Open Economy Macroeconomics
Econ 105C
Open Economy Macroeconomics
- Closed economies assume that there is no exports nor imports, but many economies across the world require trade to function
- These are open economies, and they are important because many countries and industries rely on international trade
National Income Accounting
- In a closed economy, the equations Y = C + I + G and S = I are true because there is no outside trade
- G and T represent government spending and taxes
- Household disposable income is Y - T
- Household consumption and saving is Y - T - C = SH, where C is a function of Y - T s.t. C = C(Y - T)
- Government saving is T - G = SG
- National savings are S = SH + SG
- In an open economy, these terms change
- C = Cd + Cf (where d = domestic and f = foreign)
- I = Id + If
- G = Gd + Gf
- X = exports of domestically produced goods and services to other nations
- IM = imports of internationally produced goods and serivces to a home nation
- NX = exports - imports
- These terms imply that domestic spending might not equal domestic output, nor will domestic saving equal domestic investment
- Foreign spending and saving can make up the difference
- Other terms might not be equal due to foreign-held capital and labor, but these differences are fairly insignificant
- In an open economy:
- Cd + Id + Gd + X - (C + I + G)
- = (Cd - C) + (Id - I) + (Gd - G) + X
- = -Cf - If - Gf + X
- -> X - IM = 0 = NX
Current and Capital Accounts
- The current account is a country’s net exports of goods and services plus net foreign aid to the country
- If NX > 0, then there is a trade surplus; if NX < 0, then there is a trade deficit
-
Net (financial) capital outflows: S - I = the net outflow of “lonable funds” = net purchases of foreign assets
- AKA domestic country’s purchases of foreign assets minus foreign purchases of domestic assets
- S > I, country is a net lender; S < I, country is a net borrower
- Capital account is the inverse of net capital outflows
Is a Current Account (AKA Trade) Deficit Bad?
- In some cases, yes; in others, no
- If a country has a trade deficit because they have bad domestic products, then the deficit is bad
- If a country has a trade deficit because everyone wants to import into the US, then the deficit is good
Open Economy Model
- Three assumptions
- Domestic and foreign bonds are perfect substitutes
- Perfect capital mobilityL no restrictions on international trade in assets
- Economy is small: cannot affect the world interest rate
- Similar to the loanable funds model
- Production function: Y = F(K, L)
- Consumption function: C = C(Y - T)
- Investment function: I = I(r)
- Exogenous policy variables: G bar, T bar, etc.
Exchange Rates
- Nominal exchange rate (e): The relative price of domestic currency in units of foreign currency
-
Real exchange rate (ε): The relative prive of domestic goods in units of foreign goods
- Normally equal to 1 (e.g. one JP car is same as one US car)
- Can be thought of as the relative price of a basket of goods vs. a basket of foreign goods
- Exports and imports depend on the exchange rate
- When ε goes up, US goods become more expensive relative to foreign goods, meaning that exports goes down and imports go up, so net exports goes down
- X and NX down, IM up
- When ε goes down, the opposite happens; foreign goods are expensive, so exports goes up and imports go down, so net exports goes up
- When ε goes up, US goods become more expensive relative to foreign goods, meaning that exports goes down and imports go up, so net exports goes down
Real Exchange Rate Equilibrium
- NX = S - I
- S is determined on domestic factors, as it represents savings
- I is determined by the world interest rate r*
- ε adjusts the net export demand to be equal to the capital account balance
World Economy
- The world economy is a closed economy
- Can use closed economy models for the world
Large Open Economies
- The US and China are considered the two large open economies
- This means they lie in between a closed economy and a small open economy
- Analysis of a large open economy will lie between a closed and small open economy; similar to taking the average