Net foreign assets and macroeconomic volatility

•We study net foreign asset, consumption, real exchange rate and real interest rate.•Net foreign asset is positively associated with consumption and real exchange rate.•Consumption responds more positively to net foreign asset in G7 countries.•Real exchange rate is less influenced by net foreign asset in developing countries.

This study analyses the co-movements of net foreign asset accumulation, consumption, real exchange rate, and real interest rate in a cross section of countries. Our sample covers both industrial and developing economies, spanning 1981-2010 period. We find that the accumulation of net foreign assets is associated with increasing consumption and real exchange rate appreciation. In a cross section of countries, when a country increases its net foreign assets to GDP ratio by a one-standard deviation, consumption to GDP increases by 0.02% per year and real exchange rate appreciates by 2% per year. Consumption to GDP responds more positively to net foreign asset accumulation in G7 countries, +0.1 to +0.2% per year, while the response is smaller and negative in developing countries reporting a −0.02% per year. The real exchange rate appreciation, however, is about +3% per year in developing countries and only about +0.2% per year in OECD countries.