In this paper I use a cross country data set to analyze the relationship between trade orientation, trade distortions and growth. I first develop a simple endogenous growth model that emphasizes the process of technological absorption in small developing countries. According to this model...

The purpose of this paper is to theoretically assess, from a welfare perspective, the desirability of uniform import tariffs. Since the eruption of the debt crisis, many proposals for structural reforms in the developing countries have contemplated a trade liberalization process that would...

In this paper a model that analyzes the interaction between changes in commodity export prices, money creation, inflation, and the real exchange rate in a developing country is developed. The model is then tested using data for Colombia. A number of experts have argued that the fluctuations of...

This paper investigates to what extent the international financial community has taken into account the risk characteristics of borrowing less developed countries when granting loans. Specifically, this study analyzes the determinants of the spread between the interest rate charged to a...

In this paper I discuss the effectiveness of foreign aid from a historical perspective. I show that foreign aid is a relatively new concept in economics, and I emphasize the role of exchange rate policies in the foreign aid controversies of the 1970s through 1990s. I show that in the early 1980s...

This paper uses historical data from the Bretton Woods era to analyze the effectiveness of devaluation-based adjustment programs in the developing countries. Forty eight major devaluations undertaken between 1954 and 1971 are investigated in detail in an effort to understand the circumstances...

One of the nest serious consequences of the debt crisis of 1982 has been the reduction in the accessibility to the world capital market for most developing countries. This situation has proved to be particularly serious for Latin American nations. At this juncture, a key question is how to...

This paper deals with the relation between commercial policy and "the" equilibrium real exchange rate. The paper clarifies the meaning of real exchange rate by comparing five different definitions that are currently found in the literature, The analysis focuses on the effects of an economic...

This paper develops a dynamic model of real exchange rate behavior in developing countries. A three goods economy (exportables, importables and nontradables) is considered. Residents of this country hold domestic and foreign assets, and there is a dual exchange rate regime. There is a government...