Before a new financial architecture can be established in the wake of the financial crisis, the increasing importance of the global financial market channel must be fully understood. This importance was illustrated by the unexpectedly strong dampening effects of the financial crisis on the real...

This paper highlights that the EMU transition process itself can pose challenges to individual accession countries and draws policy implications for ERM II. Differences in financial market development and international liabilities underscore the risks and benefits of ERM II, and may lead to...

The volatility of financial markets has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. However, while particular episodes, such as the bond market turbulence in 1994 and considerable exchange rate movements in 1995, may give the impression that markets have become more volatile, there appears to...

This article presents event studies that find a significant effect on dollar bond yield spreads when rating agencies put emerging-market sovereign bonds on review with negative outlook. The finding has two conditional implications. If rating agencies can be turned from late into early warning...

The International Monetary Fund is at present examining the possibility of borrowing on private capital markets in order to meet its growing refinancing needs. Reservations concerning such a step have been voiced in particular by the oil-importing developing countries. Professor Konrad analyses...

What are the borrowing strategies and practices of European members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA)? The authors had extensive discussions with bankers in the leading financial centres in Europe. Some of their findings are presented in the following article.