The economics profession has an unfortunate tendency to view recent experience in the narrow window provided by standard datasets. With a few notable exceptions, cross-country empirical studies on financial crises typically begin in 1980 and are limited in other important respects. Yet an event...

The "engine of growth" argument holds that an economic expansion in a large country increases the growth of its trading partners. Growth in developing countries is routinely linked to growth patterns in the Industrial economies. This paper examines the role of commodity markets in transmitting...

Since the Tequila crisis of 1994-95, the Asian flu of 1997, and the Russian virus of 1998, economists have been busy producing research on the subject of contagion. Yet, few studies have examined empirically through which channels the disturbances are transmitted if there are, indeed,...

This study examines the impact capital controls had in Malaysia (1998-1999) and Thailand (1997). We aim to assess the extent to which the capital controls were effective in delivering the outcomes that motivated their imposition. We conclude that in Thailand the controls did not deliver much of...

Three of the papers in this volume address various aspects of these issues—in particular as regards the behavior and impact of sovereign credit ratings and the development of a portfolio model that lends itself to testing the vulnerability of banks. Two of the papers address issues related to...

There are cases where the parallel (or secondary) exchange rate applies only to a few limited transactions. An example is the “switch pound” in the United Kingdom during September 1950 through April 1967. However, it is not unusual for dual or parallel markets (legal or otherwise) to account...

Almost a decade after their initiation, financial reforms appear to have had little effect on the economies of Sub-Sahara Africa. Whether the blame is to fall on their initial design itself, or on the partial nature of their implementation, liberalization policies have not mobilized savings,...

Usando los datos anuales para Colombia durante los 30 años pasados, probamos las teorías de oposición que explican fluctuaciones macroeconómicas: la síntesis neoclásica, que postula eso en presencia de rigidez temporal del precio una extensión monetaria inesperada produce los aumentos de...

For the first time since the onset of the debt crisis in the slimmer or 1982, capital began to return to Latin America during 1990 and 1991.In general, Latin America's re-entry into the international capital markets was perceived as a positive development. However, policy-makers in the region...

In the wake of the Mexican and Asian currency turmoil, the subject of financial crises has come to the forefront of academic and policy discussions. This paper analyzes the links between banking and currency crises. We find that: problems in the banking sector typically precede a currency...