Exports and Invoicing: Evidence from the 2015 Swiss Franc Appreciation

Abstract

Do differences in border price adjustment by currency of invoicing carry over to allocations? We document the cross-industry variation in the response of Swiss export prices and export values by currency of invoicing of border prices in the aftermath of the large and abrupt Swiss franc (CHF) appreciation in January 2015. Industries with higher CHF-invoicing shares (and a larger increase in foreign-currency denominated prices) experienced substantially weaker export growth in the two-year period after January 2015.