Regional integration of Pacific Island countries (PICs) with Australia, New Zealand, and emerging Asia has increased over the last two decades. PICs have become more exposed to the region's business cycles, and spillovers from regional economies are more important for PICs than from advanced...

While a carbon tax is widely acknowledged as an efficient policy to mitigate climate change, adoption has lagged. Part of the challenge resides in the distributional implications of a carbon tax and a belief that it tends to be regressive. Even when not regressive, poor households could be hurt...

Large reductions in global emissions are needed for the world to be on track to meet global temperature goals. Asia-Pacific countries have a critical role in emissions reduction given their large and rising share in global emissions. This paper discusses the main opportunities and behavioral...

During 2001-07, increases in mature market volatility were associated with declines in forex returns for East Asian countries, consistent with an overall ""flight to safety"" effect. Estimates from GARCH models suggest that a 5 percentage point increase in mature market equity volatility...

This paper examines the role of Japan against that of China in the exchange rate regime in East Asia in light of growing interest in forming a currency union in the region. The analysis suggests that currency unions with China tend to generate higher average welfare gains for East Asian...

Since the 1997 Asian currency crisis, new interest has emerged in the formation of a common currency area in East Asia. This paper provides estimates of trade and welfare effects of East Asian currency unions, using a micro-founded gravity model. Counter-factual experiments to assess the effects...

This paper reviews monetary and exchange rate policies in Peru in 1930-80. The review covers major transformations to the world economy, including the post-1929 crash and WWII, and changing economic paradigms, such as the collapse of the gold standard and the rise and fall of the Bretton Woods...

Intro -- Contents -- I. INTRODUCTION -- II. THE BASELINE MODEL -- III. EQUILIBRIUM -- IV. ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AND DIVERSIFICATION -- V. RIGID WAGES -- VI. CONCLUSION -- APPENDIX: THE MODEL -- REFERENCES.

This paper provides evidence that central bank interventions had a statistically significant impact on easing stress in unsecured interbank markets during the first phase of the subprime crisis which began in July 2007. Extraordinary liquidity provisions, such as the Term Auction Facility by the...

Since 1998, the staff of the International Monetary Fund has published a classification of countries' de facto exchange rate arrangements. Experience in operating this classification system has highlighted a need for changes. The present paper provides information on revisions to the system in...