Exchange-Rate Pass-Through in the G-7 Countries

• Published in: International finance discussion papers 2006-01, Vol.2006 (851), p.1-34
• Main Authors: Ihrig, Jane, Marazzi, Mario, Rothenberg, Alexander D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1073-2500
• DOI: 10.17016/IFDP.2006.851

This paper examines the current thinking on exchange-rate pass-through to both import prices and consumer prices and estimates the extent to which they have fallen in the G-7 countries since the late 1970s and 1980s. For import-price pass-through we find that all countries experience a numerical decline in the responsiveness of import prices to exchange-rate movements; for nearly half of these countries the decline between 1975-1989 and 1990-2004 is statistically significant. We estimate that while a 10 percent depreciation in the local currency would have increased import prices by nearly 7 percent on average across these countries in the late 1970s and 1980s, it would have only increased import prices by 4 percent in the last 15 years. The responsiveness of consumer prices to exchange-rate movements declines for nearly every country, with the decline being statistically significant for two countries. Specifically, while a 10 percent depreciation in the local currency would have increased consumer prices by almost 2 percent on average in the late 1970s and 1980s, it would have had a neutral effect on consumer prices in the last 15 years.