Identifying the external and internal drivers of exchange rate volatility in small open economies

Abstract

This paper estimates a 3-country DSGE model to identify the drivers of exchange rate volatility in small open economies (SOE). In addition to the usual cross-country linkages through trade and asset holdings, the model features common shocks that affect economies symmetrically. Using data from Jamaica, the US and the G-7 region (excluding the US), the paper finds that external financial shocks are the primary drivers of exchange rate fluctuations in the SOE. While domestic financial shocks are bigger contributors than US and G-7 specific shocks, shocks that are common across the US and the G-7 generally play the main role. Nonfinancial shocks, domestic and external, are inconsequential for exchange rate volatility. Inferences from a vector autoregressive model with exogenous variables are consistent with these results.