This paper considers how the structure of an open economy determines its flexibility in responding to external shocks. Inter- and intrasectoral reallocation of both expenditures and factors of production are shown to mitigate the consequences of a severe terms-of-trade shock. We demonstrate that...

This paper analyzes income and consumption risk resulting from fluctuations in the terms-of-trade in a small open economy when factors can be reallocated after incurring a fixed cost. This fixed cost of relocation across sectors introduces partial labor mobility and sector-specific uncertainty....

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)-prescribed introduction of higher interest rates in crisis-hit economies has been criticized as being unnecessarily contractionary. This criticism ignores the effects of interest rate policy on the incentives to restructure corporate debt once it has become...