Large current account deficits, and the corresponding reliance on capital flows from abroad, can increase a country's vulnerability to periods of heightened risk and uncertainty. This paper develops a framework to evaluate such vulnerabilities. It highlights the central importance of two...

Do global current account imbalances still matter in a world of deep international financial markets where gross two-way financial flows often dwarf the net flows measured in the current account? Contrary to a complete markets or 'consenting adults' view of the world, large current account...

This paper analyzes the external solvency of a group of 23 OECD countries for the period 1970–2012. The empirical strategy adopted underlines the increasing importance of the financial channel for the external adjustment as proposed in Gourinchas and Rey (2007). We unify the traditional...

We construct a new database of bilateral financial flows among euro area countries and their major world partners and explore the role of financial links in the accumulation and then adjustment of current account imbalances in the euro area. The data show that the geography of financial flows...

Over the past decade the US has experienced widening current account deficits and a steady deterioration of its net foreign asset position. During the second half of the 1990s, this deterioration was fueled by foreign investment in a booming US stock market. During the first half of the 2000s,...

This paper analyzes the external solvency of a group of 23 OECD countries for the period 1970-2012 The empirical strategy adopted underlines the increasing importance of the ?nancial channel for the external adjustment as proposed in Gourinchas and Rey (2007). We unify the traditional approaches...

Before the crisis, there were strong arguments for reducing global imbalances. As a result of the crisis, there have been significant changes in saving and investment patterns across the world and imbalances have narrowed considerably. Does this mean that imbalances are a problem of the past?...

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the trade linkages of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries with the global economy in the last decade and to measure the influence of the world economic crisis of 2009 on their external trade sector. For this purpose an analysis of IMF data (Direction...

We assess the sustainability of the current account (CA) balance, net international investment position (NIIP) and net external debt (NED) in a sample of EU countries using two complementary approaches. First, we employ both time-series and panel-data stationarity tests of current account...

Large external imbalances have become a policy concern. This study investigates the determinants of external balances for regions within a single country – Canadian provinces – as well as for a sample of 18 OECD countries. External balance adjustment may differ for provinces since there are...