This paper studies the role of nontraded goods and transaction costs in accounting for the puzzling behavior of the real exchange rate. In particular, we develop a simple general equilibrium model and evaluate the quantitative performance of the model in replicating the dynamic properties of the...

Empirical evidence suggests that the flexibility of labor supply is closely related to the dynamic adjustment of the real exchange rate. This paper investigates this relationship in a two-sector dependent economy model. While, the long-run equilibrium real exchange rate is independent of the...

This paper investigates the effect of real exchange rate misalignment and volatility on Malaysian import flows during 1991:Q1 to 2003:Q4. A measure of the quantitative proxy of the real exchange rate misalignment is constructed using the Natural Real Exchange Rate (NATREX) equilibrium model,...

This paper focuses on the impact of full capital account liberalization on macroeconomic volatility in Greece. According to the standard neoclassical model, such liberalization is to be desired because, among other advantages, it may reduce macroeconomic volatility. The link between...

We investigate the time series properties of both filtered and unfiltered real exchange rate series produced by DSGE models that feature local currency pricing, home bias, nontraded goods, and incomplete markets. Detrended series produced by several specifications approach the empirically...

Recent decades have seen a considerable expansion of global trade and a simultaneous decline in inflation volatility. This paper investigates whether greater openness to trade helps achieve inflation stability. Using panel data for a sample of developing and industrial countries over the period...

Despite the well documented gains from international diversification, investors continue to show a strong preference for investing in domestic assets, a phenomenon referred to in the literature as ‘home bias’. This bias comes at a price — a higher cost of capital for businesses. We...

Stylized facts suggest that output volatility in OECD countries has declined in recent years. However, the causes and the nature of this decline have so far been analyzed mainly for the United States. In this paper, we analyze whether structural breaks in the dynamics and the volatility of the...

I study the constrained efficient allocations of a simple model of risk sharing and capital flows across countries assuming that each country cannot commit to fully repay its contract obligations. In the model, the degree of risk sharing and the amount of investment are interdependent. It is...

Following the 2008 financial crisis, the world’s attention was drawn to the periphery of the European Union, where economic openness and pegs to the Euro combined to destabilize the region. This study measures the output volatility of a set of Central and Eastern European countries from the...