Trade Reforms and Current Account Imbalances / Jiandong Ju, Kang Shi, Shang-Jin Wei.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ju, Jiandong.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Shi, Kang.

Wei, Shang-Jin.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w18653.

NBER working paper series no. w18653

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2012.

Summary:

This paper studies the effects of trade liberalization on capital flows in a dynamic Heckscher-Ohlin model, and makes four contributions. First, we identify an interest rate over-determination problem in such a model, and solve it with an endogenous discount factor. Second, we show that a trade liberalization in a developing country generally leads to a greater current account surplus, which is the exact opposite of a common but partial equilibrium intuition. Third, factor market reforms reinforce the effect of the trade liberalization on capital outflows. Finally, our calibrations suggest that China's accession to the WTO is likely an important factor driving the rise of its current account surplus.

Notes:

Print version record

December 2012.