We study whether clarity of central bank inflation reports affects return volatility in financial markets. We measure clarity of reports by the Czech National Bank, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, and Sveriges Riksbank using the Flesch-Kincaid grade level, a standard readability...

The Great Recession affected export and import patterns in our sample of new EU member countries, and these changes, coupled with a more volatile external environment, have a profound impact on our estimates of real exchange rate misalignments and projections of sustainable real exchange rates....

The Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 was one of the most dramatic economic events of recent times, which raised many questions regarding the appropriate policy response to financial crises. This paper reviews the experience of this crisis, focusing on the overall strategy of crisis management...

To provide a rigorous analysis of monetary policy in the face of financial instability, we extend the standard dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model to include a financial system. Our simulations suggest that if financial instability affects output and inflation with a lag, and if the...

The paper presents the rationale for spreadsheet-based debt sustainability assessments. Policymakers can use these exercises in two ways. First, assessments of possible debt developments provide 'reality checks' of macroeconomic projections. Second, the financial stability exercise may indicate...

The positive impact of foreign aid is limited by the erratic behavior of aid flows. The introduction in 1999 of various initiatives anchored in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) which were aimed at strengthening coordination among donors, improving the design of financial support...

Computed fundamental real exchange rates in four acceding countries point out to difficulties in entering the ERM II too soon after the EU entry. Computations suggest that it is unlikely for the Czech, Hungarian and Polish economies to maintain low inflation during 2004-2010, and at the same...