IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/0834.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Transitory Terms-of-Trade Shocks and the Current Account: The Case of Constant Time Preference

Author

Listed:
  • Maurice Obstfeld

Abstract

The paper uses an intertemporal perfect-foresight optimizing model to analyze the effect of transitory terms-of-trade shocks on a small open . economy's current-account and utility time profiles. An adverse terms-of-trade shift known to be temporary induces the economy to run down its stock of external assets in the period before the terms of trade revert to their initial level. Subsequently, the assets consumed during this period are reaccumulated. The current-account response is due only in part to a desire to smooth out the future consumption stream. In addition, households know that the real value of any debt incurred while the terms of trade are unfavorable will be reduced sharply when the terms of trade improve. This opportunity for intertemporal price speculation causes the time path of instantaneous utility to be discontinuous,

Suggested Citation

  • Maurice Obstfeld, 1982. "Transitory Terms-of-Trade Shocks and the Current Account: The Case of Constant Time Preference," NBER Working Papers 0834, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:0834
    Note: ITI IFM
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w0834.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hall, Robert E, 1978. "Stochastic Implications of the Life Cycle-Permanent Income Hypothesis: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(6), pages 971-987, December.
    2. Maurice Obstfeld, 1982. "Aggregate Spending and the Terms of Trade: Is There a Laursen-Metzler Effect?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 97(2), pages 251-270.
    3. Obstfeld, Maurice, 1981. "Macroeconomic Policy, Exchange-Rate Dynamics, and Optimal Asset Accumulation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(6), pages 1142-1161, December.
    4. Nancy Peregrim Marion, 1981. "Anticipated and Unanticipated Oil Price Increases and the Current Account," NBER Working Papers 0759, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Jeffrey D. Sachs, 1981. "The Current Account and macroeconomic Adjustment in the 1970s," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 12(1), pages 201-282.
    6. Dornbusch, Rudiger, 1983. "Real Interest Rates, Home Goods, and Optimal External Borrowing," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 91(1), pages 141-153, February.
    7. Rudiger Dornbusch & Paul Krugman, 1976. "Flexible Exchange Rates in the Short Run," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 7(3), pages 537-584.
    8. Hamada, Koichi, 1969. "Optimal Capital Accumulation by an Economy Facing an International Capital Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 77(4), pages 684-697, Part II, .
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Francisco Rosende & Roberto Toso, 1984. "Una Explicación para la Tasa de Interés Real en Chile en el Período 1975-1983," Latin American Journal of Economics-formerly Cuadernos de Economía, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 21(62), pages 25-36.
    2. Obstfeld, Maurice, 1983. "Intertemporal price speculation and the optimal current-account deficit," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 2(2), pages 135-145, August.
    3. Persson, Torsten & Svensson, Lars E O, 1985. "Current Account Dynamics and the Terms of Trade: Harberger-Laursen-Metzler Two Generations Later," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(1), pages 43-65, February.
    4. Alberto Petrucci, 2004. "Asset Accumulation, Fertility Choice and Nondegenerate Dynamics in a Small Open Economy," Working Papers 2004.121, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    5. Hung-Ju Chen & Chen-Min Hsu, 2006. "Current Account, Capital Formation and Terms of Trade Shocks: a Revisit of the Harberger-Laursen-Metzler Effect," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 88(2), pages 179-201, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tarlok Singh, 2007. "Intertemporal Optimizing Models Of Trade And Current Account Balance: A Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 25-64, February.
    2. Obstfeld, Maurice & Rogoff, Kenneth, 1995. "The intertemporal approach to the current account," Handbook of International Economics, in: G. M. Grossman & K. Rogoff (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 34, pages 1731-1799, Elsevier.
    3. Obstfeld, Maurice, 1983. "Intertemporal price speculation and the optimal current-account deficit," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 2(2), pages 135-145, August.
    4. Singh, Tarlok, 2004. "On the optimizing model of the balance of trade in India," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 605-625, July.
    5. Manuchehr Irandoust, 2017. "Saving behaviour under terms-of-trade uncertainty: evidence from hidden cointegration approach," Macroeconomics and Finance in Emerging Market Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 135-150, May.
    6. Garg, Bhavesh & Prabheesh, K.P., 2021. "Testing the intertemporal sustainability of current account in the presence of endogenous structural breaks: Evidence from the top deficit countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 365-379.
    7. Chen Fang & Po-Sheng Lin, 2013. "Traded Bond Denominations, Shock Persistence and Current Account Dynamics: Another Look at the Harberger–Laursen–Metzler Effect," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 502-529, October.
    8. Jonathan D. Ostry & Carmen M. Reinhart, 1992. "Private Saving and Terms of Trade Shocks: Evidence from Developing Countries," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 39(3), pages 495-517, September.
    9. repec:fth:nystbu:92-6 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Backus, David K & Kehoe, Patrick J & Kydland, Finn E, 1994. "Dynamics of the Trade Balance and the Terms of Trade: The J-Curve?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(1), pages 84-103, March.
    11. Diego N. Moccero, 2008. "The Intertemporal Approach to the Current Account: Evidence for Argentina," Journal of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 327-353, November.
    12. Miller, Norman C., 2005. "Can exchange rate variations or trade policy alter the equilibrium current account?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 465-480, April.
    13. Etro, Federico, 2017. "Research in economics and macroeconomics," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 373-383.
    14. Nunes, Luiz Paulo Marinho, 1986. "A two-sector intertemporal optimizing model of capital accumulation and external indebtedness," Brazilian Review of Econometrics, Sociedade Brasileira de Econometria - SBE, vol. 6(1), April.
    15. David Bowman & Brian M. Doyle, 2003. "New Keynesian, open-economy models and their implications for monetary policy," International Finance Discussion Papers 762, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    16. David K. Backus & Patrick J. Kehoe & Finn E. Kydland, 1992. "Dynamics of the trade balance and the terms of trade: the J-curve revisited," Discussion Paper / Institute for Empirical Macroeconomics 65, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    17. Cunado, Juncal & Gracia, Fernando Perez de, 2005. "Current account and productivity: evidence for some European countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 75-89, February.
    18. Mr. Paul Cashin & Mr. C. John McDermott, 1998. "Terms of Trade Shocks and the Current Account," IMF Working Papers 1998/177, International Monetary Fund.
    19. International Monetary Fund, 1999. "Macroeconomic and Sectoral Effects of Terms-of-Trade Shocks: The Experience of the Oil-Exporting Developing Countries," IMF Working Papers 1999/134, International Monetary Fund.
    20. Paul Cashin & C. John McDermott, 2003. "Intertemporal Substitution and Terms‐of‐Trade Shocks," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(4), pages 604-618, September.
    21. Heng-Fu Zou, 1997. "Dynamic analysis in the Viner model of mercantilism," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 637-651, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:0834. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    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 CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc 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 RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.