Benchmark following and portfolio rebalancing effects have often been cited when trying to explain international contagion phenomena. Using a dataset containing the country allocation of individual dedicated emerging market equity funds, we assess the relevance of mean-variance optimization and...

This paper attempts to conceptualize the debate regarding the role of asset prices and perceived financial imbalances in the formation of monetary policy from the perspective of theoretically optimal policy responses. While much of the disagreement can be reconciled within the framework of...

This paper shows that the quality of banks within each country is one of the important factors that can account for the fact that developing economies tend to suffer more severe output contractions in the wake of a currency crisis than more mature economies. In particular, countries with a...

This paper addresses the important question of how far a government will run down its stock of foreign reserves in a defense of a fixed exchange rate. An optimizing model of currency crisis is presented in which the decision of whether or not to borrow in a defense of a peg is explicitly...

In this study, a computable general equilibrium model is developed and is used as a tool for measuring and analysing structural changes in the Thai economy. The technique of historical simulation is used to trace the patterns of structural changes during 1990 to 1995. These patterns of...

Dramatic declines in inflation rates across Asia and falling prices in some countries have recently heightened fears of deflation. This paper aims to shed light on this issue by reviewing the cross-country evidence in Asia and highlighting key observations about recent price developments in the...

This paper first documents the recent changing landscape of Thailand's financial sector, noting in particular the decline in bank credit intensity of production. It discusses the reasons behind the observed trend of bank disintermediation and analyzes whether these factors are likely to persist...