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Are Terms of Trade Rises Inflationary?
Author(s) -
Gruen David,
Dwyer Jacqueline
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
australian economic review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.308
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1467-8462
pISSN - 0004-9018
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8462.1996.tb00926.x
Subject(s) - economics , exchange rate , inflation (cosmology) , terms of trade , monetary economics , outcome (game theory) , keynesian economics , international economics , mathematical economics , physics , theoretical physics
This article explores the relationship between the terms of trade and inflation. It shows, both analytically and empirically, that the exchange rate response to a change in the terms of trade is crucial to the inflation outcome. It demonstrates the existence of a ‘threshold’ exchange rate response. Our best estimate is that a rise in the terms of trade is inflationary if the associated rise in the real exchange rate is less than about 1/3–1/2 of the rise in the terms of trade. However, if appreciation of the real exchange rate is larger than this, the consequent fall in the domestic price of importables is large enough that the terms of trade rise reduces inflation, at least in the short run.