Balance of Payments
4/27/16
Balance of Payments:
- Measure of money inflows and outflows between the United States and the Rest of the
- Measure of money inflows and outflows between the United States and the Rest of the
World (ROW).
- Inflows are referred to as CREDITS
- Outflows are referred to as DEBITS
- The Balance of Payments is divided into 3 accounts:
- Current Account
- Capital/Financial Account
- Official/Reserves Account
Current Account:
• Balance of Trade or Net Exports
- Exports of Goods/Services
- Exports create a credit to the balance
of payments
• Balance of Trade or Net Exports
- Exports of Goods/Services
- Exports create a credit to the balance
of payments
• Net Foreign Income
- Income earned by U.S. owned foreign assets - income paid to foreign held U.S assets
• Net Transfers
- Foreign Aid : a debit to the current account
- Ex: Mexican migrant worker sends money to Mexico
Capital/ Financial Account:
- The balance of capital ownership
- Includes the purchase of both real and financial assets
- Direct investment in the United States is a credit to the capital account
- Ex: The Toyota Factory in San Antonio
- Direct investment by U.S. firms/individuals in a foreign country are debits to the capital account
- Ex: The Intel Factory in San Jose, Costa Rica.
- Purchase of foreign financial assets represents a debit to the capital account
- Ex: Warren Buffet buys stock in Petrochina
- Purchase of domestic financial assets by foreigners represents a credit to the capital account
Relationship between Current Account & Capital Account:
- The Current Account and the Capital Account should zero each other out
- That is... If the Current Account has a negative balance (deficit), then the Capital Account should then have a positive balance (surplus)
Official Reserves:
- The foreign currency holdings of the U.S. Federal Reserve system
- Balance of payments surplus ---> Fed accumulates foreign currency and debits the balance of payments
- Balance of payments deficit ---> Fed depletes its reserves of foreign currency and credits the balance of payments
- Official reserves zero out balance of payments
Active v. Passive Official Reserves:
- The U.S. is passive in its use of official reserves. If does not seek to manipulate the dollar exchange rate.
Formulas:
Balance of Trade- Goods Exports + Goods Imports
- Goods Exports + Service Exports + Goods Imports + Service Imports
- Balance of goods & services + Net Investments + Net Transfers
- Foreign Purchases + Domestic Purchases
5/3/16
Foreign Exchange (FOREX):- The buying and selling of currency.
- Any transition that occurs in the Balance of Payments necessitates foreign exchange.
- The exchange rate (e) is determined in the foreign currency market.
Changes in Exchange Rates:
- Exchange rates (e) are a function of the supply and demand for currency.
- ⬆Supply of a currency ----> ⬇in exchange rate of a currency
- ⬇Supply of a currency ----> ⬆in exchange rate of a currency
- ⬆Demand for a currency ----> ⬆in exchange rate of a currency
- ⬇Demand for a currency ----> ⬇in exchange rate of a currency
Appreciation & Depreciation:
- Appreciation: When the exchange rate of that currency ⬆ (e⬆)
- Depreciation: When the exchange rate of that currency ⬇ (e⬇)
Exchange Rate Determinants:
- Consumer Tastes
- Relative Income
- Relative Price Level
- Speculation
Exports and Imports:
- Appreciation: U.S. goods --> more expensive
Foreign goods --> cheaper = Reduces exports and increasing imports
- Depreciation: U.S. goods --> cheaper
Foreign goods --> more expensive = Increasing exports and reducing imports
Flexible Rates:
- It s very sensitive to the business cycle ans it provides options for investments
Fixed Rates:
- It is based on a countries willingness to contribute currency and control the amount.
Absolute Advantage:
- Individual: Exists when a person can produce more of a certain good/service than someone else in the same amount of time (or can produce a good using the least amount of resources)
- National: Exists when a country can produce more of a good/service than another country can in the same time period.
Comparative Advantage:
- A person or a nation has a comparative advantage in the production of a product when it can produce the product at a lower domestic opportunity cost than can a trading partner.
Examples of Output Problems:
- Words per minute
- Miles per gallons
- Tons per acre
- Apples per tree
- Televisions produced per hour
Examples of Input Problems:
- # of hrs to do a job
- # of acres to feed a horse
- # of gallons of paiHbnt to paint a house
Specialization and Trade:
- Gains from trade are based on comparative advantage, not absolute advantage.