Foreign Exchange Risk Premium: Does Fiscal Policy Matter? Evidence From Italian Data

Author/Editor:

Lorenzo Giorgianni

Publication Date:

April 1, 1997

Electronic Access:

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Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary:

This paper challenges the conventional view that foreign exchange risk premiums are small, not volatile, and unrelated to macroeconomic variables. For the Italian lira (1987-94), unconditional risk premiums—constructed using survey data to measure exchange rate expectations—are found to be sizable (relative to the dimension of the forward premium), highly volatile (relative to the variability of the forward bias), and predictable. Estimation of structural models of the risk premium suggests that anticipated fiscal contractions in Italy and lower uncertainty about the future path of fiscal policy are associated with a lower risk premium on lira-denominated assets.

Series:

Working Paper No. 1997/039

Subject:

English

Publication Date:

April 1, 1997

ISBN/ISSN:

9781451845792/1018-5941

Stock No:

WPIEA0391997

Pages:

39

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