Cyprus’ persistent current account deficits over the last decade point to potential competitiveness problems. This note reviews price and non-price indicators to assess the existence of a competitiveness gap in Cyprus and the factors underlying it. Results show that, while productivity growth...

Global current account imbalances were a major subject of concern in the years before the recent financial crisis. It is shown that the expected (negative) equilibrium relationship between net foreign assets and the trade balance that had held in the previous twenty years appeared to break down...

Like in 2006, the balance of payments for 2007 shows that the increase in resident banks’ international liabilities made it possible to cover the current account defi cit and the outfl ows related to direct and portfolio investment.

In 2006, the international resources of financial and monetary institutions covered the current account defi cits and the net outflows relative to direct and portfolio investment.

Este trabajo analiza la dinámica de los principales choques macroeconómicos que podrían afectar el balance comer¬cial y la cuenta corriente en el caso de la economía Argentina. En particular, se intenta evaluar el impacto de los precios internacionales sobre ambas variables externas. El...

In this paper we test the well-known hypothesis of Obstfeld and Rogoff (2000) that trade costs are the key to explaining the so-called Feldstein-Horioka puzzle. Using a gravity framework in an intertemporal context, we provide strong support for the hypothesis and we reconcile our results with...

A new approach to addressing balance of payments issues by analyzing the constituents of the financial account has been developed in this study and is referred to the financial approach accordingly. It pays attention to the different roles of foreign direct investment (FDI) and international...

After a decade of uneven export growth and rapidly growing imports, U.S. agriculture has begun to reassert its position in global trade markets. Rising exports and signs of moderating demand for imports mark a departure from previous trends. This report places past trends and emerging...

In this paper we test the well-known hypothesis of Obstfeld and Rogoff (2000) that trade costs are the key to explaining the so-called Feldstein-Horioka puzzle. Our approach has a number of novel features. First, we focus on the interrelationship between trade costs, the trade account and the...