On Net External Assets in Developed and Transition Countries

The paper focuses on net external assets (NEA) in developed and transition countries in 1995, 2000, and 2005. The net international investment position is used as the main NEA indicator. In addition, alternative NEA estimates for developed countries are based on the cumulated current account, the cumulated financial and capital accounts, and the net factor income from abroad. The NEA estimates are divided by the gross domestic product (GDP) based on the U.S. dollar exchange rate. We identify the most important net creditors and net debtors, for which we study the average behavior of the real product growth, the unemployment rate, and the inflation rate among developed countries. We conclude that all the given estimates of NEA are good but imperfect.