In this paper we evaluate the predictive power of the three most popular equilibrium exchange rate concepts: Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), Behavioral Equilibrium Exchange Rate (BEER) and the Macroeconomic Balance (MB) approach. We show that there is a clear trade-off between storytelling and...

Under fixed exchange rates, fiscal policy is an effective tool. According to classical views because it impacts the real exchange rate, according to Keynesian views because it impacts output. Both views have merit because the effects of government spending are asymmetric. A spending cut lowers...

In economies with fixed exchange rates, the adjustment to government spending shocks is asymmetric. A fiscal expansion appreciates the real exchange rate but does not stimulate output. A fiscal contraction does not alter the exchange rate, but lowers output. We develop these insights in a...

The removal of the lower bound on the EUR/CHF exchange rate in January 2015 provides a unique setting to study the implications of a large and sudden appreciation in an otherwise stable macroeconomic environment. Using transaction-level data on non-durable goods purchases by Swiss consumers, we...

The concept of purchasing power parity is used as a measure of the equilibrium real exchange rate to evaluate whether seven East Asian currencies were overvalued: the Indonesian rupiah, Korean won, Malaysian ringgit, Philippine peso, Singapore dollar, Taiwanese dollar and the Thai baht. The...

This working paper was written by Yin-wong Cheung (University of California, Santa Cruz), Kon S. Lai (California State University, Los Angeles) and Michael Bergman (Lund University).The conventional view, as expounded by sticky-price models, is that price adjustment determines the PPP reversion...

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 paper documents the evidence in support of fiscal and monetary exchange rates for the Canadian dollar, Deutschemark, Yen, and Pound over the 1974-1993 period. Cointegrating relationships between the real exchange rate and (i) fiscal impulses and (ii) productivity and government spending are...