This paper estimates the output gap in Russia using a utilization-adjusted production function approach, which we argue is preferable to traditional output gap methods. The approach amounts to (1) using available surveys to estimate the ""natural rates"" of capacity and labor utilization above...

Dollarization in Russia increased rapidly during the early 1990s, but failed to come down in the second half of the 1990s in spite of exchange rate stabilization. To explain this ""dollarization hysteresis,"" this paper develops a model in which network externalities in the demand for currency...

This papers estimates the equilibrium exchange rate for Armenia using three different approaches: the purchasing power parity (PPP) approach, the behavioral equilibrium exchange rate (BEER) approach, and the external sustainability (ES) approach. All three approaches suggest that the dram was...

What determines the currency to which countries peg or ""anchor"" their exchange rate? Data for over 100 countries between 1980 and 1998 reveal that trade network externalities are a key determinant. This implies that anchor currency choice may well be suboptimal in that certain currencies,...

This paper evaluates competitiveness in Slovakia and estimates the equilibrium real exchange rate for the koruna. Slovak wages and prices are found to have been relatively low even when adjusted for differences in relative income and productivity, suggesting an undervalued real exchange rate....

In this paper, we assess whether recent economic developments in Russia are symptomatic of Dutch Disease.We first provide a brief review of the literature on Dutch Disease and the natural resource curse.We then discuss the symptoms of Dutch Disease, which include (1) real exchange rate...