A global epidemic can seem rather abstract, until someone you know personally is killed by it. Last week Emeritus Professor of Economics at Birmingham University Peter Sinclair died at the age of 73 from Covid-19. I and many other remember him very fondly from his days as a teacher on our Oxford MPhil Economics course,… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: exchange rates
Key finance concepts: exchange rates
Exchange rates are among the most important macrofinancial prices, influencing many aspects of an economy. This post introduces exchange rates and their importance for macroeconomic adjustment * What is an exchange rate? An exchange rate is a ratio, the price of one currency relative to another. All prices are ratios, but normally they’re expressed in… Continue Reading
What exactly is “the” exchange rate?
Exchange rates are ratios of the price of one currency to another. We should be careful about saying “the” exchange rate without being clear as to which particular ratio we mean and why. * Exchange rates often dominate the financial news. In 2016 the Chinese exchange rate has been frequently mentioned as a source of concern.… Continue Reading
The IMF includes the RMB in the SDR basket
On 30 November 2015 the IMF voted to include the RMB (the Chinese “people’s currency” denominated in yuan) in the basket of currencies it uses to calculate the value of the Special Drawing Rights, from October 2016. This is largely symbolic but should encourage further international financial reform in China. * What does it actually… Continue Reading
Is a market determined exchange rate always a good thing?
For years there has been pressure on China to allow its exchange rate to be determined by market forces rather than by the central bank. Now that seems closer to happening but it might mean a fall in the RMB, which is not what most of China’s critics wanted. * For years, China held down… Continue Reading
Why forecasting exchange rates is near-impossible
As an economist, over the years I’ve been asked two things repeatedly by people who hold economics in touchingly high regard. One is, which way will house prices move? And the other is, what will happen to the value of the pound against the dollar (or euro or yen etc.). I’ll defer the first question… Continue Reading