Dollarization - the holding by residents of a substantial portion of their assets in foreign-currency-denominated assets- is a common feature of developing and transition economies, and therefore typical of many countries with IMF - supported adjustment programs. This paper analyzes policy...

This paper examines the experience of implementing indirect instruments of monetary policy. The experiences of country studies illustrate the variety of circumstances under which indirect instruments of monetary policy have been introduced. Case Studies are presented for Chile, Egypt, Ghana,...

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the attractions and disadvantages of currency board arrangements in their various institutional configurations. It asks what defines a currency board arrangement, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and what constraints they place on...

After years of strong performance, Korea’s economy entered a crisis in 1997, owing largely to structural problems in its financial and corporate sectors. These problems emerged in the second half of that year, when the capital inflows that had helped finance Korea’s growth were reversed, as...

This paper analyzes the evolution of monetary policy in Russia, focusing on the period January 1992–December 1995. Special attention is given to the role of monetary policy instruments. Initially, policy was completely dominated by flows of credit from the Central Bank of the Russian...

This paper reviews the policy responses of Indonesia, Korea, and Thailand to the Asian crisis that erupted in 1997 and compares the actions of these three countries with those of Malaysia and the Philippines, which were buffeted by the crisis. Although work is still under way in all the affected...

The paper discusses the interrelationships between payments system reform and monetary policy implementation in selected countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The reforms in the payments system are viewed as closely interrelated with the development of money and foreign exchange markets and...

A rules-based fiscal framework, such as the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), can be an important bulwark against short-sighted policies. Although policies have improved following the SGP’s adoption, shortcomings remain. These, however, are rooted in the policies rather than the rules,...

This paper presents a simple semiannual model of world merchandise trade disaggregated by commodity class and by country or country grouping. It is designed principally to estimate the responsiveness of merchandise trade to variations in income and activity levels in the industrial countries....

This paper aims to present some first approximations as to the effects of past exchange rate changes on the foreign trade of France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The essential feature of the methodology is the attempt to eliminate from the foreign trade data of these...