IMF Working Papers

Spillovers Across NAFTA

By Tamim Bayoumi, Andrew J Swiston

January 1, 2008

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Tamim Bayoumi, and Andrew J Swiston. Spillovers Across NAFTA, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2008) accessed December 26, 2024
Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary

This paper examines linkages across North America by estimating the size of spillovers from the major regions of the world-the United States, euro area, Japan, and the rest of the world-to Canada and Mexico, and decomposing the impact of these spillovers into trade, commodity price, and financial market channels. For Canada, a one percent shock to U.S. real GDP shifts Canadian real GDP by some ¾ of a percentage point in the same direction- with financial spillovers more important than trade in recent decades. Thus, a large proportion of the reduction in Canadian output volatility since the 1980s can be accounted for by the "Great Moderation" in U.S. growth. Before 1996, domestic volatility in Mexico swamped the contribution of external factors to the business cycle. After 1996, the response of Mexican GDP is 1½ times the size of the U.S. shock-"when the U.S. sneezes, Mexico catches a cold". These spillovers are transmitted through both trade and financial channels.

Subject: Business cycles, Commodity prices, North American Free Trade Agreement, Spillovers, Vector autoregression

Keywords: Canada-United States, Euro area, Standard error, WP

Publication Details

  • Pages:

    32

  • Volume:

    ---

  • DOI:

    ---

  • Issue:

    ---

  • Series:

    Working Paper No. 2008/003

  • Stock No:

    WPIEA2008003

  • ISBN:

    9781451868654

  • ISSN:

    1018-5941