Risk Aversion, Business Volatility and Exchange Rate Regimes in Small Open Economies

This paper explores the effect of asymmetric information and entrepreneurial risk aversion on the dynamics of a small open economy. A private equity premium arises from the optimal contract between a domestic risk-averse borrower and a foreign lender, which, in general equilibrium, helps magnify the effect of shocks over time. In terms of an exchange rate regime comparison, when entrepreneurial risk aversion is considered, shocks are significantly more amplified under fixed than under flexible exchange rates. This result stems from the direct impact of deflation on real wages, which more strongly affects entrepreneur’s wealth and hence the private equity premium.