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Current Account Adjustment and Retained Earnings

Author

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  • Andreas M. Fischer
  • Henrike Groeger
  • Philip Saure
  • Pinar Yesin

Abstract

This paper develops a formal strategy to calculate current accounts with retained earnings (RE) on equity investment and analyzes their adjustment during the global financial crisis. RE are the part of companies' profits which are reinvested and not distributed to shareholders as dividends. International statistical standards treat RE on foreign direct investment and RE on portfolio investment differently: while the former enter the current and financial account, the latter do not. We show that this differential treatment strongly affects current accounts of several advanced economies, frequently referred to as financial centers, with large positions in equity (portfolio) investment. Our empirical analysis finds that the differential treatment of RE alters the interpretation of current account adjustment for the global financial crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas M. Fischer & Henrike Groeger & Philip Saure & Pinar Yesin, 2018. "Current Account Adjustment and Retained Earnings," Globalization Institute Working Papers 345, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:feddgw:345
    DOI: 10.24149/gwp345
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    Cited by:

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    2. Nicolas Stoffels & Cédric Tille, 2018. "Do Swiss foreign assets hedge the business cycle?," Aussenwirtschaft, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science, Swiss Institute for International Economics and Applied Economics Research, vol. 69(01), pages 1-40, December.
    3. Koomen, Miriam & Wicht, Laurence, 2022. "Pension systems and the current account: An empirical exploration," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    4. Hansen, Erwin & Wagner, Rodrigo, 2022. "The reinvestment by multinationals as a capital flow: Crises, imbalances, and the cash-based current account," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    5. Herkenhoff, Philipp & Sauré, Philip, 2021. "How expected inflation distorts the current account and the valuation effect," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    6. Coutinho, Leonor & Turrini, Alessandro & Zeugner, Stefan, 2022. "Assessing the euro area current account," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    7. Gustavo Adler & Mr. Daniel Garcia-Macia & Signe Krogstrup, 2019. "The Measurement of External Accounts," IMF Working Papers 2019/132, International Monetary Fund.
    8. Chinn, Menzie & Devereux, Michael B. & Kollmann, Robert, 2018. "International Financial Integration in a Changing Policy Context – the End of an Era?," MPRA Paper 90400, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Mr. Shafik Hebous & Mr. Alexander D Klemm & Yuou Wu, 2021. "How Does Profit Shifting Affect the Balance of Payments?," IMF Working Papers 2021/041, International Monetary Fund.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Current account adjustment; financial centers; retained earnings; equity investment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F32 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Current Account Adjustment; Short-term Capital Movements
    • F47 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions

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