This paper provides a narrative account of the 1980s Chilean banking crisis. The Chilean crisis saw the nationalization of the two largest financial conglomerates and resulted in more than half of the financial system’s assets and liabilities falling under direct control of the government. The...

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...

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...

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...

Este ensayo recorre los primeros cincuenta años de la Caja de Crédito Hipotecario de Chile desde su creación en 1855. Durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, las operaciones crediticias de la Caja activaron la rápida expansión del regadío del Valle Central y posibilitó el concomitante...

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...

Economic policy reform that creates opportunities for new productive activities often shifts wealth from one set of agents toward another, creating reason for political pressure against the reform. The author explores how government financial guarantees secure the political support of the...