Underinvoicing of exports, overinvoicing of imports, and the dollar premium on the black market

This paper is divided in two parts. The first is a theoretical development of the question of under or overinvoicing of exports and imports within the context of a model of choice between risky and secure assets. The second part attempts to ascertain the empirical evidence for the Brazilian economy. It is concluded that the hypothesis that the black market dollar premium plays a role in this process can not be rejected.