This paper investigates linkages between stock markets in seven industrialized countries since 1974. Empirical evidence shows that both nominal and real stock prices (and returns) are strongly positively correlated across countries, and that nominal exchange rate changes do not have systematic...

Although the theoretical relationships are ambiguous, evidence suggestsa strong link between the choice of the exchange rate regime and economicperformance. The paper argues that adopting a pegged exchange rate canlead to lower inflation, but also to slower growth in productivity. Itfinds that...

A common rationale for EMS membership is that it enhances the credibility of a central bank’s commitment to stable monetary growth. In this paper we consider this idea in the light of two features of the system, namely, the existence of exchange rate bands and the prevalence of capital...

This year's capital markets report provides a comprehensive survey of recent developments and trends in the advanced and emerging capital markets, focusing on financial market behavior during the Asian crisis, policy lessons for dealing with volatility in capital flows, banking sector...

This paper provides a description and analysis of recent developments in international capital markets and an assessment of the prospects for private financing flows. It focuses particularly on recent trends in liberalization and innovation in international financial markets, including relevant...

The paper examines empirically the question of whether more unequal societies spend more on income redistribution than their more egalitarian counterparts. Theoretical arguments on this issue are inconclusive. The political economy literature suggests that redistributive spending is higher in...

Many arguments that have been advanced in favor of maintaining capital controls within the EC have not paid sufficient attention to the welfare consequences of this type of market intervention. Our paper provides a simple, optimizing framework in which the welfare consequences of capital...

In designing policy measures, including possible social safety nets, targeted to the poor, it is important to fully understand the efficiency implications of these measures. There is abundant macroeconomic literature on their negative effects on the poor’s work effort. The literature, however,...

The spectacular growth of many economies in East Asia over the past 30years has impressed the economics profession, which often refers to thesuccess of the so-called Four Tigers of the region (Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan Province of China) as ""miraculous."" This papercritically...