By: |
Michele Ca’ Zorzi (European Central Bank, Kaiserstrasse 29, 60311 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.);
Bernd Schnatz (European Central Bank, Kaiserstrasse 29, 60311 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.) |
Abstract: |
From a conceptual point of view there is little consensus of what should be
the “ideal indicator” of international cost and price competitiveness as each
of the standard measures typically employed has its own merits and drawbacks.
This calls for addressing the question from an empirical angle, searching for
the indicator that best explains and helps forecast export developments. This
paper constitutes a first attempt to systematically compare the properties of
the alternative cost and price competitiveness measures of the euro area.
Although they diverge sometimes, we find little evidence that there is one
indicator consistently outperforming the other in terms of explaining and
forecasting euro area exports. This suggests that the measures based on
consumer and producer prices, which offer some advantages in terms of quality
and timeliness, are good approximations of euro area price and cost
competitiveness. JEL Classification: F17, F31, F41. |
Keywords: |
Real exchange rate, trade, exports, price competitiveness, euro area, forecast. |
Date: |
2007–11 |
URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20070833&r=for |