Saturday, 28 September 2019

Imagine that there are only two countries in the world: America and China

Imagine that there are only two countries in the world: America and China. Each country produces and consumes two goods – a tradable good (T) and a non-tradable good (NT). The production of these goods involves the use of labour, but no other resources are used in the production process. This is of course a ridiculous assumption, but it is one we will make for the purposes of this assignment. There are perfectly competitive markets for the non-tradable good (NT) in each country, but no trade in this good between the countries. There is a perfectly competitive global market in the traded good (T). Labour is homogeneous within America. An hour of labour produces 10 units of the traded good (T) or 5 units of the non-traded good (NT) in America. Labour costs are 10 dollars (USD) an hour in America. Labour is also homogenous within China. An hour of labour produces 5 units of the traded good (T) or 5 units of the non-traded good (NT) in China. Labour costs are 10 yuan (CNY) an hour in China.
Which currency is undervalued, relative to its PPP level? What is the cause of this undervaluation? What is the value of the real exchange rate, where the CNY is the commodity currency and the USD is the terms currency? (3 marks)

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