After the Deluge: Do Fixed Exchange Rates Allow Inter-Temporal Volatility Tradeoffs?

Abstract

This paper addresses the issue of whether regimes of fixed exchange rates are a mechanism for shifting volatility inter- temporally. Using a panel of data covering twenty industrialized countries from 1959 through 1993, I examine the volatilities of a host of real and monetary variables. Graphical and statistical examination of the periods around 33 flotations and 81 devaluations reveals little evidence of significant increases in volatility following these events.