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What has Foreign Market Intervention Since the Plaza Agreement Accomplished?

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  • Michael D. Bordo
  • Anna J. Schwartz

Abstract

We review the conduct and scale of official intervention by monetary authorities in the U.S.A., Japan, and West Germany since the Plaza Agreement. Relative to trading volume and the stock of internationally traded assets denominated in foreign currencies, intervention is small--scale and sporadic, hence at best limited to transitory effects. It does not appear to reduce volatility of daily exchange rates. Monetary authorities gamble that they will not suffer losses on their foreign currency holdings. Evidence in favor of sterilized foreign exchange market intervention as a way of conveying information to the private sector is far from convincing. Since changes in relative monetary growth rates are sufficient to alter bilateral exchange rates, monetary authorities can achieve their exchange rate preferences with domestic monetary policy, but at the cost of Possible distortionary effects on monetary growth rates, domestic interest rates, and international capital flows.

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  • Michael D. Bordo & Anna J. Schwartz, 1990. "What has Foreign Market Intervention Since the Plaza Agreement Accomplished?," NBER Working Papers 3562, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:3562
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    1. Kathryn Dominguez & Jeffrey A. Frankel, 1991. "Does foreign exchange intervention matter? disentangling the portfolio and expectations effects for the mark," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue Nov.
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    6. Michael P. Leahy, 1989. "The profitability of U.S. intervention," International Finance Discussion Papers 343, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
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    Cited by:

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    2. Marvin Goodfriend, 2001. "Why we need an \\"accord\\" for Federal Reserve credit policy : a note," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, issue Win, pages 23-32.
    3. Thomas Willett, 1999. "Developments in the Political Economy of Policy Coordination," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 221-253, May.
    4. Heejoon Kang & Michele Fratianni, 1993. "International equality of stock market returns," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 4(4), pages 381-401, December.
    5. Stéphanie Guichard, 1998. "La politique monétaire et la crise japonaise," Working Papers 1998-06, CEPII research center.
    6. Kang, In-Bong, 1999. "International foreign exchange agreements and nominal exchange rate volatility: a GARCH application," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 453-472.
    7. Jean-Sébastien Pentecôte & Thierry Roncalli, 1996. "Retour à la moyenne dans les cours du change du mécanisme de change européen : 1987-1995," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 123(2), pages 189-205.
    8. Alfred Broaddus & Marvin Goodfriend, 1996. "Foreign exchange operations and the Federal Reserve," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, issue Win, pages 1-20.

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