The study of the global distribution of sprites is based on the new parameterization and WWLLN (World Wide Lightning Location Network) data for 2016. The information on position, time, power (peak current) for cloud-to-ground discharges are taken from the archive of the WWLLN. Parameterizations...

Epidemics can negatively affect economic development except mitigated by global governance institutions. We examine the effects of sudden exposure to epidemic disease on human capital outcomes using evidence from the African meningitis belt. Meningitis shocks reduce child health outcomes in...

Banks as financial intermediaries are broadly exposed to a wide range of economic and financial risk factors. We parse climate risk into its two main types: physical risk such as sea level rise and transition risk such as climate related policy changes (e.g., efficiency requirements or carbon...

When marginal utility of consumption depends on leisure, investors will take this into account when allocating their wealth among different assets. This paper presents a multi-country general equilibrium model driven by productivity shocks, where labor-leisure and consumption are chosen...

Topics covered in this survey paper include the following: distinguishing rules from discretion in practice; the feasibility of rule-like behavior by an independent central bank; optimal control vs. robustness as research strategies; choice among target variables; growth-rate vs. growing-level...

This paper empirically analyzes a broad range of real exchange rate appreciation episodes. The cases are identified after compiling a large sample of monthly multilateral real exchange rates from 1960 to 1994. The objective is twofold. First, the paper studies the dynamics of appreciations,...

Openness to trade is one factor that has been identified as determining whether a country is prone to sudden stops in capital inflow, currency crashes, or severe recessions. Some believe that openness raises vulnerability to foreign shocks, while others believe that it makes adjustment to crises...

Financial markets are increasingly integrated globally. We examine the extent to which firms from different countries rely on alternative sources of capital, the locations where they raise capital, and the factors that affect these choices. During the 1990-2001 period, firms raised about $25.9...

This study examines whether pre-crisis international reserve accumulations, as well as exchange rate and reserve policy decisions made during the global financial crisis, can help to explain cross-country differences in post-crisis economic performance. Our approach focuses not only on the total...

This paper investigates the factors explaining exchange market pressures (EMP) and the hoarding and use of international reserves (IR) by emerging markets during the 2000s, as the Great Moderation turned to the 2008-9 global crisis and great recession. According to our results, both financial...