Remittances are large and have grown substantially over the past decade in the Pacific region. This primarily reflects the impact of emigration due to low growth and limited employment prospects at home. Many Pacific emigrants settle abroad with their families for long periods, but maintain...

Export trends have been an important factor during Japan's present economic adjustment period, and the structures of Japanese exports, together with the imports, have been changing substantially in recent years. The changes in the country's export and import structures during the 1990s can be...

Structural adjustments in the labor market continue, such as reduction of bonuses, no regular increase in basic salary, and the switch from regular workers to part-time workers. The decline in household income, therefore, has still not come to a halt. Macroeconomic statistics, such as GDP...

The Bank of Japan (hereinafter referred to as the Bank) determined to undertake the so-called "quantitative easing policy" in March 2001, in which current account balances at the Bank were adopted as the Bank's main operating target. Since the start of the quantitative easing policy, the Bank...

This paper examines the potential advantages and disadvantages of adopting a common currency arrangement among the six IMF member Pacific island countries that have their own national currency. These countries are Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu. The study...

Developments in the Spanish credit system and in the conduct of monetary policy over the past 20 years fall into three distinct periods: the 1950s, the 1960s, and the period since 1969. During the 1950s, the authorities lacked the instruments to control the liquidity of the credit system, and...