How does international financial integration a

Since changes in import prices feed into consumer prices and thus might affect monetary policydecisions, policymakers need to establish whether or not German importers’ long-run pricingbehaviour has changed. Of particular interest are any shifts in the importance of cost passthroughand...

Fundamentals may determine the range of real exchange rate fluctuation, through signalsof misalignment, even if they are not a major influence on the level within that range.This can explain the puzzle that more open economies experience lower real exchangerate volatility...

In an in‡uential series of contributions, Kraay and Ventura (2000, 2003) o¤er a“new rule” for the current account: in response to a temporary income shock, thechange in the current account is equal to the change in saving times the ratio of netforeign assets to wealth. We analyze the...

A second-generation model of currency crises is combined with a standard model ofbanks as providers of insurance against liquidity risk. In a pegged exchange rateregime, after funds have been committed to the banks, news arrives about the qualityof the banks’ assets and about the exchange rate...

Previous research has suggested that pegged exchange rates are associated withlower inflation than floating rates. In which direction does the causality run?Using data from a large sample of developing countries from 1984 to 2000, weconfirm that “hard” pegs (currency boards or a shared...

We develop a new theory of international capital flows based on dispersed in-formation across individual investors. There is extensive evidence of informationheterogeneity within and across countries, which has proven critical to under-standing asset price behavior. We introduce information...

After liberalizing international transactions of financial assets, many countries experiencelarge swings in asset prices, capital flows, and aggregate production. This paper studies howthe adjustment to capital account liberalization depends upon the degree of development of adomestic financial...

This paper analyzes how agency problems in nancial contracting determine risk-taking andinvestment. In perfect capital markets a risk-neutral rm would invest until the expectedmarginal return equals the interest rate. However, as rms with little net-worth face agencycost in nancial contracting...

In monetary economics it is argued that due to agency cost in financial contracting a reduction of a firm's net worth will transmit into a decline of investment. This paper shows that the microeconomic foundation of this 'balance-sheet-channel' is dubious. Contrary to a common claim agency...