Much of the current debate on reforming the international financial architecture is aimed at reducing the risks of contagion--best defined as a significant increase in cross-market linkages after a shock to an individual country (or group of countries). This definition highlights the importance...

The 1990s witnessed several acute currency crises among developing nations that invariably spread to other nearby at-risk countries. These episodes—in Mexico, Thailand, South Korea, Russia, and Brazil—were all exacerbated by speculative foreign investments and high-volume movements of...