In this analysis Morris Goldstein examines currency regime choices for emerging economies that are heavily involved with private capital markets. The author argues that the best regime choice for such economies would be managed floating plus, where "plus" is shorthand for a framework that...

Europe's monetary union will represent the most profound transformation of the international monetary system since the transition from fixed to flexible exchange rates in the early 1970s. It will compete with the erosion of American dominance and the dramatic increase in capital mobility for the...

Kirkegaard explores the increasingly dysfunctional state of present US high-skilled immigration laws and recommends a coherent set of immediate reforms, which should aim to facilitate continuously high and increasingly economically necessary levels of high-skilled immigration to the United...

It is a cliche that China is the world's manufactured goods factory, but most observers are just as certain that China's farmers are a serious burden on growth. Yet China in fact has the makings of an internationally competitive agricultural sector, with the market setting most prices, farmers...

Imports pour into the United States, up by 79 percent in six years. The trade deficit more than doubles. The House of Representatives solidly rejects a bill that would liberalize global and regional trade and endorses import quotas for a major manufactured product by a two-to-one margin....

Increasing terrorist activity has led the Maghreb countries--Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, and Libya--to focus on antiterrorism efforts, unintentionally at the expense of full-fledged economic reform. These countries have tightened their border restrictions on the flow of people and...

The catastrophic crisis of late 2001 and early 2002 marks the tragic end to Argentina's initially successful, decade-long experiment with sound money and market-oriented economic reform. The IMF consistently supported Argentina's stabilization and reform efforts in the decade leading up to the...

The Uruguay Round trade negotiations marked a historic turning point in the reform of agricultural trade. The Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (URAA) replaced nontariff barriers with bound tariffs, curbed export subsidies, and codified domestic agricultural programs. Unfortunately, the...

To help overcome its financial crisis, Russia is being urged to create a currency board, which has met with success in other countries such as Argentina, Estonia, and Hong Kong. This study explains what a currency board is and how it differs from a central bank, and examines the advantages and...

The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) is a little-known but important activity of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Its purpose is to strengthen observance of WTO commitments and promote trade liberalization by providing all member countries with current and objective information about the...