BlackMarketGoldberg Karimov
BlackMarketGoldberg Karimov
BlackMarketGoldberg Karimov
(published in the Journal of International Economics vol. 42 3/4 May 1997 pp.349-370)
Abstract
hoarding and foreign currency accumulation as forms of investment. In this paper, an asset
activity, is used for studying the paths of black-market exchange rates, second-economy
prices, hoarding stocks, and privately held dollar balances following policy reforms. We
discuss conditions for overshooting and related dynamics of exchange rates and prices
following: official exchange-rate adjustments, price reforms, and altered risks of monetary
The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York. Linda Goldberg is grateful for the technical support provided by the C.V. Starr
Center for Applied Economics at New York University and the financial support of the National Science
Foundation and the Social Science Research Council. Maury Obstfeld provided particularly useful comments on
the paper. Linda Goldberg also appreciates useful discussions with Pierre-Richard Agenor, Barry Ickes, and
Randi Ryterman. Dr. Il'dar Karimov is grateful for the technical support provided by the Economic Transition
and Integration Project at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria and the Japan
Foundation, and for the technical and financial assistance of the International Centre for Economic Research in
Turin, Italy.
1. Introduction
In emerging markets and some developing economies, restrictions still hamper free-market
transactions in some goods and financial assets. Financial markets remain under-developed and
few investment assets and outlets for savings are available to individuals. The existence of
pervasive shortages, rigidities, and the vestiges of central planning and controlled prices, lead
financial instruments and uncertainty regarding future consumption-goods availability, one form
of investment and intertemporal transfer of wealth has been through purchases of storable
consumption goods.1
In the present paper, these features of the transition economy are shown to bear upon the
dynamic effects of various policy initiatives, such as official price reforms, official exchange rate
devaluations, and monetary reforms. With investment opportunities available to the consumer/
investor consisting of hoarded goods, accumulated hard currency, and domestic-currency savings,
we trace the dynamics of adjustment of the stocks and prices of domestic currency assets and
rates and prices depend on events in both financial and goods markets. An important implication
is that demand for second-economy goods arises from both investment and consumption motives,
rather than purely from consumption motives. Thus, a broader range of reform initiatives have
significantly richer effects on exchange rates and prices than those predicted by more conventional
approaches. Moreover, we highlight a role for hoarding activity beyond that typically cited as
important in discussions of policy credibility and "big bang" approaches to reform during
The key theoretical contribution of the present paper arises from the simultaneous
treatment of exchange rate and price dynamics, coupled with an explicit treatment of smuggling
1
activities. While the methodology and dynamic treatment of the problem per se are not novel, the
specific application is: its solution provides useful insights for transition and developing
economies. By explicitly studying the likelihood of overshooting of exchange rates and prices, we
provide insights into the observed pattern of relatively high volatility of nominal and real
exchange rates in emerging markets. Our results support criticisms of the use of black market
exchange rates as a guide to equilibrium fixed exchange rates in transition economies. Both real
and nominal black market exchange rates can overshoot in response to goods market events, in
The theory that we present complements two other important approaches to modeling
exchange rate and price dynamics. First, we contribute to the theory of black-market exchange
rates. This prior literature was motivated mainly by the experiences of Latin American economies,
wherein black-market currency demands are treated as arising from "portfolio" motives: changes
in the risk, return and stocks of various financial assets drive the currency price.2 Recent
applications include Pinto's (1991) analysis of the fiscal ramifications of unification of black and
official market exchange rates, and Lane's (1992) study of Polish household behavior in money
Our approach also is closely related to the literature on the dynamics of exchange rate
adjustment which stemmed from the seminal Dornbush exchange-rate overshooting framework.
Such models typically have two distinct markets: the market for financial assets and the market
2Calvo and Rodriguez (1977) provide an early model of currency substitution. Branson and Henderson (1985)
provide a comprehensive presentation of portfolio theory applied to the asset market approach to exchange rate
determination. In the context of black market exchange rate determination, the existing literature, as in de Macedo
(1982, 1987) and Dornbush et al. (1983), models dollar holdings by individuals arising as a means of diversifying a
"portfolio" of assets held to maximize expected returns on "invested" wealth and minimize the variance of these
returns.
3Lane (1992) considers portfolio demands for two assets: domestic currency and foreign exchange.
2
for domestic goods.4 As such, these models are useful for analyzing the dynamic effects of
changes in the financial and goods market structures when financial market structures are fully
developed and when goods prices are sticky.5 However, when there are underdeveloped financial
and goods markets the theory requires modification. Useful steps in this direction are taken by
Calvo and Frenkel (1991) in their analysis of the implications of financial market reforms, and by
Agenor and Flood (1992) and Goldberg (1995) in their analyses of exchange rate unification.
However, unlike the present paper, all of these papers maintain the assumption of distinct
Finally, our analysis provides insights into the meaning of "monetary overhang".
According to the traditional view for socialist and in emerging market economies, money
holdings are, in part, involuntary.6 Instead, we maintain that, in an environment with under
underdeveloped financial markets, money balances are held as part of an optimizing decision
by households. Therein, individuals take into account the variances and covariances among the
returns on alternative savings vehicles, in addition to considering the pure expected values of
these returns. In this treatment, the risk-adjusted returns on money may not be dominated by
those adjusted returns on alternative investment assets.7 The theoretically "optimal" demand
for money balances are distinct from those generated by current transactions motives and are
4See Obstfeld and Rogoff (1995) for an important reworking of the sticky price framework to incorporate
monopolistic competition and intertemporal issues.
4Frenkel and Rodriguez (1982) present a two-asset model which relaxes the assumption that goods prices are sticky.
However, in that paper prices still are determined in goods markets, rather than alongside investment vehicles in
assets markets. In contrast to our approach, goods are held purely for consumption purposes, and smuggling and
hoarding activities are not considered. This treatment of real goods as an investment asset, with the smuggling
linkages, further distinguishes our work from simple three-asset models of the portfolio approach to exchange rate
determination.
6For example, see Birman (1980) and Cottarelli and Blejer (1992).
7This type of treatment also is provided by Lane (1992).
3
The organization of the paper is as follows. First, Section II develops the model of the
black-market for foreign exchange and hoarding of real goods. Section III analyzes the
balances in private portfolios, and hoarding stocks, in response to a set of announced and
II. The Model: Black Markets for Foreign Currencies and Goods Hoarding
Two aspects of the demand and supply for (black) foreign exchange and for second-
economy consumer goods are modeled. The first aspect is derived from "financial" or
investment motives for holding foreign currency and hoarding goods, and is subsumed under
current consumption needs and is subsumed under the heading of transaction demands with
smuggling.
savings, foreign savings, and hoarding of goods. The investment assets have some trend rates
of return, and each of these returns have a stochastic element (represented by a Brownian-
motion diffusion term). Given the choices available to consumer, we derive their optimal
portfolio allocations,8 and later use these mean /variance computations to motivate a more
general asset market model. Specific formulas resulting from the portfolio problem are meant
to be suggestive, since asset prices may not precisely follow the Brownian motion processes as
interest paid on domestic-currency savings deposits. The risk associated with this form of
savings, σ b , arises due to the possibility that savings accounts can be confiscated in a monetary
8 The technical details of the derivation of optimal demands are provided in the Appendix.
4
reform or, alternatively, that savings are the main officially-recognized assets in the event of a
new issue of notes.9 Example of such events abound in emerging market economies, and
include: the treatment of savings by East German households savings in the process of German
unification; the January 1991 Russian invalidation of cash holdings outside of the savings
accounts; and the July 1992 Russian announcement that ruble notes issued prior to 1993 were
to be invalidated.
accumulated through the black market. For our exposition, the foreign currency is called dollars
and the domestic currency is called rubles. The domestic-currency value of these dollars is the
product of the quantity of dollars held, F, multiplied by the black-market exchange rate S,
where the exchange rate is defined as units of domestic currency per unit of foreign exchange.
foreign-exchange holdings do not yield a nominal return.10 The valuation and rate-of-return on
these dollar stocks depends on the expected evolution of the short-run black-market exchange
rate. The expected rate of depreciation of the ruble against the dollar is given by φ and the
standard deviation of this forecast is denoted by V s .
The third investment opportunity is via the accumulation of storable goods, G, valued at
second-economy prices, P. The expected rate of return on the hoarding of goods is the expected
rate of increase in durable-goods prices, π, (i.e. the inflation rate on domestic goods) which is
adjusted for the cost c of obtaining or storing these goods over the same interval of time for
9This risk enters through the standard deviation of the diffusion process on returns on domestic currency assets. It
also is possible to model this risk as a Poisson process. Analogous interpretations will apply to other risk terms
introduced.
10 This assumption is not important for our results and easily could be relaxed. In Poland, domestic residents are
permitted to maintain both domestic currency and foreign exchange accounts. Also, one could easily introduce
expected costs of obtaining and later liquidating black-market foreign exchange, as consumer/investors pay a range
of fees to money dealers. Also, it is possible to introduce a parameter reflecting the risks associated with holding
foreign exchange, for example, those due to the likelihood of being caught by authorities and penalized.
5
which the inflation series is measured. This cost can be interpreted as the opportunity cost of
waiting in queues or searching for the goods.11 The uncertainty in the forecast of future goods
availability and future inflation is subsumed within the index σg.
These investments are made out of available nominal wealth stock W, defined by:
W = B + PG + SF (1)
PG SF B
λ1 = ,λ2 = , and λ 3 = 1 − λ 1 − λ 2 = (2)
W W W
with λ 1 the share of wealth invested in hoarded goods, λ 2 the share of wealth held in foreign
currency assets, and λ 3 the share of wealth in domestic currency assets.12 The objective of the
dw 1 dw
maximize λ ,λ U = E − R ⋅ Var (3)
1 2 w 2 w
where R is the coefficient of relative risk aversion, w = W/Q is real wealth, and Q is the price
Consumption occurs over two types of goods, domestic and imported, which enter the
price index with weights α and (1-α), respectively. We assume that importers are price-takers
in the market for foreign products and normalize so that the foreign currency price equals one.
Thus, the domestic currency prices of imported goods follow the black-market exchange rate.
The optimal-portfolio demands for each asset, provided in the Appendix, are divided
demands precisely equal their shares in the future consumption baskets on individuals: αW is
6
invested in real goods, while (1-α)W is invested in foreign exchange. A short position is taken
in domestic currency assets to offset the long minimum-variance position in the other two
investment alternatives. However, this does not imply that negative stocks and demands for
domestic currency (i.e. net borrowing) will prevail. For positive domestic asset holdings, the
and at least as great as the negative minimum-variance demands. This leads to the following
proposition:
Proposition 1: For positive holdings of domestic currency assets, domestic interest rates
must be at least as large as the rates of return on each alternative asset, net of a linear
combination of the expected variances and covariances of those returns.
For conciseness and brevity, in this main body of the paper and in Table 1 we present
only the signs of the asset-demand elasticities with respect to the parameters of financial
markets, relegating to the appendix the full set of equations and results on optimal portfolio
shares. Asset demands are normal, so that OS1 ! 0 and OI1 ! 0 : the subscripts here refer to the
specific asset of the portfolio; the superscripts refer to the derivative of this portfolio share with
respect to durable goods prices or expected currency depreciation. Increased expected hoarded
good inflation (π) raises the current demand for durable goods ( λ 1 ). This responsiveness is
decreasing in the relative-risk-aversion of the investor, since the source of demand for durables
is the investor's attempts at minimizing the variance of his investment portfolio. The
covariances of the returns on alternative assets, but not by the expected returns on those assets.
7
Table 1 Asset Demand Functions: Signs of Demand Elasticities
σb2 σg2 ib c φ π
effect on demand for \
goods-hoarding λ1 +1 - 2 - - - +
dollars λ2 +1 +3 - + + -
home-assets λ3 -1 +3 + + - -
1: Unambiguously satisfied if λ 3 ! 0
2: Unambiguously satisfied if (λ 1 − α ) +
α
>0
R
2
3: Unambiguously satisfied if (λ 2 − (1 − α )) <
α 1 φ − i b − σ s where
+
R R σ 2s + σ b2
( ) (
A = σ 2b + σ 2g (σ 2b + σ 2s ) − σ b2 + ρ gs )
2
and ρ gs is the correlation between shocks
to black market exchange rates and to second economy goods prices.
Optimal portfolio demands also shift with changes in the expected return on domestic
investments, in the costs of holding or acquiring hoarded goods, and in the uncertainty
surrounding the expected returns on the investments. The signs of these effects are presented in
Table 1. Increased goods supply uncertainty ( σ 2g ) reduces the hoarding demand for goods and
increases the demand for foreign and domestic currency.13 This risk also has a second-order
effect: it alters the responsiveness of asset demands to other policy and process changes. For
example, as σ 2g rises, the expansionary effect on goods hoarding of increasing π is reduced.
Likewise, an increased risk of monetary reform ( σ 2b ) generally increases the portfolio demands
These optimal portfolio demands for assets are summarized by the reduced form
equations (4) through (6). All demand influences other than φ and π are collected into the
vector Z. The total amount of each asset demanded is the product of the optimal portfolio share
and the investable wealth. Stock equilibriums in the asset markets are given by:
13 The theoretical possibility of reversing the sign of those elasticities is likely to occur only if λ3 < 0.
8
− +
λ 1 φ , π , Z ( B + PG + SF ) = PG (4)
+ −
λ 2 φ , π , Z ( B + PG + SF ) = SF (5)
− −
λ 3 φ , π , Z ( B + PG + SF ) = B (6)
( )
where Z = σ 2b , σ 2g , i b , c and λ 3 ⋅ ( B + PG + SF ) = (1 − λ 1 − λ 2 ) ⋅ ( B + PG + SF )
Equations (4) and (5) provide two equations in two endogenous unknowns, S and P.
Both the black-market exchange rate and the second-economy price of goods are assumed to be
perfectly flexible. Note that this treatment of goods-price flexibility is more general than the
conventional approaches and also is appropriate if goods are traded as assets in the short run.
Also, observe that the values of the black market exchange rate and the second economy price
of goods depend on agents forecasts of expected rates of depreciation and expected inflation, φ
and π. We will assume that investors have rational expectations: they correctly anticipate the
values of S and P that will result after the market responds to some initial anticipated or
implemented disturbances.
adjustment of all asset prices. In the short and medium run, flow disequilibrium can exist in the
second-economy goods markets and in the black market "trade balances". These markets
decumulated through illicit cross-border trades. In the long-run, asset markets, second-economy
goods markets, and the illicit trade balance are in equilibrium. Specifically, in the long-run
.
there is balance both in the current account (i.e. balanced smuggling), F 0 ; in the second-
.
economy goods market (i.e. no additions or reductions of hoarding stocks), G 0; and φ = π =
0.14
14 We use φ = π = 0 as the steady-state condition of our model. However, in practice these inflation and depreciation
rates will return to some "normal" rates determined by forces outside of the scope of the model, which need not
equal zero. For example, these forces would include the dynamic path of money creation. Any discussion herein of
9
B. Stock Adjustments on Black Markets
To complete the specification of markets for foreign exchange and storable goods, it is
economies are not fundamentally different from other countries with active parallel-markets. In
Surpluses or deficits in the second-economy trade balance, generated by changes in the net
transactions or consumption demands for foreign goods and foreign exchange is less than the
foreign demand for goods smuggled out of the domestic economy. This second economy trade
balance is a function of the relative price of smuggled imports and the black market exchange
rate premium. As S/P, the relative price of imports, rises, the demand for domestic goods rises
and demand for foreign goods falls. This leads to an improvement in the second-economy trade
balance and accumulation of dollars, so that f1 = fS P > 0 . Increases in the black-market
exchange-rate premium, S/So, where So is the official exchange rate offered to tourists or
short-run and long-run activity clearly is limited to the specific forces triggered by the events analyzed within this
paper.
15For example, see Pitt (1984) and Kamin (1992).
16Our specification of foreign asset creation assumes that foreign asset stocks change due to cross-border activities.
An alternative approach would be to model the banking sector's ability to create foreign liabilities by indexing
household deposits to foreign currency returns. We opt for the former approach as a more accurate representation of
activities outside of the official sector. By contrast, the latter approach may be more appropriate for a country such
as Poland that has implemented more radical banking sector reforms.
10
would-be emigrants, improve the second-economy trade balance by increasing the transactions
supply of dollars, so that f2 = fS S > 0 .17
0
Equation (8) shows the determinants of changes in the availability of hoardable goods in
the second economy. Goods availability is a function of the relative price of imported and
domestic goods, as well as the premium from smuggling goods out of the official market and
decreasing) in the relative price of imported to second-economy prices of domestic goods, S/P,
so that fewer goods are available for hoarding and g1 = gS P < 0 . Also, the net supply of goods
is increasing in P/ P0, the ratio of the free-market to the government-controlled price of goods.
In the second-economy market for goods, demand decreases and supply increases in P. This
supply response is attributed to the motives for increased theft of goods from the official sector.
an increase in official prices can lead to a reduction in the supply diverted to secondary
markets, since the premium to theft is reduced. In the official sector, more goods are available
but at higher prices. Hence, demand in the second-economy declines as P0 increases. The
supply effects dominate, so that g2 = gP P > 0 . o
section we analyze the dynamic effects of: i) official/ tourist exchange-rate devaluation (an
17 See Dornbusch et al. (1983). Note also that the function representing the net supply of dollars easily can be
modified to account for the considerable obstacles that limit East-West trade. Historically, these obstacles have
included prohibitive border-taxes, tariffs, and more subtle costs of illicit activity.
11
increase in S0); ii) relaxation of the state-controlled prices of goods, either through one-shot
price adjustment or liberalization (increase in P0); iii) a sale of government bonds to the
domestic population; iv) changes in the risk of currency confiscation, and v) changes in the
The general principles behind the adjustment dynamics are similar to those observed in
all asset market models. Unlike the basic two-asset models usually studied, our system of
equations has two prices (the price of goods and the black-market exchange rate) adjusting
instantaneously to yield equilibrium in the markets for three assets. Thus, in our model both the
real and the nominal black-market exchange rates have well-specified (and not identical)
dynamics in the very short run. The dynamics of G and F (i.e accumulation or decumulation of
foreign exchange holdings and hoarding activity) also are well-specified along the path to the
steady-state equilibrium.
Analysis and simulation of the dynamic system shows that this system has a saddlepath
solution, i.e. it is characterized by two positive and two negative eigenvalues. Below, we
discuss the properties of this saddlepath and the implications of constraining adjustment along
this path. In conjunction with an analysis of the steady-state values of each variable following
policy initiatives, the saddlepath results are used to address the issue of price and exchange rate
overshooting. Before turning to the results of the analysis, the next section provides a
Parameterization using data from Russia: Data from Russia in the early 1990s are directly
relevant for our experiment and simulations because, in addition to having experienced
extensive smuggling and hoarding, various discrete policy announcements led to overshooting
and sharp short-term speculative movements in both exchange rates and prices. Computation of
the linearized version of the system of dynamic equations (i.e. equations 4,5,7 and 8) requires
initial parameter values for: household portfolio shares λ 1 , λ 2 ; elasticities of these portfolio
shares with respect to changes in expected inflation and the expected rate of black market
12
exchange rate depreciation, λπ1 , λφ1 , λπ2 , λφ2 ; secondary market premium on foreign exchange
and durable goods, S S 0 , P P 0 ; and partial derivatives of the flow equations for foreign
exchange and durable goods accumulations, i.e. f , f , g , g .18
1 2 1 2
The true allocations of liquid household wealth in reforming economies generally are
unknown and elude survey efforts.19 In general, we expect that at least 50 percent of household
wealth is held in domestic currency assets. Thus, λ 3 = 1 − λ 1 − λ 2 ≥. 50 , and the sum of
portfolio shares toward foreign currency and hoarded assets will be at most 0.50. Our grid of
values allows λ 1 ∈ (.1,.4) and λ 2 ∈ (.1,.4) , subject to λ 1 + λ 2 <. 50 .
Since we also lack reasonable data on the price elasticities of the portfolio allocations,
we turn to the portfolio model presented in Section IIA for intuition. The model shows that
λπ1 > λφ1 , λφ2 > λπ2 , and λφ1 = λπ2 < 0 . The ranking of λπ1 and λφ2 depends on the relative size of
exchange rate variance about its trend, compared with inflation variance about its trend. Data
from the Russian economy in 1992 and 1993 show that black market exchange rate volatility
generally exceeds by threefold detrended inflation volatility. Moreover, since positive stocks of
all three assets are held by the population, Proposition 1 implies that the riskiness of domestic
18For further discussion of the Russian foreign exchange system and the implications of exchange rate reforms in this
economy, see Goldberg (1993, 1995). Goldberg and Tenorio (1995a, 1995b) discuss the link between the foreign
exchange market microstructure in Russia and its outcomes. Goldberg and Karimov (1995) consider the implications
of price and official sector foreign exchange market reforms for producer decisions regarding foreign exchange
auction participation and for their allocations of production across domestic versus external destinations.
19We have undertaken extensive efforts to determine the actual allocation of liquid household wealth in Russia. Even
those detailed household surveys that have been conducted under the auspices of international organizations and the
Soviet Interview Project have not been able to have households respond adequately to questions about liquid wealth.
The main available data related to our portfolio allocation issue are household deposits in savings accounts and
estimates of currency in circulation. But even this data most likely misses significant forms of domestic currency
savings, as well as foreign exchange holdings, and holdings of storable goods. We also consider anecdotal evidence
on this issue unreliable.
13
currency denominated assets is far inferior to the riskiness of the other two assets.20 Finally, the
data show that the covariances between these series are small relative to their variances. The
rankings of volatilities which emerge from this appeal to the portfolio approach suggest that
λπ1 ≥ 3λφ2 . Our simulations use λπ1 ∈ ( 0.1,0.3), λφ2 ∈ (0.05,0.2), and λφ1 = λπ2 ∈( −0.1,−0.02).
Finally, we assign values to the initial: black market exchange rate premia; ratio of free
to controlled prices of goods; and elasticities of response of hoarded goods stocks and foreign
exchange accumulation in the second economy with respect to their respective arguments.
These values are: S S 0 ∈(1,2), P P 0 ∈(1,2), g1 ∈( −0.1,−0.5), g 2 ∈(0.1,0.5), f1 ∈ (01
. ,0.5),
and f 2 ∈(01
. ,0.5) .
The vast majority of parameter combinations yielded an eigenvalue sign pattern of:
θ1 > 0, θ 2 < 0, θ 3 < 0, θ 4 > 0 , where the θ i represent the respective eigenvalues of the model. A
distant second pattern of eigenvalues (Case #2) is θ1 > 0, θ 2 < 0, θ 3 > 0, θ 4 < 0 . This case
appeared infrequently, and was associated with λ1 at the low end of its range (around 0.10) and
λ2 was at the high end of its range (around 0.30): in these initial conditions hoarding activity is
nearly absent.
exposition of the overshooting results we will use eigenvalues and eigenvectors generated by
20The black market exchange rate data are weekly series reported in Commersant and compiled by the authors.
Commersant is a Russian business and news publication. The price data also are weekly, and are drawn from Russian
Economic Trends. We use two alternative measures of consumer prices: an aggregate consumer price index (cpi) and
a nonfood consumer price index. It is difficult to vouch for the quality of the data. However, we were convinced that
the data are satisfactory by a range of checks for consistency with monthly series on consumer and retail prices. Both
of these measures exclude the prices of services. For computing our benchmark results on portfolio share
elasticities, we assume that the variance of returns on holding domestic currency assets is at most one half of the
variance of the return on holding real goods. We also assume that the coefficient of relative risk aversion can take on
benchmark values of one and two.
14
two sets of parameter combinations and corresponding to each of the benchmark cases.21 The
(after working through the algebra) for exchange rate overshooting are presented in Table 2.
Benchmark Case 2:
parameters: λ = 010
. λ = 010
1
. λφ = λπ = −0.05 λπ = 0.30 λφ = 010
2 1 2 1
. 2
S S 0 = 125
. P P 0 = 125
. g1 = −010
. g 2 = 0.50 f1 = 010
. f 2 = 0.50
The equations presented in Table 2 show the exchange rates and prices which prevail
immediately after a policy initiative places the economy on the saddlepath toward the new
21 We follow the generally accepted approach to rational expectations models which emphasizes the saddlepath
solution instead of non-saddlepath adjustments.
15
steady state. This initial jump occurs at time t=0. Using the dynamic equations of exchange
rates and prices, overshooting occurs if the instantaneous jumps in these variables exceed their
steady-state adjustments.22
Steady State and Overshooting Results: The overshooting possibilities and subsequent
dynamics of exchange rates and price depend on the steady-state results of the model. These
steady-state effects are summarized in Table 3 for: (i) an increase in the official price of
controlled goods; (ii) a devaluation of the official exchange rate; (iii) a government bond sale;
(iv) an increase in the uncertainty on government bond yields; and (v) an increase in uncertainty
A devaluation of the official exchange rate leads to a steady-state increase in the price
of hoarded goods and a steady state depreciation of the black market exchange rate. The
intuition is straight-forward. Since the official devaluation reduces the attractiveness to tourists
of supplying foreign currency in the second economy, in the long run there are lower F stocks
in black markets. The steady-state effect on asset markets is a nominal and real depreciation of
the black-market exchange rate. Moreover, since imported goods are relatively more expensive,
there is a shift toward greater consumption of storable goods so that the supply of goods
available for hoarding or accumulation contracts. Thus, in the steady state we observe both
lower F and lower G, and an increase in the price of hoarded goods and in the price of foreign
currency.
22 Maury Obstfeld provided exceptionally useful suggestions for addressing the overshooting problem.
23 To compute the actual overshooting results, the long-run comparative statics results for each shock,
provided in the Appendix, are used in the overshooting equations for each benchmark case. The resulting
conditions then are evaluated at the initial parameterizations of the respective benchmark cases. The
interested reader may refer to these equations to generate more detailed information about the extent of
exchange rate and price overshooting across the respective cases, and with respect to the particular policy
experiments.
16
Table 3 Sign of Steady State Implications of Policy Initiatives
Steady-State Effects
on
Policy Initiative \\ S P F G
______________________________________________________________________
In the very short run, black market exchange rates will depreciate. Nominal exchange
rate overshooting is possible but depends on the initial parameterization of the economy. In
particular, overshooting requires real exchange rates to be “high” initially. Real exchange rates
in transition economies are likely to satisfy this overshooting criteria, since the domestic
currency price of foreign goods generally is greater than the price of domestic goods. Thus, in
the context of transition economies, a devaluation of the official exchange rate will cause a
large initial jump depreciation of the black market exchange rate, followed by a period of
corrective (but partial) nominal appreciation. Immediately after the foreign exchange reform,
the black market exchange rate premium will be at much higher levels than at the new steady-
state.
devaluation. Prices jump instantaneously and continue to rise with gradually declining rate until
the steady state is attained. Together with the nominal exchange rate depreciation results, the
model shows that in the presence of hoarding and black markets for foreign exchange, there
17
will be both real and nominal exchange rate overshooting following this type of official foreign
market reform.
price good, has the same qualitative effect on asset stocks and prices in the steady state as did
the official exchange rate devaluation. The implications of the two policy initiatives differ,
however, in the relative size of the resulting increases in S and P, and the resulting declines in
G and F. In comparison with the effects of an official exchange rate devaluation, an official
sector price reform has smaller steady-state proportional effects on S and F than on P and G,
respectively. Also, the price reform ultimately leads to a real appreciation of the black market
exchange rates, rather than a real depreciation: the proportionate increase in prices exceeds the
devaluation, the price reform leads to larger reductions in hoarding stocks and smaller
In the very short run, second economy goods prices do not overshoot in response to the
increase in prices in the official sector. The nominal exchange rate bears the brunt of the
instantaneous adjustment to the price reform, with likely immediate overshooting followed by a
period of gradual and partial recovery of value. Again, the exchange rate overshoots both in
nominal and real terms, and exhibits greater volatility than prices.
Next, consider the effects of an increase in the riskiness of the returns on holding
domestic currency assets, perhaps due to changes in the perceived threat of savings or monetary
confiscation. The direct effect is to reduce the attractiveness of domestic currency assets and
increase portfolio demands for goods and foreign exchange. The immediate jump by exchange
rates and prices onto the saddlepath implies a jump appreciation of the nominal exchange rate
and an immediate increase in the price of hoarded goods. In the scenarios captured by our
benchmark cases, the immediate increase in both nominal and real black market exchange
rates implies overshooting behavior in the transition economy. As hoarding stocks and foreign
exchange availability adjust, the exchange rates will gradually depreciate and return to their
18
real and nominal levels. The initial inflation surge will be followed by a period of deflation. In
the steady state, individuals will hold larger stocks of foreign exchange and of hoarded goods
The other policy initiatives or circumstances which we analyze using the portfolio and
asset accumulation model are an increase in the supply of domestic bonds (or domestic
currency assets in general), and an increase in the uncertainty surrounding the availability of
real goods in the future. The steady-state implications of these measures are summarized in
Table 3. Detailed formulas for these steady state results are provided in the Appendix.
economy prices, hoarding activity and foreign currency holdings in an economy with under-
developed financial markets and smuggling activity. In contrast to previous studies, we use a
framework that: (i) introduces hoarding activity and smuggling into an asset market approach,
and (ii) assumes that goods prices are determined in asset markets along with the prices of
financial assets that are used stores of value. This set of innovations enables us to more
realistically integrate the dynamics of the real and financial sectors of an emerging market
economy.
The key point is that both exchange rates and prices reflect speculative and transitory
demands for currency and for goods which arise from optimizing behavior: goods prices are
driven by the same type of speculative forces that are observed in financial markets. The
speculative influence on goods prices and exchange rates injects increased volatility into these
variables in transition economies. The existence of black markets and smuggling means that
such volatility cannot be regulated away using, for example, capital controls or taxation on
official transactions.
The results of our paper are especially important for economies in transition or in the
process of economic stabilization. We show that observed sharp increases in spreads between
19
black market and official exchange rates need not be indicative of unsuccessful reforms.
Instead, observed black market premia may be purely transitory overshooting phenomena,
reflecting inter-temporal speculation and the channels for clearing asset markets. Analogously,
prices (and the spread between free market prices and controlled prices) may rise at the outset
of specific reforms, but this type of inflationary burst also can be purely transitory.
Adding fuel to the skepticism voiced in Edwards (1989), Kamin (1993), and Montiel
and Ostry (1994), our results show that parallel market premia in both exchange rates and
(relative to long-run equilibria) implicit in black to official premia depend on the structure of
Moreover, the adjustment paths for black-market exchange rates and prices, and for smuggling
and hoarding activity, are dependent on observable features of the reforming economies,
including real exchange rates and initial portfolio allocations. These conclusions are especially
pressing for transition economies, wherein the frequency of policy changes adds to the
likelihood that exchange rates, at any moment in time, are still adjusting to previously
20
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23
Appendix:
The problem of the consumer/ investor is captured by the objective function:
dw 1 dw
maximize λ ,λ U = E − R ⋅ Var (a1)
1 2 w 2 w
where w= W/Q is real wealth, Q is the price index of the consumption basket, and R is his
coefficient of relative risk aversion. Nominal wealth, W, is the sum of stock holdings of
domestic savings, B, foreign currency holdings, SF, and domestic goods hoarded, PG. The
risks and returns of the various processes are given by
dB
= ib dt + σ b dZb (a2)
B
dS
= φdt + σ s dZs (a3)
S
dPG
= ( π − c)dt + σ g dZg (a4)
PG
so that the portfolio shares allocated to the respective assets are given by:
PG SF B (a5)
λ1 = , λ2 = , λ 3 = 1 − λ1 − λ 2 =
W W W
Q = P α S1−α (a7)
where α is the weight of the price of domestic goods and (1-α) is the weight of the imported-
goods price in the consumer price index. Applying Ito's Lemma, assuming the risks associated
with domestic currency savings accounts are uncorrelated with other stochastic processes, we
derive the optimal portfolio shares:
24This price index could be modified to include expenditure on goods supplied at fixed official prices. However, we
view the unofficial price of goods as the relevant marginal cost of these products.
24
1 (π − ib − c − ασ g − (1 − α )ρ gs )(σ b + σ s )
2 2 2
λ1 = α + (a8)
AR − (φ − ib − αρ sg − (1 − α )σ s )(σ b + ρ sg )
2 2
1 −(π − ib − c − ασ g − (1 − α )ρ gs )(σ b + ρ gs )
2 2
(a9)
λ 2 = (1 − α ) +
AR + (φ − ib − αρ sg − (1 − α )σ s )(σ b + σ g )
2 2 2
1 (π − c − ib − ρ gs )(σ s − ρ gs )
2
(a10)
λ3 = −
AR + (φ − ib − σ s2 )(σ 2g − ρ gs )
( ) (
where A = (σ 2b + σ 2s ) σ 2b + σ 2g − σ 2b + ρ gs ).
2
Proposition 1: For positive holdings of domestic currency assets, domestic interest rates must
be at least as large as the returns on each alternative asset, net of a linear combination of the
expected variances and covariances of those returns.
Proof :
From (a10) positive holdings of domestic currency assets require that ib is large enough so that
(σ 2
− ρ gs ) (σ 2
− ρ gs )
(
λ 3 > 0 . ib > π − c − ρ gs )σ s
+ (φ − σ 2
)σ g
.
( 2
s + σ 2g − 2 ρ gs ) s
( 2
s + σ 2g − 2 ρ gs )
______________________________________________________________________
Table A1: Short-Run Comparative Statics Results for Asset-Demand Equations
Sensitivity of Hoarding Demands
∂λ 1 1 ∂λ 1 1
∂π
=
AR
(σ 2b + σ 2s ) > 0
∂φ
=−
AR
σ 2b + ρ gs < 0 ( )
∂λ 1 1 α ∂λ 1 1 2
= − (σ 2b + σ 2s ) + (λ 1 − α ) = σ s − ρ gs ⋅ λ 3 > 0 ( )
∂σ g2
A R ∂σ 2b A
∂λ 1 1
∂λ 1
=−
1
(σ b2 + σ 2s ) < 0 ∂ib
=−
AR
σ 2b − ρ gs < 0 ( )
∂c AR
Sensitivity of Portfolio Demands for Black-Market Dollars
∂λ 2 1 ∂λ 2 1
∂π
=−
AR
(
σ 2b + ρ gs < 0 ) ∂φ
=
AR
σ b2 + σ 2g > 0 ( )
∂λ 2 1 2 α 1 φ − ib − σ 2s ∂λ 2 1
∂σ 2g
= −
A
(σ s + σ 2
b )
(λ 2 − (1 − α ) ) − −
R R σ 2s + σ 2b ∂i b
=−
AR
(
σ 2b − ρ gs < 0 )
∂λ 2 1 2
=
∂σ 2b A
( )
σ g − ρ gs ⋅ λ 3 > 0 ∂λ 2
=
1
(σ 2b + ρ gs ) > 0
∂c AR
( ) ( )
where A = σ b + σ g (σ b + σ s ) − σ b + ρ gs > 0 and demands are normal.
2 2 2 2 2 2
________________________________________________________________________
25
Determining the Dynamic Adjustment of Prices and Stocks to Policy Changes
(
f1 ( P)−1 + f 2 (S o )−1 ) − f 1 S ( P)
−2
0 0 ∂S
∂P
g1 ( P) g 2 ( P o ) − g1 S ( P)
−1
−1 −2
0 0
∂F
−λ 1 F (1 − λ 1 )G −λ 1 S (1 − λ 1 )P ∂G
(1 − λ 2 )F −λ 2 G (1 − λ 2 )S −λ 2 P
( )
−2
f S So 0 0 0 ∂S o
2 o
( )
−2
=
0 g2 P Po 0 0 ∂P
0 0 Wλ Z1 λ 1 ∂Z
0 0 Wλ Z2 λ 2 ∂B
For the examples of official exchange rate devaluation, official sector price adjustment, and
increased risk of holding domestic currency assets, the long-run comparative statics results are:
∂S c11 c12 0 0 ∂S o
∂P = c 21 c 22 0 0 ∂P o
∂F c 31 c 32 c33 c 34 ∂σ b2
∂G c 41 c 42 c 43 c 44 ∂B
where
Sf 2 g 2 g1 S Sg2 f1 Pf 2 g1 S
c11 = − > 0 , c = > 0 , c = 2 − 2
>0
κS o P P κP o P κS o P
2 o 2 12 2 21
Pg f f −f F g gS −f F g
c 22 = o22 1 + 2o > 0 , c31 = 2o 2 2o − 1 2 < 0 , c32 = 1 o 22 < 0
κP P S κS P P κ P P
λ
c33 =
W
SA
(( ) ( ) )
σ 2s − ρ gs λ 2 + σ 2g − ρ gs (1 − λ 1 ) > 0 , c34 = 2 , c 41 = 1 22
λ 3S
g f SG
κS o P 2
< 0,
− Gg 2 f1 λ1
c 42 = 2
κP o P S
+
f2
o < 0 , c 43 =
W
PA
σ 2
s − ρ ((
gs (1 − λ 2 ) + )σ 2
g − ρ gs (
λ 1 > 0 , c) )
44 =
λ3P
f1 g2 PS o + f 2 g2 P 2 − f 2 g1 P o S
where κ = > 0.
So Po P2
26
Table 2 Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors of the Dynamic System
Benchmark case #1
parameters:
λ1 = 0. 30 λ 2 = 0.10 λφ1 = λπ2 = −0. 05 λπ1 = 0. 30 λφ2 = 0.10
S S 0 = 1. 25 P P 0 = 1. 25 g1 = −0. 25 g2 = 0. 50 t1 = 0. 25 t2 = 0. 50
Benchmark case #2
parameters:
λ1 = 0.10 λ 2 = 0.10 λφ1 = λπ2 = −0. 05 λπ1 = 0. 30 λφ2 = 0.10
S S 0 = 1. 25 P P 0 = 1. 25 g1 = −0.10 g2 = 0. 50 t1 = 0.10 t2 = 0. 50
27