U.S. monetary policy in an integrating world: 1960 to 2000: discussion

Monetary policy ; Federal Open Market Committee ; Monetary policy - United States

What is the balance of payments?

Balance of payments

International payments imbalances in the 1980s: an overview

International trade ; Foreign exchange ; Economic policy ; Developing countries ; Capital movements

International payments imbalances in heavily indebted developing countries

Balance of payments ; Developing countries ; Debt

The United States in debt

After 1982 the international investment position of the United States dramatically shifted from one of sizable net creditor to much more sizable net debtor. As the U.S. deficit on current international transactions soared to record levels during the mid-1980s, some observers perceived a grave loss of U.S. competitiveness that was "deindustrializing" America. Others warned of an imminent international financial crisis. ; This article examines the growth of U.S. indebtedness to the rest of the world and its underlying causes, and considers the consequences and some proposed remedies. The author perceives no deindustrialization of America, nor does he foresee a crisis for the nation on its foreign indebtedness. Nevertheless, the indebtedness imposes a new burden on the U.S. economy, as the trade deficit must diminish if the nation is to fund increasing net interest payments to its creditors. The adjustment will not be painless for the United States, which will be obliged to consume less than it otherwise would.Balance of payments ; Debts, Public ; International economic relations ; Budget deficits

The International Monetary Fund 50 years after Bretton Woods

In July 1944 at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, delegates from 44 nations agreed upon an international monetary system to be established following World War II. At the heart of the system was the International Monetary Fund, which was to foster economic prosperity by promoting international monetary cooperation, orderly exchange-rate arrangements, restriction-free multilateral payments, and efficient balance-ofpayments adjustment. ; This article surveys the functioning of the IMF, focusing on recent experience. The article discusses the means and methods the IMF has employed to achieve its goals and the degree of success it has attained. One conclusion is that the IMF's goals should be expanded to include the abolition of restrictions on payments for international capital, as well as current transactions. In addition, the organization should issue fairly detailed evaluations of its lending activities--which seem to have had very limited success--and of its technical assistance programs.International Monetary Fund

International capital transactions: should they be restricted?

Many countries have shifted toward freer markets in recent years. This shift is far from complete or free from backsliding, however. Moreover, a number of prominent economists contend that government restrictions should be maintained, or at least kept in reserve, for certain categories of transactions, such as international capital movements. In particular, it is sometimes argued that capital controls should be used to buttress the Exchange Rate Mechanism of the European Monetary System, which has been undermined by speculative attacks. ; Following a capsule summary of the recent use of international capital restrictions, this article discusses their international acceptance, their theoretical justification, and their efficacy in attaining overall balance-of-payments or exchange rate goals. The author concludes that governments have had no more than fleeting and minor success in their use of capital controls in recent years.Capital movements ; International finance

International payments imbalances in the 1980s: proceedings of a conference held October 1988

Balance of payments ; International finance

ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT IN HEAVILY INDEBTED DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The threat to the international financial system resulting from the developing-country debt problem has diminished since the initial 1982 crisis, despite halting adjustment and impaired creditworthiness in heavily indebted developing countries. The threat to the financial system has eased as commercial banks have reduced sharply the share of their assets and capital exposed to the troubled debtor countries. The countries themselves, however, are no better off. A sizable balance-of-payments adjustment has occurred in the heavily indebted developing countries, but that adjustment was concentrated-at least in quantitative terms-during the years immediately following the onset of the crisis and might have been more efficient had it been executed more gradually. Despite the adjustment that has occurred, the creditworthiness of the heavily indebted countries-as evaluated by conventional indices-has not improved. And, for reasons that this article explores, economic growth per capita has not resumed either. Copyright 1990 Western Economic Association International.

Unilateral international transfers: unrequited and generally unheeded

Among the major categories of international transactions, perhaps none is usually farther from the limelight than unilateral, or unrequited, transfers. This obscurity is puzzling, because countries' net receipts or payments of unrequited transfers often exceed their international balances on both trade and current account and sometimes amount to sizable fractions of their national incomes, and maintaining equilibrium in international payments in the face of sizable transfers is a challenging issue.> This article discusses the singular nature of unrequited transfers, recalls an historic, and still relevant, controversy over their economic impact, and recounts an effort by the United States to neutralize their balance-of-payments consequences. The size of these transfers in recent years, and some plausible explanations for them, are then evaluated, with most attention given to those of the United States.Balance of payments