International trade is vital for economic prosperity in Pacific island countries, but their trade performance has been weak over the past decade with the exception of resource-rich countries. Small country size and remoteness from global economic centers may have contributed to this relatively poor performance. However, the emergence of Asia as a global economic center presents Pacific island countries with an unprecedented opportunity to develop trade with Asia, particularly in tourism for a number of PICs. Moreover, if a strong two-way linkage is established between tourism and agriculture, Pacific island countries stands a better chance to improve broad-based growth.
This paper provides an assessment of real exchange rate measures and their impact on trade performance with special reference to two Pacific island countries, Fiji and Samoa. The analysis shows that the commonly used CPI-based real effective exchange rate (REER) measure provides a useful starting point of assessment, but alternative measures based on other price and cost indices should be used to check the robustness of the results, particularly given the large impact of global commodity prices on small open economies. The paper also offers some illustrations of how to quantify the impact of exchange rate movements on trade, especially in the face of data constraints in small open economies.
International trade is vital for economic prosperity in Pacific island countries, but their trade performance has been weak over the past decade with the exception of resource-rich countries. Small country size and remoteness from global economic centers may have contributed to this relatively poor performance. However, the emergence of Asia as a global economic center presents Pacific island countries with an unprecedented opportunity to develop trade with Asia, particularly in tourism for a number of PICs. Moreover, if a strong two-way linkage is established between tourism and agriculture, Pacific island countries stands a better chance to improve broad-based growth.
This paper provides an assessment of real exchange rate measures and their impact on trade performance with special reference to two Pacific island countries, Fiji and Samoa. The analysis shows that the commonly used CPI-based real effective exchange rate (REER) measure provides a useful starting point of assessment, but alternative measures based on other price and cost indices should be used to check the robustness of the results, particularly given the large impact of global commodity prices on small open economies. The paper also offers some illustrations of how to quantify the impact of exchange rate movements on trade, especially in the face of data constraints in small open economies.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.