IMF Staff Papers articles from September 2006

IMF Staff Papers archives from September 2006

Portfolio constraints and contagion in emerging markets.(Author abstract)
September 1, 2006... A recurrent theme in the fast-growing literature on financial contagion is contagion through portfolio reallocations unrelated to "fundamental" factors, that is, factors that determine the value of an asset. In this literature, the behavior of...

To buy or not to buy? Uncertainty, irreversibility, and heterogeneous investment dynamics in Italian company data.(Author abstract)(Survey)
September 1, 2006... Aggregate investment spending is an important source of fluctuations over the business cycle. A puzzling aspect of such fluctuations is that they sometimes occur in connection with relatively small shocks or policy impulses. Previous...

Primary surplus behavior and risks to fiscal sustainability in emerging market countries: a "fan-chart" approach.(Author abstract)
September 1, 2006... In the public debt context, a sustainable position is often viewed as one where the government (or public sector) is solvent. To be deemed solvent, a government must be expected to honor current and future financial obligations, including the...

How should subnational government borrowing be regulated? Some cross-country empirical evidence.(Author abstract)
September 1, 2006... Over the past few decades, countries around the world have gradually moved toward the greater decentralization of fiscal revenue and spending responsibilities. As a result, subnational economic policies have taken an increasingly important role...

The potential of foreign aid as insurance.(Author abstract)
September 1, 2006... Developing countries are subject to strong macroeconomic shocks. Excluding countries affected by civil wars, the percentage volatility of per capita consumption has typically been two to six times greater in these countries than in...

Parity Reversion in real exchange rates: a puzzle or a nonissue?
September 1, 2006... The attempt by Cashin and McDermott (2006) to "test the validity" of the purchasing power parity (PPP) theorem by means of a refined measurement of the turnaround time of changes in real exchange rates calls for a brief comment. Their article,...

Measuring financial development in the Middle East and North Africa: a new database.(Author abstract)
September 1, 2006... As countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) consider ways to promote rapid and lasting economic growth, further financial sector reform should be high on their agenda. (1) The theory is that policies aimed at enhancing financial...