Global Bond Portfolios and EMU

We examine the bilateral composition of international bond portfolios for the euro area and the individual EMU member countries. We find considerable support for âeuro area bias”: EMU member countries disproportionately invest in one another relative to other country pairs. Another striking pattern is the positive connection between trade linkages and financial linkages in explaining asymmetries across EMU member countries in terms of their outward and inward bond investments vis-a-vis external counterparties. At the aggregate level, it is those countries physically closest to the euro area that are both the most important destinations and sources for external bond investment vis-a-vis the euro area. Our empirical results support the notion that financial regionalization is the leading force underlying financial globalization.

Global Financial Trade: How Far Have We Come?

In this paper, I review recent trends in global integration of financial systems and assess the implications for international macroeconomic adjustment. While recent growth in the scale of international balance sheets has been dramatic, product markets remain quite segmented. The mis-match between financial and real integration means that the role of exchange rates in international adjustment has taken on an even more crucial role Classification-financial globalization, net foreign assets, macroeconomic adjustment

Global Bond Portfolios and EMU

We examine the bilateral composition of international bond portfolios for the euro area and the individual EMU member countries. We find considerable support for "euro area" bias: EMU member countries disproportionately invest in one another relative to other country pairs. Another striking pattern is the positive connection between trade linkages and financial linkages in explaining asymmetries across EMU member countries in terms of their outward bond investments vis-a-vis external counterparties. Our empirical results underline the impact of currency union on financial integration and support the notion that financial regionalization is the leading force underlying financial globalization.

The Macroeconomics of International Financial Trade

A driving factor in any open-economy macroeconomics model is the degree of international financial integration.  This suggests that understanding the sources of the recent explosive growth in cross-border asset trade and the impact of the upscaling in gross and net international investment positions on key open-economy macroeconomic variables such as the trade balance and the real exchange rate is critically important for policy analysis.  Accordingly, the goal of this paper is to highlight some of the main results emerging from this fast-expanding research field.

The International Community and the CIS-7

The international community has sought to assist the development efforts of the CIS-7 countries since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. The international financial institutions have played a leading role in these efforts. Despite considerable engagement with the governments of these countries, overall progress has been disappointing. In this paper, we review the contribution of the international community to the transition challenge facing the CIS-7 countries and assess whether a change in strategy is warranted.CIS7, international financial institutions, policy reform, external debt

EMU and Financial Market Integration

The first decade of EMU has taught us much about the power of a single currency to integrate financial markets. In this review, I first discuss the quantitative impact of the euro on cross- border financial holdings before turning to the macroeconomic implications of enhanced financial integration.

The Cyclical Behaviour of Fiscal Policy: Evidence from the OECD

This paper addresses the topic of cyclicality in fiscal policy. In particular, we show that the level of cyclicality varies across spending categories and across OECD countries. In line with leading theories of fiscal cyclicality, we show that countries with volatile output and dispersed political power are the most likely to run procyclical fiscal policies. Wage government consumption is highlighted as the most important channel by which these variables affect fiscal cyclicality