1) On October 20, 1987 (the day after the stock market crash), Fed Chairman Greenspan issued an extraordinary public statement, “the Federal Reserve, consistent with its responsibilities as the nation’s central bank, affirmed today its readiness to serve as a source of liquidity to support the economic and financial system.”
(a) What are the policy tools that the Fed has at its disposal, to follow through with this “liquidity”assurance?
(b) How, specifically, can the Fed go about implementing its policy tools?
(c) How would you expect these actions to influence the dollar exchange rate (assuming no changes in foreign monetary policy)?
●浪費大国の苦悩1 ドミンゲスの中間試験第二問。 (2) The fictional country of Freespendia (浪費大好き国) has had a recent history of hyperinflation, frequent devaluations, and large government budget deficits. In order to improve its international reputation and encourage foreign capital inflows, the government of Freespendia is thinking about switching to a currency board system.
(a) How is money created in a currency board system? (b) Why are currency boards seen as protection against devaluation? (c) What problems is Freespendia likely to face with a currency board system? (d) Under what circumstances would you recommend that Freespendia move to a currency board system?
●不胎化って何だ! ドミンゲスの中間試験第3問。 (3)“Sterilized intervention operations are futile.” (a)Describe the mechanics of a sterilized intervention operation. (b) Under what circumstances would you agree with the quote? (c) Under what circumstances would you expect a sterilized intervention operation to influence exchange rates? (d) How would your answers to parts (a), (b) and (c) change if the intervention operation were non-sterilized?
「不胎化介入(不胎化政策)は無駄である」――。一体何のことか。この文章を読んでSF「スタートレックシリーズ」に登場するボルグの“Resistance is futile(抵抗は無駄である)”という言葉を思い浮かべたのは私だけだろうか。もちろんこの問題は、スタートレックとはまったく関係ない。
●日米通貨当局の思惑 ドミンゲスの中間試験最後の問題。 Over the course of the first four months of this year the value of the U.S. dollar fell by over 40% relative to the Japanese yen. Starting in May, the dollar gradually strengthened against the yen, and the current dollar-yen rate is now approximately back to the level it started at in the beginning of the year. This question asks you to consider the monetary and intervention policies that were available to the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and the Fed in April when the dollar was at its lowest value relative to the yen. (NOTE: Do not tell me what the BOJ and Fed actually did; tell me what they could have done given the objectives described below and what you know about the relationship between monetary policy, intervention policy and exchange rates.) Provide short-run analyses assuming prices are (temporarily) fixed.
(a) Assume that the BOJ wants to reduce the value of the yen relative to the dollar, what monetary policy actions can they take to accomplish this? Provide step-by-step details on how the BOJ monetary policy change will lead to a change in the dollar-yen exchange rate.
(b) Assume that the Fed also wants to reduce the value of the yen relative to the dollar, what monetary policy actions can they take to accomplish this? Provide step-by-step details on how the Fed monetary policy change will lead to a change in the dollar-yen exchange rate.
(c) Assume that both the BOJ and the Fed want to reduce the value of the yen relative to the dollar, but they also do not want to change the size of their respective monetary bases. How might both central banks intervene in the foreign exchange market in order to influence the dollar-yen exchange rate without changing their respective monetary bases. Describe in details how the Fed and the BOJ intervention operations will lead to a change in the dollar-yen exchange rate.