IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/imf/imfwpa/2007-201.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Assessing Competitiveness and Real Exchange Rate Misalignment in Low-Income Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Mr. Mark W Lewis
  • Ms. Aurelie Martin
  • Gabriel Di Bella

Abstract

Assessing a country's competitiveness routinely starts with an analysis of the real exchange rate. However, in low-income countries, empirical analysis of the real exchange rate is often subject to important limitations that seriously weaken the results. This paper summarizes the methodologies used to assess real exchange rate misalignments and discusses the range of obstacles common to low-income countries. Recognizing the importance of using a wide range of indicators for assessing competitiveness in low-income countries, the paper discusses alternative competitive measures and then proposes a template of indicators to allow for a systematic assessment of competitiveness in low-income countries. The template is then used to rank countries according to their competitiveness performance in 2006.

Suggested Citation

  • Mr. Mark W Lewis & Ms. Aurelie Martin & Gabriel Di Bella, 2007. "Assessing Competitiveness and Real Exchange Rate Misalignment in Low-Income Countries," IMF Working Papers 2007/201, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2007/201
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=21181
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kenneth Rogoff, 1996. "The Purchasing Power Parity Puzzle," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 34(2), pages 647-668, June.
    2. Mr. Aasim M. Husain, 2006. "To Peg or Not to Peg: A Template for Assessing the Nobler," IMF Working Papers 2006/054, International Monetary Fund.
    3. Mr. Etienne B Yehoue & Gilles J. Dufrénot, 2005. "Real Exchange Rate Misalignment: A Panel Co-Integration and Common Factor Analysis," IMF Working Papers 2005/164, International Monetary Fund.
    4. Gonzalo, Jesus & Granger, Clive W J, 1995. "Estimation of Common Long-Memory Components in Cointegrated Systems," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 13(1), pages 27-35, January.
    5. Devarajan, Shantayanan & Lewis, Jeffrey D & Robinson, Sherman, 1993. "External Shocks, Purchasing Power Parity, and the Equilibrium Real Exchange Rate," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 7(1), pages 45-63, January.
    6. Ronald Mac Donald, 1998. "What Do We Really Know About Real Exchange Rates?," Working Papers 28, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    7. W. M. Corden, 1960. "The Geometric Representation of Policies to Attain Internal and External Balance," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 28(1), pages 1-22.
    8. MacDonald, Ronald, 2000. "Concepts to Calculate Equilibrium Exchange Rates: An Overview," Discussion Paper Series 1: Economic Studies 2000,03, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    9. T. W.Swan, 1960. "Economic Control In A Dependent Economy," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 36(73), pages 51-66, March.
    10. MacDonald, Ronald, 1998. "What determines real exchange rates?: The long and the short of it," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 117-153, June.
    11. World Bank, 2006. "World Development Indicators 2006," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 8151.
    12. Mr. Peter B. Clark & Mr. Steven A. Symansky & Mr. Tamim Bayoumi & Mr. Mark P. Taylor, 1994. "Robustness of Equilibrium Exchange Rate Calculations to Alternative Assumptions and Methodologies," IMF Working Papers 1994/017, International Monetary Fund.
    13. repec:onb:oenbwp:y::i:28:b:1 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Mr. Jerome L. Stein, 1995. "The Fundamental Determinants of the Real Exchange Rate of the U. S. Dollar Relative to Other G-7 Currencies," IMF Working Papers 1995/081, International Monetary Fund.
    15. Kenneth Rogoff, 1992. "Traded Goods Consumption Smoothing and the Random Walk Behavior of the Real Exchange Rate," Monetary and Economic Studies, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan, vol. 10(2), pages 1-29, November.
    16. Mr. Mark W Lewis & Mr. Jean-Claude Nachega & Mr. Said A Bakhache & Mr. Kadima D. Kalonji, 2006. "Assessing Competitiveness After Conflict: The Case of the Central African Republic," IMF Working Papers 2006/303, International Monetary Fund.
    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. Lone Christiansen & Alessandro Prati & Luca Antonio Ricci & Thierry Tressel, 2010. "External Balance in Low-Income Countries," NBER Chapters, in: NBER International Seminar on Macroeconomics 2009, pages 265-322, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Erdoğan, Eren & Aras, Osman Nuri & Öztürk, Mustafa, 2012. "Does Overvalued Turkish Lira Affect Turkey's Foreign Trade Competitiveness?," MPRA Paper 81857, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Blaise Gnimassoun, 2012. "Taux de change et mésalignements du franc CFA avant et après l’introduction de l’euro," Working Papers hal-04141139, HAL.
    4. Blaise Gnimassoun, 2012. "Taux de change et mésalignements du franc CFA avant et après l’introduction de l’euro," EconomiX Working Papers 2012-3, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    5. Fakhri J. Hasanov & Muhammad Javid & Frederick L. Joutz, 2022. "Saudi Non-Oil Exports before and after COVID-19: Historical Impacts of Determinants and Scenario Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-38, February.
    6. Ambaw, Dessie & Pundit, Madhavi & Ramayandi, Arief & Sim, Nicholas, 2022. "Real Exchange Rate Misalignment and Business Cycle Fluctuations in Asia and the Pacific," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 651, Asian Development Bank.
    7. International Monetary Fund, 2013. "Sudan: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2013/320, International Monetary Fund.
    8. International Monetary Fund, 2009. "Republic of Congo: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2009/072, International Monetary Fund.
    9. Simeon Coleman & Juan Carlos Cuestas, 2024. "On the evolution of competitiveness in Central and Eastern Europe: Is it broken?," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 2911-2926, July.
    10. Mahvash S Qureshi, 2008. "Africa’s Oil Abundance and External Competitiveness: Do Institutions Matter?," IMF Working Papers 2008/172, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Jan Gottschalk & Carl Miller & Lanieta Rauqeuqe & Isoa Wainiqolo & Yongzheng Yang, 2016. "The Real Exchange Rate: Assessment and Trade Impact in the Context of Fiji and Samoa," IMF Working Papers 2016/168, International Monetary Fund.
    12. Okot, Anjelo & Kaltenbrunner, Annina & Perez Ruiz, Daniel, 2022. "Determinants of the exchange rate, its volatility and currency crash risk in Africa's low and lower middle-income countries," EIB Working Papers 2022/12, European Investment Bank (EIB).
    13. Mr. Manuk Ghazanchyan & Li Zhao & Steve Brito & Vivian Parlak, 2019. "New Insights into ECCU's Tourism Sector Competitiveness," IMF Working Papers 2019/154, International Monetary Fund.
    14. International Monetary Fund, 2009. "Republic of Equatorial Guinea: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2009/099, International Monetary Fund.
    15. International Monetary Fund, 2008. "Burundi: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2008/292, International Monetary Fund.
    16. International Monetary Fund, 2009. "Union of the Comoros: Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix," IMF Staff Country Reports 2009/046, International Monetary Fund.
    17. Emilio Pineda & Mr. Paul Cashin & Ms. Yan M Sun, 2009. "Assessing Exchange Rate Competitiveness in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union," IMF Working Papers 2009/078, International Monetary Fund.
    18. Peter Bal z & Luk Harv nek, 2016. "Competitiveness of the Chinese Economy and its Link to the Global Energy Prices Development," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 6(2), pages 305-317.
    19. Mr. Klaus-Stefan Enders, 2009. "Exchange Rate Assessment for Oil Exporters," IMF Working Papers 2009/081, International Monetary Fund.
    20. International Monetary Fund, 2010. "Bangladesh: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2010/056, International Monetary Fund.
    21. International Monetary Fund, 2008. "Morocco: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2008/331, International Monetary Fund.

    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. repec:onb:oenbwp:y::i:106:b:1 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Balázs Égert & László Halpern & Ronald MacDonald, 2006. "Equilibrium Exchange Rates in Transition Economies: Taking Stock of the Issues," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 257-324, April.
    3. Rimgailaite, Ramune, 2012. "Exchange rate modelling for Lithuania and Switzerland," MPRA Paper 43451, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Égert, Balázs, 2004. "Assessing equilibrium exchange rates in CEE acceding countries: can we have DEER with BEER without FEER? A critical survey of the literature," BOFIT Discussion Papers 1/2004, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    5. Reza Siregar & Ramkishen Rajan, 2006. "Models of Equilibrium Real Exchange Rates Revisited: A Selective Review of the Literature," Centre for International Economic Studies Working Papers 2006-04, University of Adelaide, Centre for International Economic Studies.
    6. Shehu Usman Rano, Aliyu, 2007. "Real Exchange Rate Misalignment: An Application of Behavioral Equilibrium Exchange Rate (BEER) to Nigeria," MPRA Paper 10376, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Agnès Bénassy‐Quéré & Sophie Béreau & Valérie Mignon, 2009. "Robust Estimations Of Equilibrium Exchange Rates Within The G20: A Panel Beer Approach," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 56(5), pages 608-633, November.
    8. repec:zbw:bofitp:2004_001 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Aykut Kibritcioglu & Bengi Kibritcioglu, 2004. "Real Exchange Rate Misalignment in Turkey, 1987-2003 (in Turkish)," Macroeconomics 0403006, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 22 Apr 2004.
    10. Égert, Balázs, 2004. "Assessing equilibrium exchange rates in CEE acceding countries: can we have DEER with BEER without FEER? A critical survey of the literature," BOFIT Discussion Papers 1/2004, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    11. Rebecca L Driver & Peter F Westaway, 2005. "Concepts of equilibrium exchange rates," Bank of England working papers 248, Bank of England.
    12. Joanna Beza-Bojanowska, 2009. "The Behavioural Zloty/Euro Equilibrium Exchange Rate," NBP Working Papers 55, Narodowy Bank Polski.
    13. Oliver Hossfeld, 2010. "Equilibrium Real Effective Exchange Rates and Real Exchange Rate Misalignments: Time Series vs. Panel Estimates," Working Papers 2010.3, International Network for Economic Research - INFER.
    14. Hoffmann, M. & MacDonald, R., 2001. "A real differential view of equilibrium real exchange rate," Discussion Paper Series In Economics And Econometrics 0103, Economics Division, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton.
    15. Michel Aglietta & Camille Baulant & Virginie Coudert, 1997. "Why the Euro will be Strong: an Approach Based on Equilibrium Exchange Rates," Working Papers 1997-18, CEPII research center.
    16. Astorga, Pablo, 2012. "Mean reversion in long-horizon real exchange rates: Evidence from Latin America," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1529-1550.
    17. Agnès Bénassy‐Quéré & Sophie Béreau & Valérie Mignon, 2010. "On the Complementarity of Equilibrium Exchange‐Rate Approaches," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 618-632, September.
    18. Ondrej Schneider & Jan Zapal, 2006. "Fiscal Policy in New EU Member States: Go East, Prudent Man!," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 139-166.
    19. Chen, Xiaoshan & MacDonald, Ronald, 2015. "Measuring the dollar–euro permanent equilibrium exchange rate using the unobserved components model," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 20-35.
    20. Balazs Egert & Carol Leonard, 2008. "Dutch Disease Scare in Kazakhstan: Is it real?," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 147-165, April.
    21. Kirsten Lommatzsch & Silke Tober, 2004. "Productivity Growth and the Real Appreciation of the Accession Countries' Currencies," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 2004-675, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    22. Terra, Cristina & Valladares, Frederico, 2010. "Real exchange rate misalignments," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 119-144, January.

    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:imf:imfwpa:2007/201. 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: Akshay Modi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/imfffus.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.