This paper identifies factors associated with takeoff -- a sustained period of high growth following a period of stagnation. We examine a panel of 241 "stagnation episodes" from 146 countries, 54 % of these episodes are followed by takeoffs. Countries that experience takeoffs average 2.3% annual...

This paper analyzes the causes and consequences of offshore financial centers (OFCs). Since OFCs are likely to be tax havens and money launderers, they encourage bad behavior in source countries. Nevertheless, OFCs may also have unintended positive consequences for their neighbors, since they...

"Debt overhang" models have motivated the possibility of Pareto-improving "market-based debt-reduction schemes" under an assumption of creditor seizure in bad states. These models usually reach the conclusion that while pure debt forgiveness is in the interest of debtor nations, debt repurchase...

The Economic Letter summarizes the papers presented at the symposium "Revived Bretton Woods System: a new paradigm for Asian development?" held at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on February 4, 2005, under the joint sponsorship of the Bank's Center for Pacific Basin Studies and the...

This Economic Letter is based on a presentation Mark Spiegel prepared for a panel on "Optimal Currency Arrangements for Emerging Market Economies: The Experience of Latin America and Asia" organized by the Latin American and Asian Economics and Business Association on July 15, 2002, in Tokyo, Japan

This Economic Letter briefly reviews 11 papers that provide analytical perspectives and new empirical evidence on the causes of these crises as well as the appropriate policy responses. These papers, prepared for a conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Center for...

My remarks concern monetary policymakers' opportunities and challenges in the face of the growing volume of international capital movements. The topic is currently of particular interest for two reasons: First, this year marks the tenth anniversary of the devastating Asian financial crisis, in...