This paper shows that, controlling for standard determinants of net external positions, financially-remote countries exhibit more positive net external positions. This finding is found to be stronger for less advanced countries, hinting at external funding problems for more remote countries....

While institutional differences have been found to affect country growth patterns, much has remained unexplained, including how economic actors "overcome" institutional weaknesses and how internationalization helps or hinders development. Banking is an institutionally-intensive activity and the...

The authors seek to identify factors that influence decisions about a country's financial safety net, using a new dataset on 170 countries covering the 1960-2003 period. Specifically, they focus on how outside influences, economic development, crisis pressures, and political institutions affect...