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Europe > Switzerland

You are looking at 1 - 7 of 7 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Financial Aspects of Economic Integration x
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Cover IMF Working Papers
The Stabilizing Role of Net Foreign Asset Returns
Gustavo Adler
and
Mr. Daniel Garcia-Macia
With the rapid growth of countries' foreign asset and liability positions over the last two decades, financial returns on those positions ('NFA returns') have become material drivers of current accounts and net stock positions. This paper documents the relative importance of NFA return versus trade channels in driving NFA dynamics, for a sample of 52 economies over 1990-2015. While persistent trade imbalances have been a strong force leading to diverging NFA positions, NFA returns have played an important stabilizing role, mitigating NFA divergence. The stabilizing role of NFA returns primarily reflects the response of asset prices, rather than yield differentials or exchange rates. There is also evidence of heterogeneity in the speed of NFA adjustment, with emerging market economies adjusting more rapidly than advanced economies, and reserve-currency countries adjusting more slowly than others. The paper also documents the role of NFA returns as insurance against domestic and global income shocks, with a focus on reserve-currency countries.
Keywords:
WP; NFA return; net foreign assets; international investment position; valuation changes; return differential; NFA position; valuation change; NFA dynamics; Asset prices; Trade balance; Insurance; Income shocks; Exchange rates; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Friend or Foe? Cross-Border Linkages, Contagious Banking Crises, and “Coordinated” Macroprudential Policies
Mr. Seung M Choi
,
Ms. Laura E. Kodres
, and
Jing Lu
This paper examines whether the coordinated use of macroprudential policies can help lessen the incidence of banking crises. It is well-known that rapid domestic credit growth and house price growth positively influence the chances of a banking crisis. As well, a crisis in other countries with high trade and financial linkages raises the crisis probability. However, whether such “contagion effects” can operate to reduce crisis probabilities when highly linked countries execute macroprudential policies together has not been fully explored. A dataset documenting countries’ use of macroprudential tools suggests that a “coordinated” implementation of macroprudential policies across highly-linked countries can help to stem the risks of widespread banking crises, although this positive effect may take some time to materialize.
Keywords:
WP; break; banking crisis; center; house price growth; Trade Linkages; Financial Linkages; Financial Crisis; Macroprudential Policies; trade partner; credit growth; loan recipient; crisis probability; Housing prices; Banking crises; Credit; Macroprudential policy; Macroprudential policy instruments; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Euro’s Effecton Trade Imbalances
Mr. Helge Berger
and
Volker Nitsch
When does trade become a one-way relationship? We study bilateral trade balances for a sample of 18 European countries over the period from 1948 through 2008. We find that, with the introduction of the euro, trade imbalances among euro area members widened considerably, even after allowing for permanent asymmetries in trade competitiveness within pairs of countries or in the overall trade competitiveness of individual countries. This is consistent with indications that pair-wise trade tends to be more balanced when nominal exchange rates are flexible. Intra-euro area imbalances also seem to have become more persistent with the introduction of the euro, some of which is linked to labor market inflexibility. Reviewing the direction of imbalances, we find that bilateral trade surpluses are decreasing in the real exchange rate, decreasing in growth differentials, and increasing in the relative volatility of national business cycles. Finally, countries with relatively higher fiscal deficits and less flexible labor and product markets exhibit systematically lower trade surpluses than others.
Keywords:
WP; trade imbalance; member country; dependent variable; imbalances; trade balance; trade surplus; trade deficit; euro; EMU; European integration; product market; × EMU; exchange rate variability; area trade; exchange rate volatility; euro area member; Plurilateral trade; Trade surpluses; Exchange rates; Trade deficits
Cover IMF Working Papers
Price Impacts of Non-Adoption of the Euro for Small European Countries
Mr. Harald J Anderson
and
Ms. Sibel Beadle
Debates surrounding the adoption of a common currency have focused on its benefits weighed against the long-term costs of losing monetary independence. These debates have assumed that the penalty for not adopting a common currency is the maintenance of the status quo. This paper uses the Sjaastad model to analyze the price-making power of major currencies with regard to the prices of traded goods in small countries that have not adopted the euro and uses the Bayoumi-Eichengreen OCA index methodology to shed further light on changes in Europe. The empirical evidence suggests that small countries that have not adopted the euro have increasingly seen a change in the determinants of their traded goods prices. This seems to contrast with the experience of small countries that adopted the euro. The results need to be interpreted carefully, given the short time series.
Keywords:
WP; U.S. dollar
Cover IMF Working Papers
FDI Spillovers, Financial Markets, and Economic Development
Selin Sayek
,
Laura Alfaro
,
Areendam Chanda
, and
Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan
This paper examines the role financial markets play in the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic development. We model an economy with a continuum of agents indexed by their level of ability. Agents can either work for the foreign company or undertake entrepreneurial activities, which are subject to a fixed cost. Better financial markets allow agents to take advantage of knowledge spillovers from FDI, magnifying the output effects of FDI. Empirically, we show that well-developed financial markets allow significant gains from FDI, while FDI alone plays an ambiguous role in contributing to development.
Keywords:
WP; central bank; economic growth; entrepreneurial activity; financial markets; foreign direct investment; net FDI inflow; FDI enterprise; FDI share; FDI flow; FDI sector; Financial sector; Financial sector development; Stock markets; Foreign corporations; Sub-Saharan Africa; Africa
Cover The Impact of the European Community's internal Market on the EFTA
The Impact of the European Community's internal Market on the EFTA
Occa Paper No.74
International Monetary Fund

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the likely impact of the creation of the European Community (EC) internal market on the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members. The focus is on the four freedoms and the institutional and legal changes required for increased economic cooperation between the EC and EFTA. Although not formally part of the negotiations, certain tax issues are also raised. The paper is in ten parts and includes a summary and glossary. The paper also discusses the institutional and legal changes that may prove necessary for greater EC-EFTA cooperation and the implications of the internal market for trade, production, and resource allocation in the EFTA countries. It examines issues related to trade in goods-mainly industrial goods-and transport services and considers issues of labor mobility and trade in financial services. Changes would also appear desirable in the areas of industrial and intellectual property rights-notably counterfeiting, trademarks, copyrights, and patents.

Keywords:
OP; EFTA country; country; EFTA member; EC country; firm; EC-EFTA cooperation; EC-EFTA relation; Transportation; Monetary unions; Value-added tax; Exchange rates; Western Europe; Europe; Southern Europe; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Impact of the EC's Internal Marketon Nonmember Countries: The Case of EFTA
International Monetary Fund
This paper presents an overview of the impact of the EC’s Internal Market on the EFTA countries. It starts by examining the history of EC-EFTA relations; the institutional and legal changes that closer cooperation may require; and the general implications of the Internal Market Program for EFTA countries. This is followed by an exploration of specific issues relating to the goods trade, transport services, labor mobility, financial services and capital flows. Subsequent chapters focus on the potential impact of the EC’s proposed monetary unification on EFTA countries and the implications of the EC’s efforts in the area of tax harmonization.
Keywords:
WP; EFTA country; EFTA member; EC country; EC-EFTA relation; exchange rate; EFTA firm; terms of trade; EC-EFTA cooperation; EC firm; EC standard; trading partner; Transportation; Competition; Monetary unions; Western Europe; Europe