Much has been written about prospects for U.S. current account adjustment, including the possibility of what is sometimes referred to as a disorderly correction: a sharp fall in the exchange rate that boosts interest rates, depresses stock prices, and weakens economic activity. This paper...

Global current account imbalances were a major subject of concern in the years before the recent financial crisis. It is shown that the expected (negative) equilibrium relationship between net foreign assets and the trade balance that had held in the previous twenty years appeared to break down...