The Overlap between Headache and Epilepsy in the Light of Recent Advances in Medical Genetics

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External Adjustment and the Global Crisis

The period preceding the global financial crisis was characterized by a substantial widening of current account imbalances across the world. Since the onset of the crisis, these imbalances have contracted to a significant extent. In this paper, we analyze the ongoing process of external adjustment in advanced economies and emerging markets. We find that countries whose precrisiscurrent account balances were in excess of what could be explained by standard economic fundamentals have experienced the largest contractions in their external balance. We subsequently examine the contributions of real exchange rates, domestic demand and domestic output to the adjustment process (allowing for differences across exchange rate regimes) and find that external adjustment in deficit countries was achieved primarily through demand compression, rather than expenditure switching. Finally, we show that other investment flows was the main adjustment category in the financial account but that ECB liquidity and official external assistance have cushioned the exit of private capital flows for some countries.global crisis, current account adjustment.

The International Equity Holdings of Euro Area Investors

We provide a systematic analysis of bilateral, source and host factors driving portfolio equity investment by euro-area countries, using newly-released data on international equity holdings at the end of 2001. We find that bilateral equity holdings are strongly linked to bilateral trade in goods and services and are also associated with proxies for informational proximity. We further document that there exists a significant “euro-area bias”, with euro-area countries investing in other euro-area countries over and above the amount predicted by underlying fundamentals.International portfolio equity investment, international trade; gravity.

Cross-Border Investment in Small International Financial Centers

We document and assess the role of small financial centers in the international financial system using a newly-assembled dataset. We present estimates of the foreign asset and liability positions for a number of the most important small financial centers, and place these into context by calculating the importance of these locations in the global aggregate of cross- border investment positions. We also report data on bilateral cross-border investment patterns, highlighting which countries engage in financial trade with small financial centers.Financial centers, international investment position, capital flows.

A Global Perspective on External Positions

The paper highlights the increased dispersion in net external positions in recent years, particularly among industrial countries. It provides a simple accounting framework that disentangles the factors driving the accumulation of external assets and liabilities (such as trade imbalances, investment income flows, and capital gains) for major external creditors and debtors. It also examines the factors driving the foreign asset portfolio of international investors, with a special focus on the weight of U.S. liabilities in the rest of the world’s stock of external assets. Finally, it relates the empirical evidence to the current debate about the roles of portfolio balance effects and exchange rate adjustment in shaping the external adjustment process.Financial integration, capital flows, external assets and liabilities

International Investment Patterns

We provide a systematic analysis of bilateral, source and host factors driving portfolio equity investment across countries, using newly-released data on international equity holdings at the end of 2001. We develop a model that links bilateral equity holdings to bilateral trade in goods and services and find that the data strongly support such a correlation. Larger bilateral positions are also associated with proxies for informational proximity. We further document that the scale of aggregate foreign equity asset and liability holdings is larger for richer countries and countries with more developed stock markets.International portfolio equity investment, international trade; gravity.

Il silenzio della memoria. La Russia e la rivoluzione del 1905

Basandosi sulla prolifera riflessione sul passato che ha caratterizzato la Russia negli ultimi vent’anni, il testo spiega le diverse ragioni per cui, in diversi periodi, la rivoluzione del 1905 è stata rimossa dall’immaginario collettivo: la memoria del 1905 è infatti una memoria scomoda per le principali culture politiche che si sono costituite con il naufragio dell’Urss, il liberalismo e il nazionalismo. Per i liberali, la rivoluzione del 1905, con la sua violenta conflittualità sociale e la fragilità delle élites borghesi urbane, è infatti il segno del fatto che difficilmente la Russia, lasciata a se stessa, avrebbe effettivamente imboccato il cammino delle “magnifiche sorti e progressive” battuto dalle potenze più avanzate dell’Occidente (economia di mercato e liberalismo); per i nazionalisti, che, fautori di una “via particolare” della Russia nell’umana civiltà , si richiamano agli antichi valori di “autocrazia, ortodossia e spirito popolare”, il 1905,propri perché rompe la visione idilliaca e paternalista dello zar piccolo padre del popolo, è ridotta a un semplice complotto ordito dai nemici della grandeur dell’Impero russo e,in quanto pagina nera della storia, va soltanto dimenticata