Does Exchange Rate Volatility Hinder Export Growth

Inconsistency in the relationship between exchange rate volatility and export growth reflects differences among countries in the currency in which trade is invoiced. Also, exchange rate volatility may affect the allocation of trade more than its level.

NULL

This paper investigates the consequences of exchange rate volatility on the variability of export prices and quantities in the presence of market segmentation and pricing to market. Firms stabilize destination prices through systematic price discrimination, limiting the degree of exchange rate pass-through. Consequently, the variability of exchange rates is not fully translated into prices and quantities at the point of destination. Empirical estimates using aggregate price data for the G-7 industrial countries show incomplete pass-through in variances, with considerable variation among these countries. U.S. industry specific data also indicate incomplete pass-through in most cases, with considerable variation across industries.

Originally published in 1997. This study investigates what the effects of real exchange rate volatility are on sectorial investment in the fixed and flexible exchange rate systems. It lays out the results of research into the effects of the levels and volatility of real exchange rates on investment in the manufacturing sectors of the countries in the European Monetary System as well as of the countries in the flexible exchange rate system, with data from between 1973 and 1993. Examining the differences between the two systems in the results this book also looks at exchange rate effects on interest rates at the time.

The effect of exchange rate volatility on trade flows was examined by a 1984 IMF study on G-7 countries. Over the past two decades, many developments in the world economy, such as the currency crises in the 1990s and increasing cross-border capital flows, may have exacerbated exchange rate volatility, while others, such as a deepening of the market in foreign exchange hedging instruments, may have reduced the impact of volatility on trade flows. Using recent advances in the economic theories on trade and in statistical methodologies, this paper revisits this important issue by taking into account these new developments and examining their effects on developing and transition economies, as well as on developed countries.

This paper provides an extensive survey of the literature on exchange rate volatility and trade, examining both the theory that underlies the work in this area and the results of empirical studies published since 1988. Despite the widespread view that an increase in volatility will reduce the level of trade, this review reveals that the effects of volatility are ambiguous. There is no real consensus on either the direction or the size of the exchange rate volatility - trade level relationship. Overall, a larger number of studies finds that volatility tends to reduce the level of trade, but when the effect is measured, it is found to be relatively small. Several reasons can explain this tenuous relationship: (i) even for risk-averse businesses, an increase in risk does not necessarily lead to a reduction in the risky activity, (ii) the availability of hedging techniques makes it possible for traders to avoid most of exchange risk at little cost, (iii) exchange rate volatility may actually offset some other forms of business risk, and (iv) exchange rate volatility can create profitable trading and investment opportunities.