Exchange rate pass-through for exports: A cross-country, cross-product analysis

This dissertation investigates exchange rate pass-through behavior of exports at both aggregate and SITC 2-digit product levels using a model of monopolistic competition with variable markups and applying it to a sample of 9 European and 6 East Asian countries for a total of 367 SITC 2-digit products over 1979-96. It estimates aggregate and product-level pass-through coefficients for these countries and shows that aggregate pass-through has generally been incomplete for exports and that product-level pass-through varies considerably across countries for the same product. In explaining variations in pass-through, the dissertation looks at how market share in foreign destinations, product differentiation, export dependence and exchange rate volatility affect the markup adjustments by producers following exchange rate movements.