This paper presents the fourth survey of certain changes in international and national monetary law and practice in relation to special drawing rights (SDRs), currencies, and gold. SDRs have characteristics that enable them to function as a supplement to existing reserve assets in the sense that...

The paper provides an empirical analysis of the determinants of currency substitution in Egypt and the Yemen Arab Republic over the period 1980-86. During this period, residents have exhibited a marked preference to substitute foreign money balances for domestic balances, as indicated by their...

The growing importance of foreign currency deposits (FCDs) in some developing countries has raised numerous issues, particularly regarding the effectiveness of economic policies. This paper discusses factors that influence the emergence of FCDs and their impact on key macroeconomic relations. It...

This paper outlines legal developments related to floating currencies, gold, and special drawing rights (SDRs) in the IMF. The Articles of the Fund require each member to establish a par value for its currency in terms of gold as a common denominator. Alternatively, the par value may be...

In this paper we develop and test a model of a utility maximizing representative agent operating in the Belgium-Luxembourg two-tier foreign exchange market. Our tests examine and fail to reject a risk neutral representative agent utility function. When we combine a risk neutral utility function...

The paper reviews recent theoretical and empirical developments in the analysis of informal currency markets in developing countries. The basic characteristics of these markets are highlighted, and alternative analytical models to explain them are discussed. The implications for exchange rate...

This paper constructs and analyzes an optimizing model of dual exchange markets which are incompletely separated owing to the presence of fraudulent cross transactions. The model is used to examine the implications of certain shocks, including devaluation. Devaluation first leads to the...

The IMF Working Papers series is designed to make IMF staff research available to a wide audience. Almost 300 Working Papers are released each year, covering a wide range of theoretical and analytical topics, including balance of payments, monetary and fiscal issues, global liquidity, and...