What are the strong and weak points of the flexible exchange rate system? What are the strong and weak points of the fixed exchange rate system?

What are the strong and weak points of the flexible exchange rate system? What are the strong and weak points of the fixed exchange rate system?

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July 16, 2021
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What are the strong and weak points of the flexible exchange rate system? What are the strong and weak points of the fixed exchange rate system?

Answer and ExplanationSolution by a verified expert

Explanation
The flexible exchange rate is the rate that is determined by the market forces of demand for and supply of currencies in the foreign exchange market. Its strong points are listed below:

To maintain an exchange rate in the market, a flexible exchange rate helps the country to adopt different policies to pursue different economic goals, based on the respective scenarios in the domestic as well as in an international market.
The floating rate allows a country to re-adjust more flexibly to outer shocks.
If the labor is not mobile between the two countries, say Country U and Country C, the exchange rate will be flexible and the value of the currency of Country U will change with that of the currency of Country C. If the demand for the goods produced by Country U increases by the people of Country C, the demand for dollars will also increase, leading to the appreciation of the value of the currency of Country U. As the value of Country U's currency appreciates, the goods of Country C become relatively cheaper and the goods of Country U become relatively expensive. The increase in the supply of the goods of Country C will lead to hiring more workers which will drop the unemployment rate and will remove the bad economic situation of Country C.
The weaknesses of having a flexible exchange rate are:

Certainty is an essential element in international trade. The flexible exchange rates encourage ambiguity which hinders international trade.
Individuals are less engaged in international trade under the flexible exchange rate because of the additional risk of not knowing for certain how many dollars, euros, or yen they will have to trade for other currencies which damage the economy.

The fixed exchange rate is the rate that is predetermined by the authorities, and the government changes its policies such as revaluation and devaluation of currencies to maintain the exchange rate at a fixed level. Its strengths are:

The fixed exchange rate gives a stable value to the currency against the other currencies and helps the nation to bring profitability in international trade.
As the volatility is eliminated in the value of the currency, it provides efficiency in international trade.
Certainty is a major advantage here. Individuals in different countries distinguish from day to day the value of their nation's currency.

On the other hand, the chances of fixed exchange rates diverging from the equilibrium exchange rate are so high that they create persistent trade problems for some countries, leading them to levy trade restrictions like tariffs and quotas that create problems in the calculation of the balance of trade. Discussing the same situation of labor immobility with the fixed exchange rate between the countries U and C, the goods of Country U will not become relatively expensive for people of Country C and goods of Country C will not become cheaper for people of Country U. The change in relative demand may pose major economic problems.

The current system does not completely operate under flexible exchange rates. The government intervenes now and then to adjust the official reserves holdings to moderate main swings in exchange rates.

Sample Response
The strong point of the flexible exchange rate system is that the balance of payment adjusts itself automatically in long run. Whereas the weak point is that it creates instability in the trade, the uncertainty leads to a lack of investment, and it stifles international trade.

The strong point of the fixed exchange rate system is that it will not change with the market fluctuations and will instead provide certainty. On the other hand, the weak point is that it creates persistent trade problems which impose economic problems when the labor is immobile.

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