of a small open economy faced by monetary and aggregate demand disturbances originating at ham and abroad. Aggregate supply behavior in this amp;el...

This paper deals with the relation between commercial policy and "the" equilibrium real exchange rate. The paper clarifies the meaning of real exchange rate by comparing five different definitions that are currently found in the literature, The analysis focuses on the effects of an economic...

This paper develops a dynamic model of real exchange rate behavior in developing countries. A three goods economy (exportables, importables and nontradables) is considered. Residents of this country hold domestic and foreign assets, and there is a dual exchange rate regime. There is a government...

A decade ago the Economist began an annual survey of Big Mac prices as a guide to whether currencies are trading at the right exchange rates. This paper asks how well the hamburger standard has performed. Although average deviations from absolute Big Mac parity are large for several currencies,...

The purchasing power parity puzzle relates to the adjustment of real exchange rates. Real exchange rates are extremely volatile, suggesting that temporary shocks emanate from the monetary sector. But the half-life of real exchange rate deviations is extremely large -- 2.5 to 5 years. This...

A basic prediction of effcient risk-sharing is that relative consumption growth rates across countries or regions should be positively related to real exchange rate growth rates across the same areas. We investigate this hypothesis, employing a newly constructed multi-country and multi-regional...