Purchasing Power Parity and the Fractional Integration of the Real Exchange Rate: New Evidence for Less Developed Countries

This study tests for relative purchasing power parity for a sample of thirty less developed countries. The empirical analysis is based on testing for the fractional integration of real exchange rates. Using quarterly data covering the period 1973-2001, there is evidence against purchasing power parity for the vast majority of less developed countries using ADF unit root tests. However, we find that the real exchange rates of upto eight countries are fractionally integrated thereby suggesting that mean-reversion is by no means a rare phenomenon. There is mixed evidence that purchasing power parity is restricted to high inflation less developed countries.