The answer seems affirmative. We compare currency carry trades with an investment strategy based on currency fundamentals: taking a long (short) position in undervalued (overvalued) currencies. Carry trades have high risk-adjusted returns, but are subject to "crash risk." In contrast, the...

This paper seeks to quantify existing financial barriers among East African Community (EAC) member countries based on analysis of each member country’s foreign exchange market. The primary contribution of this paper is the generation of an aggregate measure of financial barriers for the...

This paper develops a two-country monetary DSGE model in which households choose a portfolio of home and foreign equities, and a forward position in foreign exchange. Some nominal goods prices are sticky. Trade in these assets achieves the same allocations as trade in a complete set of nominal...

The provision of foreign exchange liquidity by emerging market central banks during the global shock of 2008-09 departs from the domestic liquidity lender of last resort role described by Bagehot in his classic "Lombard Street." This paper documents and analyzes the foreign exchange liquidity...

This 2009 Article IV Consultation highlights that Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s economy was severely affected by the global financial crisis. The recovery is now under way, fueled by growth on the Mainland, supportive policies, and accommodative monetary conditions imported...

Hong Kong has grown strongly as a result of its successful transformation from a manufacturing presence to a services hub over past decades. Executive Directors support the government’s commitment for the Linked Exchange Rate System. Hong Kong’s future as a financial center is...