This thesis examines two important issues in economic development: exchange rates and electricity demand and addresses methodological issues of using time series and panel data analysis to investigate important policy issues. In Chapter 2, I examine the impacts of a currency board on the...

Increased attention is being paid to assessments of the actual values of countries' real exchange rates relative to their 'equilibrium' values as suggested by 'fundamental' determining factors. This paper assesses the robustness of alternative approaches and models commonly used to derive...

The number of studies attempting to estimate the 'equilibrium' real value of China's currency has proliferated in recent years as the country's presence in world markets has grown. These studies have sought to establish whether or not a significant part of China's competitive prowess can be...

Although theory suggests that the real exchange rate should depreciate after a credible trade liberalization but could appreciate temporarily with a noncredible one, little empirical evidence exists. Unlike existing studies that use either indirect tests or unreliable openness measures, this...