Openness and Real Exchange Rate Volatility: Evidence from China

Abstract

In recent years, China has introduced a series of trade and financial liberalization policies and taken a crucial step towards the internationalization of RMB. These new developments bring about one question: how has openness affected the RMB real exchange rate volatility? Our empirical results reveal that in the long term, both trade and financial openness reduce exchange rate volatility; in the short term, the effect of financial openness varies across the three financial sub-accounts. Financial development can magnify (mitigate) the impact of trade openness on volatility in the short (long) term, but its role in affecting the impact of financial openness depends on the financial sub-account involved. Economic policy uncertainty (EPU) weakens the impact of openness on exchange rate volatility. In addition, financial openness absorbs more external shocks than trade openness. Foreign exchange reserves, while offsetting financial crisis shocks, cannot adequately absorb current account balance shocks.