Cambodia became dollarized suddenly in the early 1990s, as a result of massive dollar inflows stemming from a postconflict situation. Considering that the amount of dollars in circulation is unusually high, we attempt to estimate the true degree of dollarization empirically. Our results show...

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 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...

This study examines the challenges and issues facing policymakers in highly dollarized economies. Focusing on Cambodia, which achieved almost complete dollarization during 1991-95, the authors review recent developments in the literature on dollarization and examine the costs and benefits of...

This paper presents a cash-in-advance framework, with variable income velocity, where the domestic effects, as well as the international transmission, of financial innovation can be analyzed. In particular, the discussion emphasizes the role of currency substitution and of cross-border transfers...

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 review of Phase I of the technical assistance (TA) General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) project (2001-2006) for 15 Anglophone African countries1-funded by the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) and executed jointly by the Fund and the World Bank-(henceforth, referred...

This report provides an assessment of the British Virgin Islands’s (BVI) compliance with the Basel Core Principle for effective banking supervision. The BVI has the preconditions for effective banking supervision. It has specific legislation governing international cooperation and mutual legal...

This Selected Issues paper examines the factors determining housing prices in the United Kingdom. Based on econometric evidence, the paper assesses whether recent housing price increases can be explained by fundamentals or whether they represent a temporary overshooting of housing prices,...