There are a number of worrisome features of the U.S. current account deficit. In particular, its size and persistence, the extent to which it is financing consumption as opposed to investment, and the reliance on debt inflows raise concerns about the likelihood of a sharp adjustment. We examine...

Nonlinearities arise in international investment because of a pecking order in barriers. Some severe barriers render all others meaningless, and only when they are alleviated do other barriers become important. We show, using quantile regressions designed to model relations at more points than...

While foreigners are prominent in the Treasury market and in theoretical and empirical work, little is known about the nature of their Treasury portfolios. We provide novel evidence on foreigners' U.S. Treasury portfolios based on data not yet used by researchers: the security-level Treasury...

Latin American portfolio inflows show a strong tendency to revert to a natural level, KF*, over medium-run horizons. Deviations of actual flows from KF* provide policymakers with a real-time predictor of future flows, sudden stops and vulnerability to global shocks. Analysis of short-run...

Investors' behavior in U.S. Treasuries - the world's safe asset - affects monetary policy transmission mechanisms, fiscal policy space, loan pricing, and international vulnerabilities. Yet it is not well understood for a simple reason: researchers, not having a clear picture of the Treasury...

The author examines the impact of historical global downturns on trade flows. The results provide insight into why trade has dropped so dramatically in the current crisis, what is likely to happen in the coming years, how global imbalances are affected, and which regions and industries suffer...