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An error-correction model identifies determinants of growth consistent with results from panel regressions based on a standard Cobb-Douglas production function for El Salvador for 1970-1995, with structural factors affecting the technology variable and macroeconomics and expectations explaining the deviations from the long-run trend. Consistency of the parameters is satisfactory, especially considering that half of the sample period was affected by a civil war, 40 percent of the working population migrated to foreign countries during that period, and the rapid process of economic reform after the advent of peace resulted in overlapping structural patterns.
Dollarization of liabilities (DL) has emerged as a key factor in explaining the vulnerability of emerging markets to financial and currency crises. "Usual suspects" of causing DL comprise "fatalistic" determinants such as a long history of unsound macroeconomic policies and development and institutional factors, aided by moral hazard opportunities related to government guarantees. This paper assesses empirically the relevance of these factors relative to alternative explanations. Based on a sample of Latin American countries, we find that ongoing central bank intervention in the foreign exchange market, relative market power of borrowers, and financial penetration are at least as important in explaining DL.
Financial decisions of economic agents are based on volatility considerations. However, no aggregate indicators have been used by policymakers and regulators to assess the market risk environment. This paper applies a market volatility indicator to analyze the Israeli's transition toward inflation targeting. Unlike conventional measures of volatility, it shows a substantial decline once volatility is measured against the minimum variance for the same returns on assets. Using a conventional Multivariate GARCH model, we find that interest rates sensitivity to changes in the risk environment may be important for a correct identification of volatility patterns of individual assets.
Bank borrowers' currency mismatches often result from unhedged foreign currency borrowing in economies where there is significant dollarization, exposing the financial sector to disguised credit risk. In the absence of standard tools or guidelines to counteract this risk, countries have resorted to outright regulatory limits in cases of moderate dollarization and to undesirable exchange controls in other cases. This paper proposes a "specific-to-group" provision rule based on the effective borrowing cost differential between domestic and foreign currency. Such a rule would help internalize the corresponding risks for banks and their borrowers in line with internationally accepted prudential and accounting standards.
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