Many economists believe that, while openness to trade increases average GDP growth rates, it also raises output volatility by exposing countries to terms-oftrade shocks. This view does not take into account that, as suggested by a recent strand of the financial fragility literature, commercial...

Natural disasters are an important source of vulnerability in the Caribbean region. Despite being one of the more disaster-prone areas of the world, it has the lowest levels of insurance coverage. This paper examines the vulnerability of Belize's public finance to the occurrence of hurricanes...

Financial stability is an important policy objective, since crises are associated with large economic, social and political costs. Promoting stability requires preventing "sudden stops" in capital flows, which are events in which foreign financing abruptly disappears. This paper contributes to...