Summary The paper, building on the authors' previous analysis, examines the relative volatility of aid flows into developing countries and their domestic revenue, using new data, and three alternative measures of aid instability (relative volatility vis-à-vis fiscal revenue, unpredictability of...

"This paper reviews the experience with exchange rate-based stabilization of four Western European countries-Italy, Ireland, Portugal, and Greece-in 1980-1996 and compares it with the experience of high-inflation developing countries. We find that inflation stabilization was contractionary, in...

This paper empirically assesses co-movements in emerging market bond returns and disentangles the roles of external and domestic factors during episodes of heightened market volatility. The conceptual framework, set in the context of asset allocation, allows us to describe the channels through...

This paper is a preliminary review of the design of and early experience with IMF-supported programs in Indonesia, Korea, and Thailand during 1997-98. The review takes into account developments as of October 1998, and was the basis for a discussion of the programs by the IMF's Executive Board in...

In a world of increasing capital mobility and broadening and more diversified trade, many (but not all) developing and transition economies are likely to find it desirable to move from relatively fixed exchange rate regimes to regimes of greater exchange rate flexibility. This paper suggests...

The positive impact of foreign aid is limited by the erratic behavior of aid flows. The introduction in 1999 of various initiatives anchored in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) which were aimed at strengthening coordination among donors, improving the design of financial support...

Based on the observed behavior of monetary aggregates and exchange rates, we classify inflation-stabilization episodes into two categories: de facto exchange rate-based stabilizations (ERBS) and non-ERBS. Unlike the standard de jure ERBS studied in the literature, de facto ERBS encompass cases...

This article examines empirical evidence on the volatility and uncertainty of aid flows and their main policy implications. Aid is found to be more volatile than fiscal revenues--particularly in highly aid-dependent countries--and shortfalls in aid and domestic revenue tend to coincide. The...

This paper develops a large scale overlapping generations model and calibrates it for the U.S. economy. Simulations with the model show that the steady state welfare maximizing inflation rate may be positive, although the numerical results are not robust. It is also shown, however, that...