In 2001- 02, Argentina experienced one of the worst economic crises in its history. A default on government debt, which occurred against the backdrop of a prolonged recession, sent the Argentine currency and economy into a tailspin. Although the economy has since recovered from the worst, the...

This paper is a preliminary review of the design of and early experience with IMF-supported programs in Indonesia, Korea, and Thailand during 1997-98. The review takes into account developments as of October 1998, and was the basis for a discussion of the programs by the IMF's Executive Board in...

Is there a stable aggregate money demand relationship for Europe? If so, why, and if not, why not? These questions are important for the implementation of policy by a European central bank, as well as for the appropriate speed of transition to EMU. This paper addresses them in a multi-country...

This paper discusses the forces driving capital flows in the transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It argues that various influences—specifically, the real exchange rate history and trend and the factor intensity of production—can combine to motivate very large capital...

Wage controls have been an important element of several of the stabilization programs recently introduced in reforming socialist economies. In some cases, the controls have been placed on each state enterprise’s total wage bill, rather than on the wage rate paid. Such an incomes policy would...

This paper examines the coexistence of free prices and shortages for a range of consumer goods in Ukraine during 1992. Enterprises making consumer goods were substantially free to set market-clearing prices. Yet, Ukraine’s official consumer market experienced continued shortages, while the...

This paper develops a simple two-sector model of a socialist economy, in which government revenues required for servicing external debt are obtained from taxation of the socialized sector and from import taxes. Wages and employment in the socialized sector are the outcome of Nash bargaining...