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A Resolution of the Purchasing Power Parity Puzzle: Imperfect Knowledge and Long Swings

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  • Roman Frydman
  • Michael D. Goldberg
  • Søren Johansen
  • Katarina Juselius

    (School of Economics and Management, University of Aarhus, Denmark and CREATES)

Abstract

Asset prices undergo long swings that revolve around benchmark levels. In currency markets, fluctuations involve real exchange rates that are highly persistent and that move in near-parallel fashion with nominal rates. The inability to explain these two regularities with one model has been called the "purchasing power parity puzzle." In this paper, we trace the puzzle to exchange rate modelers' use of the "Rational Expectations Hypothesis." We show that once imperfect knowledge is recognized, a monetary model is able to account for the puzzle, as well as other salient features of the data, including the long-swings behavior of exchange rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Roman Frydman & Michael D. Goldberg & Søren Johansen & Katarina Juselius, 2009. "A Resolution of the Purchasing Power Parity Puzzle: Imperfect Knowledge and Long Swings," CREATES Research Papers 2009-01, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    • Handle: RePEc:aah:create:2009-01
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    Cited by:

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    2. García Solanes, José & Torrejón-Flores, Fernando, 2009. "The Balassa-Samuelson Hypothesis in Developed Countries and Emerging Market Economies: Different Outcomes Explained," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 3, pages 1-24.
    3. Katarina Juselius, 2017. "Using a Theory-Consistent CVAR Scenario to Test an Exchange Rate Model Based on Imperfect Knowledge," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-20, July.
    4. Robert Kelm, 2010. "The Exchange Rate and Two Price Inflations in Poland in the Period 1999-2009. Do Globalization and Balassa-Samuelson Effect Matter?," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 2(4), pages 315-349, September.
    5. Frydman Roman & Goldberg Michael D., 2008. "Macroeconomic Theory for a World of Imperfect Knowledge," Capitalism and Society, De Gruyter, vol. 3(3), pages 1-78, December.
    6. Canepa Alessandra, 2022. "Small Sample Adjustment for Hypotheses Testing on Cointegrating Vectors," Journal of Time Series Econometrics, De Gruyter, vol. 14(1), pages 51-85, January.
    7. Katarina Juselius, 2021. "Searching for a Theory That Fits the Data: A Personal Research Odyssey," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-27, February.
    8. Johansen, Søren & Juselius, Katarina & Frydman, Roman & Goldberg, Michael, 2010. "Testing hypotheses in an I(2) model with piecewise linear trends. An analysis of the persistent long swings in the Dmk/$ rate," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 158(1), pages 117-129, September.
    9. Robert Kelm, 2017. "The Purchasing Power Parity Puzzle and Imperfect Knowledge: The Case of the Polish Zloty," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 9(1), pages 1-27, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    PPP puzzle; long swings; imperfect knowledge; rational expectations hypothesis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F31 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Exchange
    • F41 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Open Economy Macroeconomics
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

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