Debt in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) is at its highest level in half a century. In about nine out of 10 EMDEs, debt is higher now than it was in 2010 and, in half of the EMDEs, debt is more than 30 percentage points of gross domestic product higher. Historically, elevated...

Debt in emerging markets and developing economies is at its highest level in half a century. In about 9 in 10 emerging markets and developing economies, debt is higher now than it was in 2010, and in half of the emerging markets and developing economies, debt is more than 30 percentage points of...

At the time of writing there were widespread concerns about the health of the U. S. economy. There is conclusive evidence that the pace of growth has slowed, which has prompted the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates on two occasions (a total of 100 basis points thus far). As usual, when faced...

One plausible mechanism through which financial market shocks may propagate across countries is through the impact that past gains and losses may have on investors' risk aversion and behavior. This paper presents a stylized model illustrating how heterogeneous changes in investors' risk aversion...

In this paper we present evidence that capital account reversals have become more severe foremerging markets. Because policy options are limited in the midst of a capital market crisisand because so many countries have already had crises recently, we focus on some of thepolicies that could...

In recent years, many countries have suffered severe financial crises, producing a staggering tollon their economies, particularly in emerging markets. One view blames fixed exchange rates--“soft pegs”--for these meltdowns. Adherents to that view advise countries to allow theircurrency to...