The perceptions of a central bank's inflation aversion may reflect institutional structure or, more dynamically, the history of its policy decisions. In this paper, we present a novel empirical framework that uses high-frequency data to test for persistent variation in market perceptions of...

Standard international economic models with life cycle/permanent income consumption behavior predict that international portfolio diversification leads to high bilateral consumption correlations. Thus international consumption correlations have been empirically estimated as a test of...

This paper presents a new method for empirically testing predictions of various political business cycle theories by using duration analysis. We estimate the effect of presidential elections and their outcomes on the likelihood of the occurrence of business-cycle turning points in the United...

Many of the lessons from foreign direct investment (FDI) research on manufacturing and extractive resource industries are applicable to FDI research on the financial sector. This paper summarizes the main findings and policy themes of FDI research, with a primary focus on the implications of FDI...

U.S. banks have substantial exposure to foreign markets such as Europe and Latin America. In this paper, we show how the amounts and forms of these exposures have evolved over time and note the changes in embodied risks taken through banks' cross-border activity, local claims, and derivative...

Using bank-specific data on U.S. bank claims on individual foreign countries since the mid-1980s, this paper 1) characterizes the size and portfolio diversification patterns of the U.S. banks engaging in foreign lending, and 2) econometrically explores the determinants of fluctuations in U.S....

Foreign bank entrants into emerging markets are usually thought to improve the condition and performance of acquired institutions, and more generally to enhance local financial stability. We use bank-specific data for a range of Latin American countries since the mid-1990s to address elements of...

This paper documents the changing international exposures of U.S. bank balance sheets since the mid-1980s. U.S. banks have foreign positions heavily concentrated in Europe, with more volatile flows to other regions of the world. In recent years some cross-border claims on Latin American...

The Asian Crisis has highlighted the importance of strong domestic financial systems in overall economic development and stabilization. Less agreement is evident on the role of foreign banks in achieving this goal. We explore this issue by studying bank-specific data on lending by domestically-...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the financial sectors of emerging economies soared during the 1990s, leaving many countries with banking sectors owned primarily by foreign institutions. While the implications of FDI into emerging markets are well documented, less clearly understood is how...