This paper investigates the cyclicality of international reserves and their role in macroeconomic stabilization. We challenge two widely held assumptions: (1) central banks typically manage IR counter-cyclically—accumulating reserves during booms and drawing them down during downturns; and (2)...

The aim of this paper is to investigate how the central bank of Mexico - a prototypical emerging market economy (EME) - adjusted its reaction coefficients according to an estimated Taylor-type rule in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the posterior surge in inflation. To do so, we estimate a...

This study examines the role of the Chinese renminbi (RMB) as an international anchor currency. After China abandoned its tight US dollar (USD) peg in 2005, the RMB found greater popularity as a reserve currency. This change in the RMB's role reflected China's growing presence in the global...

This paper investigates inconsistencies between countries' official exchange rate regime declarations (the so-called de jure exchange rate regimes) and their actual policy (de facto exchange rate regimes). These exchange rate regime gaps decrease the credibility of monetary policy and are...

A classic argument for flexible exchange rates is that the exchange rate plays a 'shock-absorber' role in an open economy vulnerable to country-specific shocks. This paper presents a sharp counter-example to this argument within a very conventional open economy model. Countries are subject to...

This paper explores a development strategy for peripheral economies by advocating for a paradigm shift from traditional economic models that rely on accumulating foreign reserves. It proposes the job guarantee (JG) policy, an automatic stabilizer based on a reserve pool of employed individuals,...