Strengthening IMF Surveillance: An Assessment of Recent Reforms Staff Discussion Paper 2009-10 Robert Lavigne, Lawrence L. Schembri The authors assess the potential impact of recently approved reforms to International Monetary Fund (IMF) surveillance; namely, the "2007 Decision on Bilateral Surveillance Over Members' Policies" and the "Statement of Surveillance Priorities" (SSP). They conclude that these complementary reforms have the potential to create a comprehensive and coherent framework for IMF surveillance. If implemented properly, […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): International topics JEL Code(s): F, F3, F33
Assessing the Implementation of the IMF's 2007 Surveillance Decision Staff Discussion Paper 2009-6 Robert Lavigne, Garima Vasishtha The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently adopted the "2007 Decision on Bilateral Surveillance Over Members' Policies," a landmark reform that modernizes the general principles of IMF surveillance. However, support for the reform was not unanimous, and doubts have been expressed about how the Decision would be applied in practice. The authors assess the first year […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): International topics JEL Code(s): F, F3, F33
Inventories and Real Rigidities in New Keynesian Business Cycle Models Staff Working Paper 2009-9 Oleksiy Kryvtsov, Virgiliu Midrigan Kryvtsov and Midrigan (2008) study the behavior of inventories in an economy with menu costs, fixed ordering costs and the possibility of stock-outs. This paper extends their analysis to a richer setting that is capable of more closely accounting for the dynamics of the US business cycle. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, F, F1, F12
Relative Prices, Trading Gains, and Real GDI: The Case of Canada Staff Discussion Paper 2009-4 Yi Zheng Treating imports as intermediate inputs to domestic production, the author adopts the translog function approach to model real gross domestic income (GDI) in Canada over the 1961–2006 period. She explores the role of price ratios, such as terms of trade and the real effective exchange rate, in explaining changes in real GDI, trade openness, trade […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Productivity JEL Code(s): C, C4, C43, D, D3, D33, F, F1, F10, O, O4, O47
Canada and the IMF: Trailblazer or Prodigal Son? Staff Discussion Paper 2009-1 Michael Bordo, Lawrence L. Schembri, Tamara Gomes Canada played an important role in the postwar establishment of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), yet it was also the first major member to challenge the orthodoxy of the BrettonWoods par value system by abandoning it in 1950 in favour of a floating, market-determined exchange rate. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Exchange rate regimes, Exchange rates, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58, F, F4, F41, F5, F55, N, N7, N72
Inventories, Markups, and Real Rigidities in Menu Cost Models Staff Working Paper 2009-6 Oleksiy Kryvtsov, Virgiliu Midrigan Real rigidities that limit the responsiveness of real marginal cost to output are a key ingredient of sticky price models necessary to account for the dynamics of output and inflation. We argue here, in the spirit of Bils and Kahn (2000), that the behavior of marginal cost over the cycle is directly related to that of inventories, data on which is readily available. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, F, F1, F12
India and the Global Demand for Commodities: Is There an Elephant in the Room? Staff Discussion Paper 2008-18 Michael Francis, Corinne Luu After 10 years of impressive growth, India is now the fourth largest economy in the world. Yet, to date, India's impact on global commodity markets has been muted. The authors examine how India's domestic and trade policies have distorted and constrained its demand for commodities. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Development economics, International topics JEL Code(s): F, F1, F14, O, O1, O13, O5, O53
Futures Markets, Oil Prices and the Intertemporal Approach to the Current Account Staff Working Paper 2008-48 Elif Arbatli The intertemporal approach to the current account suggests modeling movements in the current account in a forward-looking, dynamic framework. In this framework, the current account reflects consumption smoothing of agents that lend and borrow from the rest of the world in the face of transitory shocks to income. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Balance of payments and components JEL Code(s): C, C2, C22, F, F2, F21, F3, F32, G, G1, G13
How Important Is Liquidity Risk for Sovereign Bond Risk Premia? Evidence from the London Stock Exchange Staff Working Paper 2008-47 Ron Alquist This paper uses the framework of arbitrage-pricing theory to study the relationship between liquidity risk and sovereign bond risk premia. The London Stock Exchange in the late 19th century is an ideal laboratory in which to test the proposition that liquidity risk affects the price of sovereign debt. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial markets, International topics JEL Code(s): F, F2, F21, F3, F34, F36, G, G1, G12, G15
The Role of Foreign Exchange Dealers in Providing Overnight Liquidity Staff Working Paper 2008-44 Chris D'Souza This paper illustrates that dealers in foreign exchange markets not only provide intraday liquidity, they are key participants in the provision of overnight liquidity. Dealing institutions receive compensation for holding undesired inventory balances in part from the information they receive in customer trades. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Exchange rates, Financial markets, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): D, D8, D82, F, F3, F31, G, G2, G21