A Regional Export-Weighted Dollar: An Examination of the Regional Impact of Exchange Rate Change

Midwest manufacturing has experienced a resurgence in its competitiveness in export markets during the last decade. There is a widely held view that this increased competitiveness is importantly attributable to the depreciation in the foreign exchange value of the dollar. This article questions this view, in particular with regard to selected geographical regions of the United States. Based on the development of real regional export-weighted aggregate exchange rate indexes, this study finds that since 1988 Midwest exporters of manufactured goods, in the aggregate, have faced an appreciating (not depreciating) dollar.