Assessing the Misalignments of the Real Exchange Rate using the BEER Approach

The real exchange rate equilibrium path reflects at each moment the value of the real exchange rate which is compatible with full employment of productive factors and equilibrium in balance of payments. The real exchange rate is viewed as a key indicator of external competitiveness. So, its misalignments may be rather costly. Both overvalued and undervalued currencies have their negative implications. In this article, the real exchange rate equilibrium relationships in US dollar are investigated according to Johansen Cointegration technique using the Behaviorally Equilibrium Exchange Rate (BEER) during 1338-1391 with its fundamentals including net foreign assets, openness, terms of trade andproductivity. The results correspond to the theory and are in agreement with previous studies such as Clark and Macdonald (1998). The error correction term is -0.51 and significant. Since 1991, the real effective exchange rate has been less than the equilibrium real exchange rate, which shows depreciation. Specifically, the gap has been increasing drastically since the 1980s. Naturally, this has led to export reduction and import expansion. However, the positive point is that since 1991, this two rates have drawn much close together; in some years, the real rate has been even upper than the equilibrium.