Accountability and oversight of US exchange rate policy / C. Randall Henning.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Henning, C. Randall.

Series:

Policy analyses in international economics.

Policy analyses in international economics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Foreign exchange rates--United States.

Foreign exchange rates.

Monetary policy--United States.

Monetary policy.

Legislative oversight--United States.

Legislative oversight.

United States--Foreign economic relations.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (140 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The dispute over Chinese exchange rate policy within the United States has generated a series of legislative proposals to restrict the discretion of the US Treasury Department in determining currency manipulation and to reform the department's accountability to the Congress. This study reviews the Treasury's reports to the Congress on exchange rate policy-introduced by the 1988 trade act-and Congress's treatment of them. It finds that the accountability process has often not worked well in practice: The coverage of the reports has sometimes been incomplete and not provided a sufficient basis for congressional oversight. Nor has Congress always performed its own role well, holding hearings on less than half of the reports and overlooking important substantive issues. Several recommendations can improve guidance to the Treasury, standards for assessment, and congressional oversight. These include (1) refining the criteria used to determine currency manipulation and writing them into law; (2) explicitly harnessing US decisions on manipulation to the IMF's rules on exchange rates; (3) clarifying the general objectives of US exchange rate policy; (4) reaffirming the mandate to seek international macroeconomic and currency cooperation; and (5) institutionalizing multicommittee oversight of exchange rate policy by Congress. As they develop legislation targeting manipulation, furthermore, legislators should not lose sight of the broader purposes of the 1988 act relating to the effective valuation of the dollar, the current account, and their ramifications for the US economy overall.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Introduction

Premises

Comparative Perspective

Organization of the Study

Chapter 2 Foundations of Accountability

Definition and Prerequisites

Debate over the Role of Congress

Executive Discretion and Congressional Oversight

Chapter 3 The Exchange Rates and International Economic Policy Coordination Act of 1988

Origins

Key Elements

Comparison with IMF Language

Chapter 4 Review of the Reports

Findings of Manipulation, 1988-94

Mexican Peso Crisis of 1994-95

Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-98

Japanese Yen

Europe's Monetary Union

Fiscal Policy

China, 2000-2007

Assessment

Appendix 4A

Chapter 5 Congressional Oversight

Appendix 5A

Chapter 6 Recommendations

Preparation of the Reports

General Objectives

Current Account Balances and Real Effective Exchange Rates

Manipulation

Countermeasures

Reinforcing the IMF

Multilateral Fairness and Coordination

Report Consolidation

Congressional Oversight

Chapter 7 Conclusion

Appendix A: Exchange Rates and International Economic Policy Coordination Act of 1988

Appendix B: Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund

Appendix C: IMF Guidelines for Bilateral Surveillance over Members' Exchange Rate Policy

References

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-118) and index.

ISBN:

9786611744502

9781281744500

1281744506

9780881324891

0881324892

9781435658059

1435658051

OCLC:

236196815