Demand for International Reserves: A Quantile Regression Approach

I estimate the determinants of the demand for international reserves using quantile regressions. Employing a dataset of 96 developing nations over the period of 1980-1996, I find considerable differences at different points of the conditional distribution of reserves. The ordinary least squares estimates of elasticities that were found to be insignificant in previous studies become statistically significant at various quantiles of the reserve holding distribution. In particular, I find that the coefficients of interest rate differential and volatility of export receipts are significant and have the signs predicted by the traditional reserve models, but only for those nations that hold the highest amount of reserves. In contrast, the flexibility of the exchange rate does not seem to be an important factor for the nations that are located at the tails of the distribution.International reserves; Quantile regression; Demand for reserves; Reserve policy

Surges and Sudden Stops of Capital Flows to Emerging Markets

A characteristic of many of the recent emerging market currency crises is a preceding surge in capital inflows and their reversals or ‘sudden stops’ during the crises. The empirical investigation of 38 emerging market economies between 1990 and 2003 reveals that a surge in capital inflows significantly increases the probability of a sudden stop. In addition, a surge accompanied by a high current account deficit or an appreciated real exchange rate is more likely to be associated with a sudden stop. The paper also finds that a surge that is dominated by private loans and portfolio flows rather than direct investment has a higher probability to end with a sudden stop.Capital flows; Sudden stops; Surges in capital flows; Emerging Markets; private loans; portfolio flows; foreign direct investment

Reversibility of Different Types of Capital Flows to Emerging Markets

Most of the emerging market currency crises are accompanied by sharp reversals or “sudden stops” of capital inflows. We investigated whether some types of capital flows are more likely to reverse than others during these crises. Foreign direct investment is usually considered stable while portfolio investment is frequently depicted as the least reliable type of flow. Recent statistical testing has yielded conflicting results on this issue. We argue that a major problem with recent studies is that the degree of variability of capital flows during normal or inflow periods may give little clue to their behavior during crises and it is the latter that is most important for policy. Using data for 35 emerging economies for 1990 through 2003, we confirm that direct investment is the most stable category, but find that private loans on average are as reversible as portfolio flows.Capital flows; currency crises; volatility of capital flows; reversibility of capital flows; Emerging Markets; private loans; portfolio flows; foreign direct investment

Demand for International Reserves: A Quantile Regression Approach

I estimate the determinants of the demand for international reserves using quantile regressions. Employing a dataset of 96 developing nations over the period of 1980-1996, I find considerable differences at different points of the conditional distribution of reserves. The ordinary least squares estimates of elasticities that were found to be insignificant in previous studies become statistically significant at various quantiles of the reserve holding distribution. In particular, I find that the coefficients of interest rate differential and volatility of export receipts are significant and have the signs predicted by the traditional reserve models, but only for those nations that hold the highest amount of reserves. In contrast, the flexibility of the exchange rate does not seem to be an important factor for the nations that are located at the tails of the distribution

Demand for International Reserves: A Quantile Regression Approach

I estimate the determinants of the demand for international reserves using quantile regressions. Employing a dataset of 96 developing nations over the period of 1980-1996, I find considerable differences at different points of the conditional distribution of reserves. The ordinary least squares estimates of elasticities that were found to be insignificant in previous studies become statistically significant at various quantiles of the reserve holding distribution. In particular, I find that the coefficients of interest rate differential and volatility of export receipts are significant and have the signs predicted by the traditional reserve models, but only for those nations that hold the highest amount of reserves. In contrast, the flexibility of the exchange rate does not seem to be an important factor for the nations that are located at the tails of the distribution

Surges and Sudden Stops of Capital Flows to Emerging Markets

A characteristic of many of the recent emerging market currency crises is a preceding surge in capital inflows and their reversals or ‘sudden stops’ during the crises. The empirical investigation of 38 emerging market economies between 1990 and 2003 reveals that a surge in capital inflows significantly increases the probability of a sudden stop. In addition, a surge accompanied by a high current account deficit or an appreciated real exchange rate is more likely to be associated with a sudden stop. The paper also finds that a surge that is dominated by private loans and portfolio flows rather than direct investment has a higher probability to end with a sudden stop

Reversibility of Different Types of Capital Flows to Emerging Markets

Most of the emerging market currency crises are accompanied by sharp reversals or “sudden stops” of capital inflows. We investigated whether some types of capital flows are more likely to reverse than others during these crises. Foreign direct investment is usually considered stable while portfolio investment is frequently depicted as the least reliable type of flow. Recent statistical testing has yielded conflicting results on this issue. We argue that a major problem with recent studies is that the degree of variability of capital flows during normal or inflow periods may give little clue to their behavior during crises and it is the latter that is most important for policy. Using data for 35 emerging economies for 1990 through 2003, we confirm that direct investment is the most stable category, but find that private loans on average are as reversible as portfolio flows

Reversibility of Different Types of Capital Flows to Emerging Markets

Most of the emerging market currency crises are accompanied by sharp reversals or “sudden stops” of capital inflows. We investigated whether some types of capital flows are more likely to reverse than others during these crises. Foreign direct investment is usually considered stable while portfolio investment is frequently depicted as the least reliable type of flow. Recent statistical testing has yielded conflicting results on this issue. We argue that a major problem with recent studies is that the degree of variability of capital flows during normal or inflow periods may give little clue to their behavior during crises and it is the latter that is most important for policy. Using data for 35 emerging economies for 1990 through 2003, we confirm that direct investment is the most stable category, but find that private loans on average are as reversible as portfolio flows

Surges and Sudden Stops of Capital Flows to Emerging Markets

Capital flows, Sudden stops, Surges in capital flows, Private loans, Portfolio flows, Foreign direct investment, F32, F41,