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Currency Risk in Currency Unions

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  • Wolf, Martin
  • Müller, Gernot
  • Kriwoluzky, Alexander

Abstract

Sovereign yield spreads within currency unions may reflect the risk of outright default. Yet, if exit from the currency union is possible, spreads may also reflect currency risk. In this paper, we develop a New Keynesian model of a small member country of a currency union, allowing both for default within and exit from the union. Initially, the government runs excessive deficits as a result of which it lacks the resources to service the outstanding debt at given prices. We establish two results. First, the initial policy regime is feasible only if market participants expect a regime change to take place at some point, giving rise to default and currency risk. Second, the macroeconomic implications of both sources of risk differ fundamentally. We also analyze the 2009--2012 Greek crisis, using the model to identify the beliefs of market participants regarding regime change. We find that currency risk accounts for about a quarter of Greek yield spreads.

Suggested Citation

  • Wolf, Martin & Müller, Gernot & Kriwoluzky, Alexander, 2013. "Currency Risk in Currency Unions," CEPR Discussion Papers 9635, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9635
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Currency risk; Currency union; Default; Euro; Exit; Fiscal deficits; Greek crisis; Irreversibility; Spreads;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • F41 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Open Economy Macroeconomics

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