Search

">

Filter by

4215 results found

Working Paper No. 164
The Consumer Price Index As a Measure of Inflation
A consensus is emerging among economists and policymakers that the consumer price index (CPI) as a measure of cost of living has an upward bias. As a result, downward revisions of cost-of- living adjustments are frequently recommended, especially in discussions about deficit reduction. Such revisions would lower the rate of increase of some entitlements and […]
Working Paper No. 163
Managing Foreign Capital Flows
Between 1990 and 1994, developing countries in Asia posted $261 billion in net capital inflows, an amount equivalent to about half the total inflows to all developing countries. Although foreign direct investment accounts for the largest portion of net inflows to Asia, the share of portfolio investment has been steadily rising, from an average of […]
Working Paper No. 162
Capital Account Regulations and Macroeconomic Policy
A resurgence of perceived opportunities by international investors has resulted in a new policy debate regarding the regulation of capital flows into certain South American countries. The integrationist camp defends totally open markets on the grounds that they result in a more efficient financial sector, greater asset diversification, and other benefits; those in the isolationist […]
Working Paper No. 161
Globalization, Capital Flows, and International Regulation
In the postwar period prior to 1990 policy proposals aimed at reducing the instabilities associated with increased capital flows focused on increasing market efficiencies so that nominal variables would reflect real conditions in the economy. However, those in charge of financial resource flows applied theories largely unconcerned with fundamentals, resulting in such financial market instabilities […]
Working Paper No. 160
Intervention versus Regulation
This new working paper investigates the roles the International Monetary Fund (IMF) might play given its mandate to provide institutional support for a global capital market that can promote trade and investment, and given current worldwide economic instabilities such as highly volatile exchange rates. The experience of steady growth and price stability under the Bretton […]
Working Paper No. 159
The Anatomy of the Bond Market Turbulence of 1994
The bond market sell-off of 1994 has begun to show up on lists of market events against which risk management systems are judged, but there has been little analysis of the cause of the 1994 decline. This new working paper fills the void by examining a number of factors that might explain the rise in […]
Working Paper No. 158
Capital Inflows and Macroeconomic Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa
Little has been written about capital flows to sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), largely because of the flows’ small size and data limitations. In this working paper, Louis Kasekende, executive director for policy and research at the Bank of Uganda; Damoni Kitabire, commissioner for the Macroeconomic Policy Department for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in […]
Working Paper No. 157
A New Facility for the IMF?
In this working paper, John Williamson, senior fellow at the Institute for International Economics, evaluates proposals to create a short-term financing facility within the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The emphasis in this facility would be on the period within which the IMF would respond to a request for assistance, rather than on the duration of […]
Book Series
Money in Motion
In its analysis of money, contemporary economics has focused on money’s function as a store of value, neglecting its role as a medium of circulation. When circulation is put center stage, it becomes apparent that the supply of money does indeed adapt to the needs of trade, and it does so in myriad ways that […]
Public Policy Brief No. 25
Capital Gains Taxes and Economic Growth
This brief assesses the effect of a capital gains tax cut on firms’ decisions to undertake new investment projects and the possible effect of such projects on economic growth and employment. The authors’ analysis takes into account such factors as projects’ degree of uncertainty, investors’ degree of risk aversion, whether capital gains losses are deductible […]
Working Paper No. 156
Understanding the 1994 Election
The change in the composition of Congress resulting from the 1994 election was viewed by some Republicans as a “triumph of conservatism over the perceived abuses of liberalism.” In this working paper, Resident Scholar Oren Levin-Waldman examines polling data to explore whether the rejection of Congressional incumbents was a function of their perceived corruption or […]
Working Paper No. 155
Uncertainty and the Institutional Structure of Capitalist Economies
In this new working paper, Distinguished Scholar Hyman P. Minsky points out that capitalism in the United States is an evolving construct that recently entered a new stage: “money manager” capitalism. In money manager capitalism, nearly all businesses are organized as corporations, pension and mutual funds are the predominant owners of financial assets, and managers […]