#2003-029C "Size Matters: Asymmetric Exchange Rate Pass-Through At The Industry Level"
by Patricia S. Pollard, and Cletus C. Coughlin
September 2003
Revised July 2004

Changes in costs faced by firms have direct implications for their price-cost margins. Knowing how prices respond to such cost changes is crucial for understanding how individual markets function and, in turn, for understanding the macroeconomy. More...

#2003-004C "Pass-Through Estimates and the Choice of an Exchange Rate Index"
by Patricia S. Pollard, and Cletus C. Coughlin
March 2003
Revised October 2005

We examine exchange rate pass-through into U.S. import prices for 29 manufacturing industries using eight exchange rate indexes. These indexes vary by the number currencies included; whether the weight on each currency is based on total trade with the United States or solely imports; and, whether the weights vary by industry. Our results indicate that pass-through is generally incomplete but varies across industries. More...

PUBLISHED: Review of International Economics, September 2006, 14(4), pp. 535-35

#2000-022A "Exchange Rate Pass-Through in U. S. Manufacturing: Exchange Rate Index Choice and Asymmetry Issues"
by Cletus C. Coughlin, and Patricia S. Pollard


This paper explores two issues that have received limited attention in the exchange rate pass-through literature. First, are the pass-through estimates sensitive to the choice of the exchange rate index? Second, are pass-through estimates asymmetric with respect to the sign of exchange rate changes? More...

#2000-015C "Aging, Myopia and the Pay-As-You-Go Public Pension Systems of the G7: A Bright Future?"
by Rowena A. Pecchenino, and Patricia S. Pollard
July 2000
Revised October 2003

The public pension systems of the G7 countries were established in an era when the number of contributors far outweighed the number of beneficiaries. Now, for each beneficiary there are fewer contributors, and this trend is projected to accelerate. More...

#2000-009C "A Simple Model of International Capital Flows, Exchange Rate Risk, and Portfolio Choice"
by Rowena A. Pecchenino, and Patricia S. Pollard

Revised February 2003

This paper examines international capital flows in the context of a simple Diamond-Dybvig model in which there are neither moral hazard nor adverse selection problems, thus isolating exchange rate risk as the propagator of capital flows. More...

#1999-012B "Government Mandated Private Pensions: A Dependable and Equitable Foundation for Retirement Security?"
by Rowena A. Pecchenino, and Patricia S. Pollard

Revised August 2001

We develop a model of an overlapping generations economy characterized by private pensions where risk averse agents face both longevity and investment risks. The government mitigates the effects of longevity risk by mandating that individuals purchase annuities. More...

#1998-023B "The Effects of Aging and Myopia on the Pay-as-you-go Social Security Systems of the G7"
by Rowena A. Pecchenino, and Patricia S. Pollard

Revised November 1999

The Social Security systems of the G7 countries were established in an era when populations were young and the number or contributors far outweighed the number of beneficiaries. Now, for each beneficiary there are fewer contributors, and this downward trend is projected to accelerate. More...

#1998-012A "Constructing and Using National and Regional TWEXS: The Case for Chaining"
by Cletus C. Coughlin, and Patricia S. Pollard
September 1998

The breakdown of the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates spurred the development of trade-weighted exchange rates (TWEXs). These indexes measure changes in the average foreign exchange value of a currency over time. The construction of a TWEX index requires numerous decisions. More...

PUBLISHED: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, 1999, 24(3/4), pp. 279-94

#1997-022B "The Transition From a Pay-As-You-Go to a Fully-funded Social Security System: Is There a Role for Social Insurance"
by Patricia S. Pollard, and Rowena A. Pecchenino

Revised May 1998

This paper develops a model to examine the effects of introducing a fully-funded government sponsored pension plan into an overlapping generations model with an extant pay-as-you go social security system. We examine whether individual and social welfare can be improved by phasing out the current pay-as-you-go system and replacing it with a fully-funded system in which pension benefits are at least partially annuitized. More...

#1997-021A "The Role of the Euro as an International Currency"
by Patricia S. Pollard
November 1997

The creation of the euro will link an economy that is nearly as large and as open as the United States. Does this imply that the euro will rival the role of the dollar as an international currency? More...

PUBLISHED: Columbia Journal of International Law, Spring 1998