A Faith-Based Initiative Meets the Evidence: Does a Flexible Exchange Rate Regime Really Facilitate Current Account Adjustment?
利用1971-2005年170多个国家的数据，系统检验了浮动汇率制度促进经常账户调整的论断，发现两者之间没有稳健或单调的关系，挑战了传统假设和政策建议。
It is often asserted that a flexible exchange rate regime would facilitate current account adjustment. Using data on over 170 countries over the 1971–2005 period, we examine this assertion systematically. We find no strong, robust, or monotonic relationship between exchange rate regime flexibility and the rate of current account reversion, even after accounting for the degree of economic development and trade and capital account openness. This finding presents a challenge to the Friedman (1953) hypothesis and a popular policy recommendation by international financial institutions. © 2013 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.