Comment on R. Z. Aliber, “The Firm Under Pegged And Floating Exchange Rates”

Abstract

In the introduction of his paper, Robert Aliber argues an a priori case that flexible exchange rate systems inhibit international trade. The body of the paper is then an attempt through theoretical constructions and empirical evidence to make this a priori case more precise in terms of the mechanisms that are at work. My main disappointment with the paper is that it failed to convince me beyond the intuitive notion that fluctuations in exchange rates do inhibit trade. To be clear, Aliber’s analysis does faithfully present much of what we know about the effect of risk on international trade, so that my unhappiness is as much with the general state of our knowledge as with the particulars of the paper.