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 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...

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

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...

A clear, authoritative guide to the crisis of 2008, its continuing repercussions, and the needed reforms ahead.The U.S. economy lost the first decade of the twenty-first century to an ill-conceived boom and subsequent bust. It is in danger of losing another decade to the stagnation of an incomplete recovery. How did this happen? Read this lucid explanation of the origins and long-term effects of the recent financial crisis, drawn in historical and comparative persp...

The IMF's response to the global crisis of 2008–9 marked a significant change from its past policies. The Fund provided relatively large amounts of credit quickly with limited conditions and accepted the use of capital controls. This book traces the evolution of the IMF's actions to promote international financial stability from the Bretton Woods era through the most recent crisis. The analysis includes an examination of the IMF's crisis management activities during the debt crisis of the ...

Sovereign debt is a complex and highly topical area of law and this work represents a new main reference book on the subject bringing together contributions from world leading practitioners, scholars and regulators. Divided into five parts the book opens with a part on restructuring which analyses contractual provisions and the role of institutions such as the International Monetary Fund. The second part, on enforcement, considers the position of a sovereign as a defendant analyzing the av...

Will the Euro survive? Where is the European financial crisis headed? What will it mean for global and US markets? In this short book, internationally respected Financial Times journalist John Authers illuminates today's European financial crisis and the massive forces increasingly buffeting world and US economies. Authers explains why a strong recovery remains far away, why the risk of a disastrous "final" crisis remains terrifyingly real, and how investors can best navigate today's b...