Does Capital Account Openness Lower Inflation?

This paper investigates the relationship between capital account openness and inflation since the 1980s. It argues that widespread capital account liberalization during the last two decades appears to have contributed to the worldwide disinflation observed during the same period. The paper builds a theoretical model to motivate the presence of a negative link between financial integration and inflation. It tests the prediction of the theoretical model by employing static and dynamic panel data procedures. Financial integration appears to discipline monetary authorities, or to help them convince the private sector that they will be more disciplined in the future.capital account openness, inflation, Seignorage, Discipline Effect

Does Capital Account Openness Lower Inflation?

This paper investigates the relationship between capital account openness and inflation since the 1980s. It argues that widespread capital account liberalization during the last two decades appears to have contributed to the worldwide disinflation observed during the same period. The paper builds a theoretical model to motivate the presence of a negative link between financial integration and inflation. It tests the prediction of the theoretical model by employing static and dynamic panel data procedures. Financial integration appears to discipline monetary authorities, or to help them convince the private sector that they will be more disciplined in the future.Capital Account Openness, Inflation, Seignorage, Discipline Effect

Management of International Capital Flows: The Indian Experience

In this paper we devise quantitative techniques to analyze the management of foreign capital flows in India over the past three decades. The paper argues that India's overall approach towards liberalization of the capital account can be characterized as gradualist and calibrated, whereby certain agents and flows have been accorded priority in the liberalization process, from the viewpoint of ensuring financial stability. A cross country analysis indicates that the calibrated approach has resulted in India being ranked towards the lower end of the spectrum in terms of capital account openness. We analyze the extant regulations governing different types of foreign capital flow, and highlight the evolution of various types of capital flows over the recent period. To evaluate Indian macroeconomic management in the face of capital flows, we quantify the various policy options under the classic problem of "impossible trinity". We find that India, like other emerging markets, has also been confronted with the various alternatives under "impossible trinity" and has chosen to adopt an intermediate regime, juggling the objectives of monetary independence, exchange rate stability, and an open capital account as per the needs of the economy.Capital Flows; Impossible Trinity; Macroeconomic Management

Cost of Holding Excess Reserves - The Indian Experience

Most of the existing literature has used single reserve adequacy measures to evaluate the volume of excess reserves. In this paper, we employ empirical methods to generate a comprehensive reserve adequacy measure, incorporating the various objectives of holding reserves, and compare the actual reserve accumulation experience of various emerging markets with the prediction of our empirical model. Using this comprehensive reserve adequacy measure, we calculate the cost of holding excess reserves for India by looking at three different alternative uses of resources. We find that India is foregoing asmuch as 2% of its GDP by accumulating reserves instead of employing resources in alternative uses.Reserve Holdings, Reserve Management

The Current State of Financial and Regulatory Frameworks in Asian Economies: The Case of India

Despite having a low exposure to the toxic assets involved in the sub-prime crisis and a gradualist approach towards liberalization of the financial sector, certain parts of the Indian financial sector were significantly affected by the global financial crisis. Though Indian policymakers reacted in a proactive manner and introduced a host of measures to counter the adverse effects of the financial crisis, the recovery has not been uniform; several markets and sectors are still reeling from the crisis’ aftershocks. The proposed Basel III norms are going to have a significant impact on the Indian financial sector.india global financial crisis; indian financial sector; basel iii norms

CAPITAL ACCOUNT OPENNESS AND INFLATION: A PANEL DATA STUDY FOR THE 1990s

This paper aims to look at the relationship between capital account openness and inflation in the 1990s. It argues that widespread capital account liberalization during the early 1990s appears to have contributed to the world-wide disinflation observed during that decade. The paper attempts to provide a theoretical and empirical evidence for a strong negative link between capital account liberalization and disinflation. Capital account openness appears to discipline monetary authorities, or to help them convince the private sector that they will be more disciplined in the future.Capital Account, Openness and Inflation