In recent years, an increasing number of developing countries have adopted market-determined floating exchange rates. This development has represented a significant step forward in the evolution toward exchange rate flexibility that has taken place in the developing country group since the adoption of generalized floating by industrial countries in 1973.

The paper summarizes the main issues arising from experiences of industrial and developing countries with capital account liberalization and it examines the IMF's treatment of capital controls in its surveillance, use of IMF resources, and technical assistance activities. Case studies of recent experiences with capital controls in Chile, Colombia, Malaysia, and Venezuela are presented.

Continued progress in reducing advanced economy deficits and a gradually improving external environment have lowered short-term fiscal risks, according to this issue, but global prospects nevertheless remain subdued, and many advanced economies face a lengthy, difficult, and uncertain path to fiscal sustainability. Though many advanced economies are now close to achieving primary surpluses that will allow them to stabilize their debt ratios, this is only a first step, as merely stabilizing ad...

Why the global recession is in danger of becoming another Great Depression, and how we can stop itWhen the United States stopped backing dollars with gold in 1968, the nature of money changed. All previous constraints on money and credit creation were removed and a new economic paradigm took shape. Economic growth ceased to be driven by capital accumulation and investment as it had been since before the Industrial Revolution. Instead, credit creation and consumptio...

Why the dollar is—and will remain—the dominant global currencyThe U.S. dollar's dominance seems under threat. The near collapse of the U.S. financial system in 2008–2009, political paralysis that has blocked effective policymaking, and emerging competitors such as the Chinese renminbi have heightened speculation about the dollar’s looming displacement as the main reserve currency. Yet, as The Dollar Trap powerfully argues, the financial crisis, a dysfuncti...

In this updated, second edition of the highly acclaimed international best seller, The Dollar Crisis: Causes, Consequences, Cures, Richard Duncan describes the flaws in the international monetary system that have destabilized the global economy and that may soon culminate in a deflation-induced worldwide economic slump.The Dollar Crisis is divided into five parts:Part One describes how the US trade deficits, which now exceed US$1 m...

Since attaining independence in 1965 Singapore has experienced exceptionally rapid growth, low inflation, and a healthy balance of payments. This paper reviews Singapore's economic development from a long-term perspective and examines some of the factors that have contributed to the sustained rapid growth

As head FX strategist at CMC Markets–one of the world's leading forex/commodity brokers–Ashraf Laidi understands the forces shaping today's currency market and their interplay with interest rates, equities, and commodities. And now, with Currency Trading and Intermarket Analysis, he shares his extensive experiences in this field with you. Throughout the book, Laidi outlines the tools needed to understand the macroeconomic and financial nuances of this dynamic field and provides you with in...

In June 2008, Justin Yifu Lin was appointed Chief Economist of the World Bank, right before the eruption of the worst global financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression. Drawing on experience from his privileged position, Lin offers unique reflections on the cause of the crisis, why it was so serious and widespread, and its likely evolution. Arguing that conventional theories provide inadequate solutions, he proposes new initiatives for achieving global stability and avoiding ...

This is a plain-English explanation of how we got into the current economic disaster that developed out of the economics and politics of the housing boom and bust. The "creative" financing of home mortgages and the even more "creative" marketing of financial securities based on American mortgages to countries around the world, are part of the story of how a financial house of cards was built up -- and then suddenly collapsed.The politics behind all this is another story full of str...

In this vital economic roadmap, economist Arthur Laffe and journalist Stephen Moore lay out the essential components of a healthy economy: lower government spending, debt reduction, and the return of the investor class.With the economy flat on its back, unemployment at a twenty-five-year high, and the housing default crisis still worsening, is it even possible to turn our financial problems around? Economic icon Arthur B. Laffer and journalist Stephen Moore believe...