IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/fip/fedmsr/391.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Are shocks to the terms of trade shocks to productivity?

Author

Listed:
  • Timothy J. Kehoe
  • Kim J. Ruhl

Abstract

International trade is frequently thought of as a production technology in which the inputs are> exports and the outputs are imports. Exports are transformed into imports at the rate of the price> of exports relative to the price of imports: the reciprocal of the terms of trade. Cast this way, a> change in the terms of trade acts as a productivity shock. Or does it? In this paper, we show that> this line of reasoning cannot work in standard models. Starting with a simple model and then> generalizing, we show that changes in the terms of trade have no first-order effect on> productivity when output is measured as chain-weighted real GDP. The terms of trade do affect> real income and consumption in a country, and we show how measures of real income change> with the terms of trade at business cycle frequencies and during financial crises.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy J. Kehoe & Kim J. Ruhl, . "Are shocks to the terms of trade shocks to productivity?," Staff Report, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedmsr:391
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/SR/SR391.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/common/pub_detail.cfm?pb_autonum_id=1091
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Easterly, William & Kremer, Michael & Pritchett, Lant & Summers, Lawrence H., 1993. "Good policy or good luck?: Country growth performance and temporary shocks," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 459-483, December.
    2. Enrique G. Mendoza, 2006. "Endogenous Sudden Stops in a Business Cycle Model with Collateral Constraints:A Fisherian Deflation of Tobin's Q," NBER Working Papers 12564, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Kohli, Ulrich, 2004. "Real GDP, real domestic income, and terms-of-trade changes," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 83-106, January.
    4. Robert C. Feenstra & Alan Heston & Marcel P. Timmer & Haiyan Deng, 2009. "Estimating Real Production and Expenditures across Nations: A Proposal for Improving the Penn World Tables," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(1), pages 201-212, February.
    5. Diewart, W Erwin & Morrison, Catherine J, 1986. "Adjusting Output and Productivity Indexes for Changes in the Terms of Trade," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 96(383), pages 659-679, September.
    6. Felipe Meza & Erwan Quintin, 2005. "Financial crises and total factor productivity," Center for Latin America Working Papers 0105, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    7. Mr. Paolo Mauro & Mr. Torbjorn I. Becker, 2006. "Output Drops and the Shocks That Matter," IMF Working Papers 2006/172, International Monetary Fund.
    8. Hamilton, James D, 1983. "Oil and the Macroeconomy since World War II," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 91(2), pages 228-248, April.
    9. Mick Silver & Khashayar Mahdavy, 1989. "The Measurement of a Nation's Terms of Trade Effect and Real National Disposable Income Within a National Accounting Framework," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 152(1), pages 87-107, January.
    10. Kjeld Bjerke, 1968. "Some Reflections On The Terms Of Trade," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 14(2), pages 183-198, June.
    11. Kehoe, Timothy J. & Ruhl, Kim J., 2009. "Sudden stops, sectoral reallocations, and the real exchange rate," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(2), pages 235-249, July.
    12. Timothy J. Kehoe & Kim J. Ruhl, 2005. "Is Switzerland in a Great Depression?," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 8(3), pages 759-775, July.
    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. Gibson, Mark & Graciano, Tim, 2011. "Trade Models with Heterogeneous Firms: What About Importing?," MPRA Paper 33048, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Claudia S. Gómez-López & Luis A.Puch, 2008. "Macroeconomic Consequences of International Commodity Price Shocks," Working Papers 2008-27, FEDEA.
    3. Canova, Fabio & Michelacci, Claudio & López-Salido, J David, 2007. "The Labour Market Effects of Technology Shocks," CEPR Discussion Papers 6365, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Gianluca Benigno & Huigang Chen & Christopher Otrok & Alessandro Rebucci & Eric R. Young, 2023. "Optimal Policy for Macrofinancial Stability," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 401-428, October.
    5. Juan Carlos Conesa & Timothy J. Kehoe & Kim J. Ruhl, . "Modeling great depressions: the depression in Finland in the 1990s," Staff Report, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    6. Fabio Canova & David Lopez-Salido & Claudio Michelacci, 2009. "The ins and outs of unemployment: An analysis conditional on technology shocks," Economics Working Papers 1213, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Jan 2012.
    7. Gianluca Benigno & Huigang Chen & Christopher Otrok & Alessandro Rebucci & Eric R. Young, 2011. "Revisiting Overborrowing and its Policy Implications," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Luis Felipe Céspedes & Roberto Chang & Diego Saravia (ed.),Monetary Policy under Financial Turbulence, edition 1, volume 16, chapter 6, pages 145-184, Central Bank of Chile.
    8. Benigno, Gianluca & Chen, Huigang & Otrok, Christopher & Rebucci, Alessandro & Young, Eric R., 2013. "Financial crises and macro-prudential policies," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(2), pages 453-470.
    9. Syed Tehseen Jawaid & Mariya Ahmad Qureshi & Samra Ali, 2021. "Does immiserizing growth exist? Evidence from world’s top trading nations," Journal of Chinese Economic and Foreign Trade Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(2), pages 124-148, January.
    10. Timothy J. Kehoe & Mark J. Gibson & Kim J. Ruhl & Claustre Bajona, 2008. "Trade liberalization growth and productivity," 2008 Meeting Papers 789, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    11. Correa-López Mónica & de Blas Beatriz, 2012. "International Transmission of Medium-Term Technology Cycles: Evidence from Spain as a Recipient Country," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-52, November.
    12. Gibson, Mark J. & Graciano, Tim A., 2012. "Trade Engagement and Producer Performance," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124833, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Juan Carlos Conesa & Timothy J. Kehoe & Kim J. Ruhl, 2007. "Modeling great depressions: the depression in Finland in the 1990s," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, vol. 31(Nov), pages 16-44.
    14. Jalil, Muaz, 2009. "Measuring Switzerland's Productivity Performance (1960-2008)," MPRA Paper 65321, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Narayan, Seema, 2013. "A structural VAR model of the Fiji Islands," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 238-244.
    16. Oviedo, P. Marcelo & Singh, Rajesh, 2012. "Investment Composition and International Business Cycles," Staff General Research Papers Archive 35096, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    17. Felipe Meza & Carlos Urrutia, 2008. "Great Appreciations: Accounting for the Real Exchange Rate in Mexico, 1988-2002," Working Papers 0807, Centro de Investigacion Economica, ITAM.
    18. Christian Daude, 2012. "Development Accounting: Lessons for Latin America," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 313, OECD Publishing.
    19. Fabio Canova & David Lopez-Salido & Claudio Michelacci, 2010. "The effects of technology shocks on hours and output: a robustness analysis," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(5), pages 755-773.
    20. Ariel Burstein & Javier Cravino, 2015. "Measured Aggregate Gains from International Trade," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 181-218, April.
    21. Timothy J. Kehoe & Kim J. Ruhl, 2010. "Why Have Economic Reforms in Mexico Not Generated Growth?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(4), pages 1005-1027, December.

    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. Timothy J. Kehoe & Kim J. Ruhl, 2008. "Are Shocks to the Terms of Trade Shocks to Productivity?," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(4), pages 804-819, October.
    2. Timothy J. Kehoe & Kim J. Ruhl, 2008. "Are Shocks to the Terms of Trade Shocks to Productivity?," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(4), pages 804-819, October.
    3. Gregory, Robert G., 2012. "Living standards, terms of trade and foreign ownership: reflections on the Australian mining boom," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 56(2), pages 1-30.
    4. Guido Sandleris & Mark L. J. Wright, 2014. "The Costs of Financial Crises: Resource Misallocation, Productivity, and Welfare in the 2001 Argentine Crisis," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 116(1), pages 87-127, January.
    5. Ferreira, Pedro Cavalcanti & Trejos, Alberto, 2010. "Gains from trade and measured total factor productivity," FGV EPGE Economics Working Papers (Ensaios Economicos da EPGE) 711, EPGE Brazilian School of Economics and Finance - FGV EPGE (Brazil).
    6. Ville Kaitila, 2016. "GDP growth in Russia: different capital stock series and the terms of trade," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(2), pages 129-145, April.
    7. Pedro Cavalcanti Ferreira & Alberto Trejos, 2011. "Gains from Trade and Measured Total Factor Productivity," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 14(3), pages 496-510, July.
    8. Benjamin, David M. & Meza, Felipe, 2007. "Total factor productivity and labor reallocation: the case of the 1997 Korea crisis," Discussion Paper Series In Economics And Econometrics 0701, Economics Division, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton.
    9. Michael Siegenthaler, 2015. "Has Switzerland Really Been Marked by Low Productivity Growth? Hours Worked and Labor Productivity in Switzerland in a Long-run Perspective," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(2), pages 353-372, June.
    10. Trejos, Alberto & Ferreira, Pedro Cavalcanti, 2008. "Trade in intermediate goods and total factor productivity," FGV EPGE Economics Working Papers (Ensaios Economicos da EPGE) 676, EPGE Brazilian School of Economics and Finance - FGV EPGE (Brazil).
    11. Paul Corrigan, 2017. "Terms-of-Trade and House Price Fluctuations: A Cross-Country Study," Staff Working Papers 17-1, Bank of Canada.
    12. Robert C. Feenstra & Robert Inklaar & Marcel P. Timmer, 2015. "The Next Generation of the Penn World Table," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(10), pages 3150-3182, October.
    13. Joël Cariolle & Michaël Goujon, 2015. "Measuring Macroeconomic Instability: A Critical Survey Illustrated With Exports Series," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 1-26, February.
    14. Calderón, César & Fuentes, J. Rodrigo, 2014. "Have business cycles changed over the last two decades? An empirical investigation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 98-123.
    15. Alan V. DEARDORFF, 2016. "What Do We (and Others) Mean by “The Terms of Trade”?," Turkish Economic Review, KSP Journals, vol. 3(2), pages 281-291, June.
    16. Kerekes, Monika, 2007. "Analyzing patterns of economic growth: a production frontier approach," Discussion Papers 2007/15, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    17. Robert C. Feenstra & Alan Heston & Marcel P. Timmer & Haiyan Deng, 2009. "Estimating Real Production and Expenditures across Nations: A Proposal for Improving the Penn World Tables," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(1), pages 201-212, February.
    18. Macdonald, Ryan, 2007. "Real GDP and the Purchasing Power of Provincial Output," Economic Analysis (EA) Research Paper Series 2007046e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    19. Giang Ho & Paolo Mauro, 2014. "Rapid Growth in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies: Now and Forever?," Policy Briefs PB14-26, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    20. Raddatz, Claudio, 2007. "Are external shocks responsible for the instability of output in low-income countries?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(1), pages 155-187, September.

    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:fip:fedmsr:391. 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: Kate Hansel (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cfrbmus.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.