Statement by Dr. Raghuram Rajan on taking office on September 4, 2013. [RBI Press release].

This paper reviews (critically and selectively) the literature on the link between economic development, the environment and international trade (and capital flows). In particular, how stricter environmental regulation in the North affects trade and capital movements between the North and the...

This report is intended as a wake-up call to anyone who thinks the developing world debt crisis has been resolved. In fact, it assesses fears of a new debt crisis, more serious than before, spreading to nearly 40 countries. 38 of the 43 countries that the World Bank calculates are most...

In late March the release of data on sale of new homes in the US showed that it had dropped 10 per cent, the biggest drop in nine years. In the immediate aftermath of this report, the US currency gave up some ground against the Euro and other major currencies. Bond yields dropped and rate hike...

Most standard indicators suggest that India’s reserve stock is more than adequate. The rapid stockpiling of foreign exchange reserves implies that the RBI has been leaning-against-the-wind to keep down the value of the Indian Rupee. As India has become more export-oriented it has become...

The paper examines the current problems with the IMF which include: 1) the institution is no longer fulfilling the functions it used to fulfil, nor is there a clear vision of any new functions for it; 2) due to a drastic pruning of its loan operations, it is not receiving enough revenue to cover...

This paper outlines a proposal for a controlled approach to capital account liberalization for economies experiencing large capital inflows. The proposal essentially involves securitizing a portion of capital inflows through closed-end mutual funds that issue shares in domestic currency, use the...

The turmoil that has characterised the global financial markets since the 1990s, and particularly the crisis in East Asia, has generated a great deal of support for proposals to add some frictions to the wheels of international finance, as part of overall reforms to the global financial...

The paper investigates the profitability of 78 Islamic banks in 25 countries for the period of 1992-2009. The Fixed Effect Model (FEM) used to analyse profitability shows that profit efficiency is positive and statistically significant with operating expenses against asset, equity, high income...