Euro and the yuan : different peas in the same pod ; symposium article

This paper attempts to distill and integrate findings on the role that exchange rates, and their valuation, play in determining the fortunes and deficits of nations. It documents the symmetric effects of currency valuation on economic growth and imbalances in the current account. It is hypothesized that if a currency is undervalued, it helps economic growth to proceed faster than otherwise, and for current account surpluses to be larger than otherwise. Contrasting experiences of as diverse economies as China, Japan, and the Eurozone post the introduction of the Euro in 1998 are evaluated from the prism of currency undervaluation. (Comparative Economic Studies / SWP)