Large current account deficits, and the corresponding reliance on capital flows from abroad, can increase a country's vulnerability to periods of heightened risk and uncertainty. This paper develops a framework to evaluate such vulnerabilities. It highlights the central importance of two...

Large current account deficits, and the corresponding reliance on capital flows from abroad, can increase a country's vulnerability to periods of heightened risk and uncertainty. This paper develops a framework to evaluate such vulnerabilities. It highlights the central importance of two...

In der Juliausgabe veröffentlichte der Wirtschaftsdienst einen Aufsatz von Georg Erber mit dem Titel „Irrungen und Wirrungen mit der Leistungsbilanzstatistik“. Dazu äußert sich Jan Priewe kritisch. Anschließend stellt Georg Erber in einer Erwiderung seine Sicht dar.

This paper is a case study of an (almost complete) adjustment of Italy's external stock imbalance. After reaching a peak of around 25 per cent of GDP in early 2014, Italy's net external debtor position has steadily decreased, reaching less than 7 per cent of GDP at the end of 2017. The...

New EU members share two very marked features which have conflicting implications for the evolution of their real exchange rates in the long run: accelerated growth and systematic current account imbalances, which would anticipate, respectively an appreciation and a depreciation of their...

Typically, the catching-up process between rich Northern Europe and poor Southern Europe and the diverging cost competitiveness between the two regions are considered alternative explanations for the widening current account imbalances in the euro area. This paper proposes a new explanation for...

Many of the emerging market economies in Europe are presently running current account deficits which are quite high relative to any global or historical standard and are fundamentally unsustainable. This includes the three poorer European Union (EU) members of the old Europe (Greece, Portugal,...

China's emergence as a major player in world trade is well known, but its rising role in global finance is perhaps underappreciated. China is the second largest creditor in the world today, with a net creditor position of exceeding 30% of GDP in 2007. In this paper, we test the importance of...

Many studies have explored the determinants of current account balances in Europe. However, only in a few studies have trade imbalances been decomposed into intra balances, trade balances vis-à-vis the euro area, and extra balances, trade balances vis-à-vis the rest of the world. In this...

This article discusses the relation between the balance of payments and the international investment position of countries. It starts with the observation that the net international investment position of many countries is developing independently from their current account balances. This...