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Capital Flows, the Current Account, and the Real Exchange Rate: Consequences of Liberalization and Stabilization

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  • Maurice Obstfeld

Abstract

This paper develops a dynamic framework in which macroeconomic liberalization and stabilization measures of the type recently seen in Latin America can be studied. The model is sufficiently general to cover both polar cases of a closed capital account and free private capital mobility, so the effects of liberalizing external asset trade can be studied. Capital-account liberalization leads to an initial period of real appreciation, but a long-run real depreciation; and the economy passes through alternating phases of boom and slump in the process. Devaluation is found to be nonneutral even in the long run and possibly contractionary in the short run. In contrast, a change in the rate of exchange depreciation is neutral, even with sticky prices, when capital is fully mobile. When capital is immobile, a disinflationary reduction inthe rate of exchange-rate crawl has effects that are the opposite of those arising from capital-account opening. The model suggests that capital-account liberalization, rather than disinflation, played a part in causing the massive real exchange-rate appreciation that accompanied recent Latin American programs of economic reform.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 1526.

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Date of creation: Apr 1987
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:1526

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Cited by:
  1. Froot, Kenneth A., 1988. "Credibility, real interest rates, and the optimal speed of trade liberalization," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1-2), pages 71-93, August.
  2. Bacchetta, Philippe & Aghion, Philippe & Banerjee, Abhijit, 2004. "Financial Development and the Instability of Open Economies," Scholarly Articles 4554209, Harvard University Department of Economics.
  3. Leonardo Bartolini & Allan Drazen, 1998. "When Liberal Policies Reflect External Shocks, What Do We Learn?," NBER Working Papers 5727, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  4. Philippe Aghion & Philippe Bacchetta & Abhijit Banerjee, 2000. "Capital Markets and the Instability of Open Economies," Working Papers 99.01 update, Swiss National Bank, Study Center Gerzensee.
  5. Sebastian Edwards, 1989. "Commodity Export Boom and the Real Exchange Rate: The Money-Inflation Link," NBER Working Papers 1741, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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