Estimating the Effects of Exchange Rate Volatility on Export Volumes

This paper takes a new empirical look at the long-standing question of the effect of exchange rate volatility on international trade flows by studying the case of Taiwan's exports to the United States from 1989-1998. In particular, we employ sectoral-level, monthly data and an innovative multiv...

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Main Authors: Kai-Li Wang, Christopher B. Barrett
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Western Agricultural Economics Association 2007-08-01
Series:Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/8643
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author Kai-Li Wang
Christopher B. Barrett
author_facet Kai-Li Wang
Christopher B. Barrett
author_sort Kai-Li Wang
collection DOAJ
description This paper takes a new empirical look at the long-standing question of the effect of exchange rate volatility on international trade flows by studying the case of Taiwan's exports to the United States from 1989-1998. In particular, we employ sectoral-level, monthly data and an innovative multivariate GARCH-M estimator with corrections for leptokurtic errors. This estimator allows for the possibility that traders' forward-looking contracting behavior might condition the way in which exchange rate movement and associated risk affect trade volumes. Change in importing country industrial production and change in the expected exchange rate are found to jointly drive the trade volumes. More strikingly, monthly exchange rate volatility affects agricultural trade flows, but not trade in other sectors. These results differ significantly from those obtained using more conventional and restrictive modeling assumptions.
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spelling doaj.art-6dec12da652943ce87854f13892335fe2022-12-22T01:27:29ZengWestern Agricultural Economics AssociationJournal of Agricultural and Resource Economics1068-55022327-82852007-08-0132222525510.22004/ag.econ.86438643Estimating the Effects of Exchange Rate Volatility on Export VolumesKai-Li WangChristopher B. BarrettThis paper takes a new empirical look at the long-standing question of the effect of exchange rate volatility on international trade flows by studying the case of Taiwan's exports to the United States from 1989-1998. In particular, we employ sectoral-level, monthly data and an innovative multivariate GARCH-M estimator with corrections for leptokurtic errors. This estimator allows for the possibility that traders' forward-looking contracting behavior might condition the way in which exchange rate movement and associated risk affect trade volumes. Change in importing country industrial production and change in the expected exchange rate are found to jointly drive the trade volumes. More strikingly, monthly exchange rate volatility affects agricultural trade flows, but not trade in other sectors. These results differ significantly from those obtained using more conventional and restrictive modeling assumptions.https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/8643agricultural tradeexchange rateexpectationsgarch
spellingShingle Kai-Li Wang
Christopher B. Barrett
Estimating the Effects of Exchange Rate Volatility on Export Volumes
Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics
agricultural trade
exchange rate
expectations
garch
title Estimating the Effects of Exchange Rate Volatility on Export Volumes
title_full Estimating the Effects of Exchange Rate Volatility on Export Volumes
title_fullStr Estimating the Effects of Exchange Rate Volatility on Export Volumes
title_full_unstemmed Estimating the Effects of Exchange Rate Volatility on Export Volumes
title_short Estimating the Effects of Exchange Rate Volatility on Export Volumes
title_sort estimating the effects of exchange rate volatility on export volumes
topic agricultural trade
exchange rate
expectations
garch
url https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/8643
work_keys_str_mv AT kailiwang estimatingtheeffectsofexchangeratevolatilityonexportvolumes
AT christopherbbarrett estimatingtheeffectsofexchangeratevolatilityonexportvolumes