This paper offers an original survey of the Malaysian crisis and the effects of the consequent imposition of capital controls by authorities in September 1998 and of their subsequent relaxation in February and September 1999. We identify Malaysia's unique strengths and weaknesses before the...

The economies of the Arab states of the Gulf have gone through considerable changes in the last decade, spurred by high oil prices and ambitious diversification plans. Large-scale immigration provided the labour force while capital inflows and financial development leveraged oil wealth to...

GDP growth in the GCC has been considerably higher than in advanced economies or other oil exporters since 1986. The paper shows that the GCC countries have swiftly accumulated large stocks of physical capital but the population increase and the shift away from oil meant that capital intensity...

We study the optimal oil extraction strategy and the value of an oil field using a multiple real option approach. The numerical method is flexible enough to solve a model with several state variables, to discuss the effect of risk aversion, and to take into account uncertainty in the size of...

Public investment and subsidies are typically inefficient but in the GCC these are crucial engines of growth. Subsidies are also used to redistribute oil windfalls in the region, and the problem of a government that wants to 'distribute' oil money is a problem fully symmetric to the one analyzed...

We examine the recent credit slowdown in emerging markets from three analytical angles. First, we find that, similar to past history, a credit boom preceded the current slowdown in many emerging markets, and argue that, going forward, a protracted period of sluggish growth is likely. Second, we...

We study the optimal oil extraction strategy and the value of an oil field using a multiple real option approach. The numerical method is flexible enough to solve a model with several state variables, to discuss the effect of risk aversion, and to take into account uncertainty in the size of...

We investigate the extent of regional financial integration in the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Interest rate data show that convergence exists and that interest rate differentials are relatively short-lived—especially relative to other unified currency area and comparable...

At what level should inflation be a concern? From a growth perspective, high and rising levels of inflation as in 2006–2008 raise concerns that inflation, if uncontained, could undermine growth. On the other hand, higher levels of inflation could create more space for using monetary policy to...