This paper investigates Alan Greenspan's claim that capital markets can serve as a financial “spare tire” in the event of a banking crisis. We test the impact of stock market capitalization and activity on the output losses of 76 banking crises in 66 countries over the period of 1975-2008....

The foreign exchange reserves held by emerging market economies rose significantly in the last decade. This increase has been attributed to a desire by these countries to self-insure themselves against financial shocks. The rise in reserves may also reflect their concerns about the size of their...

The paper investigates changes in IMF activities using the analytical framework of international public goods. Since its founding, the mix of IMF activities has changed greatly. IMF now promotes international financial stability, whose outputs are joint products with varying degrees of...

We evaluate whether financial openness leaves emerging market economies vulnerable to the adverse effects of capital reversals (sudden stops) on domestic investment. We investigate this claim in a broad sample of emerging markets during the period 1976-2002. If the banking sector does not...

The gap between the average income per capita levels of the poorest and the richest nations has increased during the recent eras of globalization. This paper reviews the evidence on the determinants of the disparities in per capita incomes, which has focused on the role of institutions in...

Income generated by foreign direct investments (FDI) has grown since the 1990s, and now represents a substantial portion of many countries’ current accounts. Some of these flows are routed through Special Purpose Entities in financial centers that multinational firms use to minimize their tax...