Växelkurspolitik och marknadsintegration. De utländska växelkurserna i Sverige 1834-1880
(2000) In Lund Studies in Economic History 14.- Abstract
- This dissertation deals with the process of stabilisation of foreign exchange rates in Sweden between 1834 and 1880, a period in which foreign trade and the financial system underwent radical changes. Neither was the exchange rate policy static - although it changed within a stable framework of a specie standard. The aim of the dissertation is to analyse the growing stability of foreign exchange rates in this context. Another point of departure is recent developments in exchange rate theories, bringing into focus the behaviour of foreign exchange markets and monetary authorities as well as the role of formal institutions. From this perspective, changes in markets and market conditions were crucial in the development of the foreign exchange... (More)
- This dissertation deals with the process of stabilisation of foreign exchange rates in Sweden between 1834 and 1880, a period in which foreign trade and the financial system underwent radical changes. Neither was the exchange rate policy static - although it changed within a stable framework of a specie standard. The aim of the dissertation is to analyse the growing stability of foreign exchange rates in this context. Another point of departure is recent developments in exchange rate theories, bringing into focus the behaviour of foreign exchange markets and monetary authorities as well as the role of formal institutions. From this perspective, changes in markets and market conditions were crucial in the development of the foreign exchange and monetary system in 19th century Sweden. The development of Swedish monetary and exchange policies is analysed in a broader context, with the emphasis on changes in economic and financial conditions. Policy changes are analysed in terms of foreign exchange rates and other external monetary variables. Sweden went from a silver standard regime, based almost exclusively on rules, to a gold standard regime with more discretionary measures. However, the basic norms of full convertibility remained intact. The conclusion is that policy changes largely reflect an adjustment to new economic conditions; at the same time changes in the financial system made the implementation of the Riksbank's measures more effective. In this process the Riksbank became increasingly involved in foreign exchange market intervention, providing the exchange rates with an effective floor at parity in 1845 and a ceiling at the specie export point in the early 1860s, thus preventing spontaneous external flows of specie. By the 1870s the Bank's interventions had increased and it became a leading actor in the foreign exchange market. Substantial changes occurred in the financial system and the foreign exchange market. Measures of internal market integration and efficiency - derived from exchange rate series - show that the foreign exchange market went through a process of integration between 1843 and 1880. It is also shown that the major markets in Stockholm and Gothenburg were already efficient in 1843. However, it is indicated that arbitrage between these market places only became efficient in the mid-1860s, as the financial system began to assume modern forms and communications improved. Greater integration and efficiency imply that private speculation, to an increasing degree, kept exchange rates within the specie point spread and had replaced silver arbitrage with private uncovered interest arbitrage by the 1860s. Under a specie standard, the degree of market integration influences the limits of the exchange rate range through transaction costs incurred in silver or gold arbitrage abroad. Measurements of external market integration indicate that costs for arbitrage decreased in the 1850s and 1870s. This integration narrowed the extent of the exchange rate range from roughly 4-6.5 per cent of parity in the 1830s and 1840s to 0.7-1 per cent in the 1870s. To summarise, changes in the foreign exchange policy and market conditions were factors that were closely interrelated in the process of foreign exchange rate stabilisation in Sweden between 1834 and 1880. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
En valutapolitisk silver- eller guldmyntfotregim innebär att den inhemska valutan är konvertibel och har en fast växelkurs gentemot silver eller guld. Därigenom etableras även ett normvärde för växelkurserna gentemot andra länder med motsvarande ädelmetallmyntfot. Det innebär emellertid inte att de utländska växelkurserna är helt fasta. Dess variation kring normvärdet, pariteten, bestäms huvudsakligen av transaktionskostnader för att använda ädelmetall i utländska transaktioner istället för vanliga finansiella instrument, men även av valutapolitiska normer, de penningvårdande myndigheternas agerande samt valutamarknadens grad av utveckling, integration och effektivitet. I avhandlingen behandlas... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
En valutapolitisk silver- eller guldmyntfotregim innebär att den inhemska valutan är konvertibel och har en fast växelkurs gentemot silver eller guld. Därigenom etableras även ett normvärde för växelkurserna gentemot andra länder med motsvarande ädelmetallmyntfot. Det innebär emellertid inte att de utländska växelkurserna är helt fasta. Dess variation kring normvärdet, pariteten, bestäms huvudsakligen av transaktionskostnader för att använda ädelmetall i utländska transaktioner istället för vanliga finansiella instrument, men även av valutapolitiska normer, de penningvårdande myndigheternas agerande samt valutamarknadens grad av utveckling, integration och effektivitet. I avhandlingen behandlas de utländska växelkursernas tilltagande stabilitet i Sverige mellan 1834 och 1880, en period som karaktäriserades av stora förändringar bl.a. i utrikeshandeln och det finansiella systemet. Inte heller penning- och valutapolitiken var statisk - även om den förändrades inom ramen för en metallmyntfotsregim. Syftet med avhandlingen är att studera processen av tilltagande växelkursstabilitet i detta sammanhang. En annan utgångspunkt är att växelkursteorier under senare decennier allt mer inriktats mot beteendet hos valutamarknaden och penningvårdande myndigheter vid sidan av formella institutioner. Utifrån detta perspektiv är förändringar i valutamarknadens förhållanden centrala faktorer i valutasystemets utveckling mot stabilitet under 1800-talet. Den svenska penning- och valutapolitikens utveckling analyseras i ett brett sammanhang med en särskild tonvikt vid förändringar i ekonomiska och finansiella förhållanden. Effekter av förändringar i politiken undersöks i växelkurser och andra centrala monetära variabler. Sverige gick från en silvermyntfot med ett dominerande inslag av regelstyrning och normer, till en guldmyntfot med ett större inslag av aktiv politik. De fundamentala normerna för den inhemska valutans ädelmetallkonvertibilitet förblev emellertid intakta. Slutsatsen är att förändringarna i stora stycken kan ses som en anpassning till nya ekonomiska förhållanden, samt att förändringar i det finansiella systemet möjliggjorde en utökning av Riksbankens verktygsarsenal. I denna process blev Riksbanken allt mer involverad på valutamarknaden. Det resulterade i att Riksbanken försåg de utländska växelkurserna med ett effektivt golv vid pariteten i mitten av 1840-talet, vilket avlöstes av ett effektivt tak vid silverexportpunkten på 1860-talet. Interventionerna syftade till att stabilisera kursen som ett led i ansträngningar att förhindra spontana externa flöden av silver- och guldvaluta. På 1870-talet tilltog Riksbankens interventioner och banken blev en ledande aktör på valutamarknaden. Den svenska valutamarknaden genomgick stora förändringar. Genom kvalitativa och kvantitativa analyser av den svenska valutamarknadens inre integration visas att den svenska valutamarknaden integrerades mellan 1834 och 1880. Analysen av de största handelsplatserna för utländsk valuta i Stockholm och Göteborg indikerar emellertid effektivitet redan 1843. Test av effektiviteten i arbitrage mellan dessa marknadsplatser visar dock att full integration och effektivitet mellan dessa marknader uppnåddes först i mitten av 1860-talet. Tillväxt, omvandling och integration av det finansiella systemet bidrog till att korrigerande silver- och guldtransaktioner med omvärlden avtog för att avlösas av privata finansiella transaktioner och räntearbitrage på 1860-talet. Under en metallmyntfotregim påverkas växelkursbandets vidd av graden av marknadsintegration genom transaktionskostnader förknippade med import och export av silver och guld. Mått på extern marknadsintegration utvisar att kostnaderna för ädelmetallarbitrage minskade på 1850- och 1870-talet. Denna integration reducerade växelkursbandets vidd från 4-6,5 procent av pariteten på 1830- och 1840-talen till 0,7-1 procent på 1870-talet. Växelkurspolitiken och marknaden var alltså faktorer i ett nära samspel i utvecklingen mot växelkursstabilitet i Sverige 1834-1880. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/19554
- author
- Lobell, Håkan LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Professor Lindgren, Håkan, Stockholm School of Economics
- organization
- alternative title
- Exchange Rate Policy and Market Integration. Foreign Exchange Rates in Sweden 1834-1880
- publishing date
- 2000
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Social and economic history, 19th century Sweden., specie standard, market integration, Foreign exchange policy, monetary history, Ekonomisk och social historia
- in
- Lund Studies in Economic History
- volume
- 14
- pages
- 242 pages
- publisher
- Almqvist & Wiksell International
- defense location
- Crafoordsalen, Holger Crafoords Ekonomicentrum, Lund.
- defense date
- 2000-09-29 10:15:00
- external identifiers
-
- other:ISRN: LUSADG/SAEH--2000/1057--SE
- ISSN
- 1400-4860
- ISBN
- 91-22-01883-2
- project
- LU-MADD. Lund University Macroeconomic and Demographic Database
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- e713ea57-dd10-47de-80fc-40f3acbd9861 (old id 19554)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 16:31:01
- date last changed
- 2021-09-27 12:18:34
@phdthesis{e713ea57-dd10-47de-80fc-40f3acbd9861,
abstract = {{This dissertation deals with the process of stabilisation of foreign exchange rates in Sweden between 1834 and 1880, a period in which foreign trade and the financial system underwent radical changes. Neither was the exchange rate policy static - although it changed within a stable framework of a specie standard. The aim of the dissertation is to analyse the growing stability of foreign exchange rates in this context. Another point of departure is recent developments in exchange rate theories, bringing into focus the behaviour of foreign exchange markets and monetary authorities as well as the role of formal institutions. From this perspective, changes in markets and market conditions were crucial in the development of the foreign exchange and monetary system in 19th century Sweden. The development of Swedish monetary and exchange policies is analysed in a broader context, with the emphasis on changes in economic and financial conditions. Policy changes are analysed in terms of foreign exchange rates and other external monetary variables. Sweden went from a silver standard regime, based almost exclusively on rules, to a gold standard regime with more discretionary measures. However, the basic norms of full convertibility remained intact. The conclusion is that policy changes largely reflect an adjustment to new economic conditions; at the same time changes in the financial system made the implementation of the Riksbank's measures more effective. In this process the Riksbank became increasingly involved in foreign exchange market intervention, providing the exchange rates with an effective floor at parity in 1845 and a ceiling at the specie export point in the early 1860s, thus preventing spontaneous external flows of specie. By the 1870s the Bank's interventions had increased and it became a leading actor in the foreign exchange market. Substantial changes occurred in the financial system and the foreign exchange market. Measures of internal market integration and efficiency - derived from exchange rate series - show that the foreign exchange market went through a process of integration between 1843 and 1880. It is also shown that the major markets in Stockholm and Gothenburg were already efficient in 1843. However, it is indicated that arbitrage between these market places only became efficient in the mid-1860s, as the financial system began to assume modern forms and communications improved. Greater integration and efficiency imply that private speculation, to an increasing degree, kept exchange rates within the specie point spread and had replaced silver arbitrage with private uncovered interest arbitrage by the 1860s. Under a specie standard, the degree of market integration influences the limits of the exchange rate range through transaction costs incurred in silver or gold arbitrage abroad. Measurements of external market integration indicate that costs for arbitrage decreased in the 1850s and 1870s. This integration narrowed the extent of the exchange rate range from roughly 4-6.5 per cent of parity in the 1830s and 1840s to 0.7-1 per cent in the 1870s. To summarise, changes in the foreign exchange policy and market conditions were factors that were closely interrelated in the process of foreign exchange rate stabilisation in Sweden between 1834 and 1880.}},
author = {{Lobell, Håkan}},
isbn = {{91-22-01883-2}},
issn = {{1400-4860}},
keywords = {{Social and economic history; 19th century Sweden.; specie standard; market integration; Foreign exchange policy; monetary history; Ekonomisk och social historia}},
language = {{swe}},
publisher = {{Almqvist & Wiksell International}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Lund Studies in Economic History}},
title = {{Växelkurspolitik och marknadsintegration. De utländska växelkurserna i Sverige 1834-1880}},
volume = {{14}},
year = {{2000}},
}