Exchange Rate Pass-Through Effect on the Price of Imported Medical Goods in Iran: A Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) Approach

This study investigates the effect of Exchange Rate Pass-Through (ERPT) on the price of imported medical goods in Iran by utilizing the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) method. The obtained results showed that the coefficient of positive and negative exchange rate fluctuations, in the long term, is less than one unit. In the long term, the price of imported medical goods is also affected by the positive fluctuations of domestic production. With positive fluctuations in domestic production and rising incomes, the demand for imported medical goods tends to increase, leading to higher prices for imported medical goods. Negative fluctuations in the degree of economic openness have negative effects on the price of imported medical goods. Eventually, the effect of the positive and negative fluctuations of trading partners’ final cost variables on the price index of imported medical goods is positive. Given the increase in the exchange rate and the subsequent devaluation of the national currency, the increase in the price of imports, and, consequently, the cost of imported inputs, the increase in import prices can be one of the causes of domestic inflation.