In this paper we analyze the behavior of international portfolios in periods of financial turmoil, both theoretically and empirically. On the one hand, there is a view that during crises domestic investors purchase safe, foreign assets while foreign investors purchase domestic assets at...

This paper analyzes the joint behavior of international capital flows by foreign and domestic agents--gross capital flows--over the business cycle and during financial crises. We show that gross capital flows are very large and volatile, especially relative to net capital flows. When foreigners...

In contrast to the past, many emerging countries faced the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 with more solid financial positions and the required credibility and capacity to conduct countercyclical policies. This allowed them to better cope with the global downturn and thus behave more...

En contraste con el pasado, muchos países emergentes enfrentaron la crisis financiera mundial de 2008-2009 con la credibilidad y capacidad requerida para conducir políticas contracíclicas. Ello les permitió enfrentar mejor la caída mundial y así comportarse de manera similar a países...

Which firms issue equity and debt in domestic and international markets and what happens to their assets, sales, and number of employees? To answer these questions, we assemble a new dataset on firm-level capital raising activity during 1991-2011, which we match with firm attributes for 45,527...

This paper studies how portfolios with a global investment scope are actually allocated internationally using a unique micro dataset on U.S. equity mutual funds. While mutual funds have great flexibility to invest globally, they invest in a surprisingly limited number of stocks, around 100. The...

As usual in this series, Chapter 1 reviews the configuration of global risks and assesses the outstanding short term opportunities and challenges facing the LAC region. We document the significant slowdown in economic activity across the region, and explore the possibility of this being the...

We study the extent to which firms from China and India use capital markets to obtain financing and grow. Using a unique data set on domestic and international capital raising activity and performance, we find that the expansion of financial market activity since the 1990s has been much more...

Using unique data on mutual fund portfolios with different investment scopes, we study the extent of international diversification. Mutual funds invest in a surprisingly limited number of stocks—about 100. The number of holdings from a given region declines as the investment scope broadens....

This paper documents the major trends in debt (bank and bond) markets in emerging economies since the early 1990s, when these markets started expanding. The paper shows that banks have increased in size in most emerging economies though from low bases. But bond markets have expanded even more,...