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Journal Article
How do currency crises spread?
Working Paper
The illusive quest: do international capital controls contribute to currency stability?
We investigate the effectiveness of capital controls in insulating economies from currency crises, focusing in particular on both direct and indirect effects of capital controls and how these relationships may have changed over time in response to global financial liberalization and the greater mobility of international capital. We predict the likelihood of currency crises using standard macroeconomic variables and a probit equation estimation methodology with random effects. We employ a comprehensive panel data set comprised of 69 emerging market and developing economies over 1975?2004. Both ...
Working Paper
Global versus country-specific productivity shocks and the current account
For G-7 countries over the period 1961-1990, there appears to be a strong and stable negative correlation between annual changes in the current account and investment. Here we explore this correlation using a highly tractable empirical model that distinguishes between global and country-specific shocks. This distinction turns out to be quite important empirically, as global shocks account for roughly fifty percent of the overall variance of productivity. An apparent puzzle, however, is that the current account seems to respond by much less than investment to country-specific productivity ...
Working Paper
Is pegging the exchange rate a cure for inflation? East Asian experiences
A common argument for pegging the exchange rate is that it enforces discipline on domestic monetary policy, thus stabilizing inflation expectations. This paper argues that this reasoning does not necessarily apply to East Asia, as the nominal exchange rate pegging policies of these economies are not the explanation for their low inflation. On the contrary, since 1985, those economies whose currencies have appreciated less against the U.S. dollar have tended to experience higher inflation. Factors other than pegging, such as rapid growth, sustainable budget deficits, and relative openness ...
Working Paper
R* and the Global Economy
This paper provides a synthesis of explanations for why the natural rate of interest, r*, has fallen over the last several decades. Demographic factors, declining productivity, slower output growth, and increasing inequality likely all have been important factors. Perhaps less recognized is the role of increasing global demand for safe assets, particularly by foreign investors. Suggestive empirical evidence is presented showing that foreign demand for U.S. safe assets, particularly government-provided assets, has increased dramatically, and may now be playing a much larger role in the ...
Working Paper
Fiscal policy in monetary unions: implications for Europe
This paper analyzes how the feasible mix of government expenditure and financing arrangements may change with the establishment of a monetary union such as that planned by members of the European Community. We find that a monetary union reduces the feasible divergence across countries in their present discounted levels of fiscal spending. Wide differences across countries in their present and future time pattern of spending are still possible, however. Examination of the empirical evidence suggests that the movement towards greater exchange rate fixity associated with the EMS and ...
Journal Article
2007 Annual Pacific Basin Conference: summary
This year's Pacific Basin conference brought together papers on a variety of international topics, including international pricing behavior and exchange rates, foreign reserve management, the efficacy of capital controls, Asian financial market integration, and developments in China. ; This Economic Letter summarizes the papers presented at the 2007 Annual Pacific Basin conference held at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on June 8-9, 2007, under the sponsorship of the Bank's Center for Pacific Basin Studies. The papers are listed at the end and are available online.
Journal Article
Exchange rates and monetary policy