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Politics and exchange rate forecasts

Author

Listed:
  • S. Brock Blomberg
  • Gregory D. Hess
Abstract
Standard exchange rate models perform poorly in out-of-sample forecasting when compared to the random walk model. We posit part of the poor performance of these models may be due to omission of political factors. We test this hypothesis by including political variables that capture party-specific, election-specific and candidate-specific characteristics. Surprisingly, we find our political model outperforms the random walk in out-of-sample forecasting at one to twelve month horizons for the pound/dollar, mark/dollar, pound/mark and the trade-weighted dollar, mark, and pound exchange rates.

Suggested Citation

  • S. Brock Blomberg & Gregory D. Hess, 1996. "Politics and exchange rate forecasts," Research Working Paper 96-02, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedkrw:96-02
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    Cited by:

    1. Blomberg, S. Brock & Hess, Gregory D., 2003. "Is the political business cycle for real?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(5-6), pages 1091-1121, May.
    2. Meon, Pierre-Guillaume, 2001. "A Model of Exchange Rate Crises with Partisan Governments," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 517-535, October.
    3. John R. Freeman & Jude C. Hays & Helmut Stix, 1999. "Democracy and Markets: The Case of Exchange Rates," Working Papers 39, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    4. Mohamad Youness, 2022. "The Impacts of the Political Uncertainty on the Currency Exchange Rate," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 28(1), pages 414-424, February.
    5. Helge Berger & Jan-Egbert Sturm & Jakob de Haan & Jakob de Haan, 2000. "An Empirical Investigation into Exchange Rate Regime Choice and Exchange Rate Volatility," CESifo Working Paper Series 263, CESifo.
    6. S. Brock Blomberg & Jeffry Frieden & Ernesto Stein, 2005. "Sustaining fixed rates: The political economy of currency pegs in Latin America," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 8, pages 203-225, November.
    7. Clark, Todd E. & McCracken, Michael W., 2001. "Tests of equal forecast accuracy and encompassing for nested models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 105(1), pages 85-110, November.
    8. S. Brock Blomberg, 2001. ""Dumb And Dumber" Explanations For Exchange Rate Dynamics," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 4, pages 187-216, November.
    9. Kauffman, Kyle & Weerapana, Akila, 2006. "The Impact of AIDS-Related News on Exchange Rates in South Africa," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(2), pages 349-368, January.
    10. Ernesto H. Stein & Jeffry Frieden & Piero Ghezzi, 2000. "Politics and Exchange Rates: A Cross-Country Approach to Latin America," Research Department Publications 3119, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    11. Liu, Yang & Shaliastovich, Ivan, 2022. "Government policy approval and exchange rates," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(1), pages 303-331.
    12. Fratzscher, Marcel & Stracca, Livio, 2009. "Does it pay to have the euro? Italy’s politics and financial markets under the lira and the euro," Working Paper Series 1064, European Central Bank.
    13. Iljoong Kim & Inbae Kim, 2005. "Endogenous changes in the exchange rate regime: A bureaucratic incentive model," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 125(3), pages 339-361, December.
    14. Takao FUKUCHI & Suminori TOKUNAGA, 1999. "Simulation Analysis Of Exchange Rate Dynamics: The Case Of Indonesia," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 37(1), pages 35-58, March.
    15. Marcel Fratzscher & Livio Stracca, 2009. "Does It Pay to Have the Euro? Italy's Troubled Politics and Financial Markets under the Lira and the Euro," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(1), pages 1-31, May.
    16. Samar Ashour & David Rakowski & Salil K. Sarkar, 2021. "Currency risk exposure and the presidential effect in stock returns," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 45(3), pages 469-485, July.
    17. McCracken,M.W. & West,K.D., 2001. "Inference about predictive ability," Working papers 14, Wisconsin Madison - Social Systems.
    18. Brigitta Toth-Bozo & Laszlo Szalai, 2019. "Political Announcements and Exchange Rate Expectations," World Journal of Applied Economics, WERI-World Economic Research Institute, vol. 5(2), pages 53-66, December.
    19. Samar Ashour & David A. Rakowski & Salil K. Sarkar, 2019. "U.S. presidential cycles and the foreign exchange market," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(4), pages 523-540, October.
    20. Daniel MITCHELL RESTREPO, 2006. "Forecasting the Colombian Exchange Rate: Capital Adjustments and Politics vs. Traditional IRP, Trade Adjustments and Random Walk Frameworks," Archivos de Economía 11228, Departamento Nacional de Planeación.
    21. Guo, Wei & Chen, Zhongfei & Šević, Aleksandar, 2021. "The political pressure from the US upon RMB exchange rate," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    22. repec:onb:oenbwp:y::i:39:b:1 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Gregory D. Hess & Mark E. Schweitzer, 2000. "Does wage inflation cause price inflation?," Policy Discussion Papers, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, issue Apr.
    24. Mashkoor, Asim & Ahmed, Ovais & Herani, Dr. Gobin, 2015. "The relationship between Foreign Currency trading and Economic Development: A case Study of Pakistan," MPRA Paper 64482, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    Keywords

    Foreign exchange rates; Political science;

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