Across a sample of 34 emerging countries, the evidence shows the frequent existence of a pro-cyclical fiscal impulse. However, the scope for counter-cyclical policy increases with the availability of international reserves, as it enhances credibility and mitigates concerns about the effect of...

Inflationary pressures that had heightened in the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) since 2003 have moderated in recent times. This paper studies the determinants of inflation in GCC, using an empirical model that includes domestic and external factors. Inflation in major trading partners...

Under a flexible inflation targeting regime, should policymakers avoid any reaction to movements in the foreign exchange market? Using data for six advanced open economies explicitly targeting inflation, this article examines empirically whether real exchange rate disequilibria systematically...

The paper studies the interaction of fiscal and monetary policy within an Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Results suggest that, in a model in which bonds and money are counted as net wealth, an important source of cross-country heterogeneity in response to a common monetary shock is the...