Skip to main content
Log in

The Yuan's Exchange Rates and Pass-through Effects on the Prices of Japanese and the US Imports

  • Symposium Article
  • Published:
Comparative Economic Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper estimated pass-through effects of the yuan's exchange rates on the prices of Japanese and the US imports from China. Empirical results show that, a 1% nominal appreciation of the yuan would result in a 0.23% increase in the prices of the US imports in the short run and 0.47% in the long run. Japanese import prices were relatively more responsive. For a 1% nominal appreciation of the yuan against the yen, Japanese import prices would be expected to rise 0.55% in the short run, and 0.99%, an almost complete pass-through, in the long run. The high degree of pass-through effects on the prices of Japanese imports was also found at the disaggregated sectoral level: food, raw materials, apparel, manufacturing and machinery. However, further analysis indicates that, the high pass-through effects were mainly attributed to China's peg to the US dollar policy and that the dollar is used as a dominant invoicing currency for China's exports to Japan. The estimated low pass-through effects suggest that, a moderate appreciation of the yuan would have very little impact on China's exports.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Asian Productivity Organization (APO). 2010: APO productivity databook 2010. APO: Tokyo.

  • Campa, JM and Goldberg, LS . 2005: Exchange rate pass-through into import prices. The Review of Economics and Statistics 87 (4): 679–690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, Y, Chinn, MD and Fujii, E . 2009: China's current account and exchange rate. NBER working paper no. 14673.

  • Dornbusch, R . 1987: Exchange rates and prices. American Economic Review 77 (1): 93–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engel, C . 2006: Equivalent results for optimal pass-through, optimal indexing to exchange rates, and optimal choice of currency for export pricing. Journal of European Economic Association 4 (6): 1249–1260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Froot, KA and Klemperer, PD . 1989: Exchange rate pass-through when market share matters. American Economic Review 79 (4): 637–654.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gagnon, JE and Knetter, MM . 1991: Markup adjustment and exchange rate fluctuations: Evidence from panel data on automobiles and total manufacturing. International Financial discussion paper no. 389, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

  • Garcia-Herrero, A and Koivu, T . 2007: Can the Chinese trade surplus be reduced through exchange rate policy? BOFIT discussion paper 6, Bank of Finland Institute for Economies in Transition, Helsinki.

  • Goldberg, LS and Tille, C . 2005: Vehicle currency use in international trade. NBER working paper no. 11127.

  • Goldberg, PK and Knetter, MM . 1997: Good prices and exchange Rates: What have we learned. Journal of Economic Literature XXXV (September): 1243–1272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, M . 2007: A lack of progress report on China's exchange rate policies. Peterson Institute for International Economics working paper no. 07–05.

  • Gopinath, G, Itskhoki, O and Rigobon, R . 2007: Currency choice and exchange rate pass-through. NBER working paper, No. 13432.

  • Jabara, C . 2009: How do exchange rates affect import prices? Recent economic literature and data analysis, office of industries. US International Trade Commission, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knetter, MA . 1993: International comparisons of pricing-to-market behavior. American Economic Review 83 (3): 473–486.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krugman, P . 2010: Taking on China. New York Times, 14 March.

  • Lim, E, Spence, M and Hausmann, R . 2006: China and the global economy: Medium-term issues and options – a synthesis report. Center for International Development at Harvard University, Working Paper no. 126.

  • Monacelli, T . 2005: Monetary policy in a low pass-through environment. Journal of Money Credit and Banking 37 (6): 1047–1066.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obstfeld, M . 2006: The Renminbi's dollar peg at the crossroads. University of California Berkeley, Center for International and Development Economic Research Paper no. C06–148.

  • Taylor, JB . 2000: Low, inflation, pass-through, and the pricing power of firms. European Economic Review 44 (7): 1389–1408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorbecke, W and Smith, G . 2010: How would an appreciation of the RMB and other East Asian currencies affect China's exports? Review of International Economics 18 (1): 95–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vigfusson, RJ, Sheets, N and Gagnon, J . 2007: Exchange rate-pass-through to export prices: Assessing some cross-country evidence. International Finance Discussion Papers no. 902, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

  • Woo, WT . 1984: Exchange rates and the prices of non-food, nonfuel products. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 1984 (2): 511–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, J . 1997: Exchange rate pass-through in US manufacturing industries. The Review of Economics and Statistics 79: 95–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author thanks two anonymous referees for their valuable comments and is grateful for helpful comments from Shinichi Fukuda, YongSeung Jung, Takashi Kihara, Mario Lamberte, Thorbecke Willem, Wing Thye Woo and other participants at the AEA meeting in Atlanta and ADBI seminar. The final draft was finished when the author was a visiting researcher of ADBI. The research is partially supported by a research grant of Japan Society for Promotion of Science (No. 21530214).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Xing, Y. The Yuan's Exchange Rates and Pass-through Effects on the Prices of Japanese and the US Imports. Comp Econ Stud 52, 531–548 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1057/ces.2010.21

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/ces.2010.21

Keywords

JEL Classifications

Navigation