On the (in)feasibility of covered interest parity as a solution to the forward bias puzzle
Abstract
This paper examines Pippenger's (2011) proposed solution to the forward bias puzzle, which is based on the covered interest parity (CIP) condition. It is argued that the CIP-based approach does not solve this well known and long-standing puzzle in international finance in a meaningful way. Moreover, it is shown that empirical results from such an approach follow mechanically from the identity-like nature of the theory of covered interest parity, which, aside from small deviations due to transaction costs, is assumed to hold in all periods (as if it were an identity). We show that rather than leading to new insights, the simple reconfiguration of CIP to solve for the time t+1 spot exchange rate leads to tautological expressions that, when estimated, might appear to successfully explain the forward bias, but in actuality are trivial. Results from simple simulation exercises further illustrate the inconclusiveness of the proposed solution method.Download Info
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.
Bibliographic Info
Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money.
Volume (Year): 21 (2011)
Issue (Month): 4 (October)
Pages: 611-616
Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/intfin
Related research
Keywords: Exchange rates Forward-bias puzzle Covered interest parity Arbitrage;References
References listed on IDEASPlease report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Pippenger, John, 2011. "The solution to the forward-bias puzzle," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 296-304, April.
- Pippenger, John, 2011. "A Complete Solution To The Forward-Bias Puzzle," University of California at Santa Barbara, Economics Working Paper Series qt5gq9z4j0, Department of Economics, UC Santa Barbara.
Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- John, Pippenger, 2011. "The solution to the forward-bias puzzle: Reply," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 629-636, October.
Lists
This item is not listed on Wikipedia, on a reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.Statistics
Access and download statisticsCorrections
When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:intfin:v:21:y:2011:i:4:p:611-616For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Wendy Shamier).
If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.
If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.
If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link to it, you can help with this form.
If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.
Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

