We study the relationship between financial slack and employment formalization by exploiting heterogeneity in industry-level financial dependence in the spirit of Rajan and Zingales (1998). We use this heterogeneity along with time-series variation in aggregate credit to determine industry level...

This paper studies the Mexican and Israeli experience with a target zone. The first part of the paper develops a model of exchange rate determination under a target zone regime with stochastic realignments, and examines the conditions under which the adoption of the target zone, instead of a...

This paper studies the behavior of interest rate differentials in Mexico during the 1992-94 period. It shows that the currency risk premia is positively related to the share of peso denominated debt in total debt and that the magnitude of this effect is considerable. For every 1 percentage point...

We study the process of external adjustment to large terms-of-trade level shifts-identified with a Markov-switching approach-for a large set of countries during the period 1960-2015. We find that adjustment to these shocks is relatively fast. Current accounts experience, on average, a...

In this paper we analyze the incidence of the VAT and its effects on the income distribution. To identify these effects, we rely on two tax reforms undertaken in Mexico that increased the VAT rate for a group of cities and left the rest unaffected. We compare the inflation rate of the affected...

Cross-country panel data are used to assess the effect of free-trade agreements on flows of foreign direct investment (fdi). Free-trade agreements are found to have a significant positive effect on fdi flows, and free-trade agreements are found to matter more for the smaller members of the...

Latin America's central banks have made substantial progress towards delivering an environment of price stability that is supportive of sustainable economic growth. We review these achievements, and discuss remaining challenges facing central banking in the region. Where inflation remains high...

This paper assesses the dynamic impact of global macroeconomic conditions, commodity price movements, shifts in portfolio preferences, and domestic shocks on fiscal outcomes-notably the budget deficit, its main components, and debt-across a wide range of countries. Heterogeneity is investigated...

This paper examines the impact of financial liberalization on fixed investment in Mexico, using establishment-level data from the manufacturing sector. It analyzes changes in cash-flow sensitivities and uses an innovative approach to explore the role of real estate as collateral and deal with a...