According to the most common understanding, currency crises are always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon. Based on a formal theoretical model and ample empirical evidence, this article argues instead that currency crises are always and everywhere about external imbalances. They are usually...

Commercial and financial transactions between countries induce payment flows, which influence exchange rates. Exchange rates tend to follow the movements of the current account with a lag. The adjustment delay occurs as countries finance balance of payments deficits by borrowing from abroad....