Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
967532 Journal of Monetary Economics 2009 11 Pages PDF
Abstract

Credit contracts in developing countries are often denominated in foreign currencies, even after many of these economies succeeded in controlling inflation. This paper proposes a new interpretation of this apparent puzzle based on the demand for insurance against real shocks: the fact that devaluations occur more frequently in adverse states of the world provides a motive for holding dollar assets. This approach implies a complementarity between the optimal monetary policy and the currency denomination of contracts. When a large proportion of liabilities is denominated in a foreign currency, the optimal exchange rate volatility is low, which reinforces the demand for dollar assets.

Related Topics
Social Sciences and Humanities Economics, Econometrics and Finance Economics and Econometrics
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