The positive correlation between per capita income and cross-country price levels is called the "Penn-Balassa-Samuelson effect." The most influential explanation of this effect centers around sectoral output productivities as the determinant of the relative price of nontraded goods. The...

Hidden behind a number of economic crises in the mid- to late 1990s-including Argentina's headline-grabbing monetary and political upheaval-is that fact that Latin American economies have, generally speaking, improved dramatically in recent years. Their success has been due, in large part, to...

This paper analyzes a small open economy Ramsey growth model with convex investment costs and a collateral constraint on borrowing. Optimal control methods are used to characterize the dynamics of investment, consumption, and debt. The analysis demonstrates that the economy’s adjustment speed...

This paper analyzes the impact of differential tariffs on consumption and investment in a specific factors model of a small open economy in which capital is accumulated over time. Particular attention is devoted to the welfare aspects. highlighting the cost of the intertemporal distortions...

This paper considers the role of the relative price of non-traded goods and the current account in the adjustment of a small open economy to the receipt of an international transfer. The paper shows that the economy's macroeconomic adjustment to the transfer depends upon the relative capital...

The author sets out a methodology for analyzing episodes of high real interest rates in emerging market economies. He reviews the literature on what determines spreads in deposit rates and loan rates. Then he links the causes of interest rate spreads by explicitly modeling the incentive effect...