The effects of the current global economic crisis are widespread. The economic downturn has affected large sectors of the population in developed and developing countries and international immigrants have not been the exception. This paper documents the recent slowdown in workers’ remittances,...

This paper analyzes the impact of exchange rate levels and exchange rate uncertainty on U.S. foreign direct investment into Latin America. By decomposing exchange rate uncertainty into temporary (short-run) and permanent (long-run) components, we further explore whether the nature of uncertainty...

This paper uses high frequency exchange rate data for a group of twelve Latin American countries to analyze volatility comovements. Particular interest is posed on understanding the existence of a common volatility process during the 1994–2005 period. The analysis relies on bivariate common...

This article examines the determinants of remittance transfers, specifically focusing on the impact of crimes on remittances. Using the 2003 Quality of Life Survey of Colombia, we find that both domestic and international transfers are negatively affected by crime. That is, because crime may...

This article analyzes the relationship between remittances, exchange rates and money demand in Mexico. We find that shocks to remittances have a positive impact on domestic money demand. The results also suggest the existence of a bi-directional relationship between remittances and the exchange...

This article documents the business cycle properties of workers’ remittance flows to Mexico. We also discuss key differences between the cyclical properties of remittance inflows and the cyclical properties of foreign direct investment (FDI). We find evidence that remittances are...

This article examines the impact of monetary policy shocks on the U.S. housing market using an identification procedure similar to the one suggested by Uhlig (Journal of Monetary Economics, 2005). The identification procedure imposes sign restrictions on the response of some variables for a...

In this paper we discuss the functioning of the foreign exchange rate system. We start by giving a historical account of the different exchange rate systems around the world. Next, we discuss the determinants of a currency’s value according to the main theories of exchange rate determination....