Private Capital Inflows and the Role of Economic Fundamentals

Private capital flows returned to the developing countries in the late 1980s, only a few years after the debt crisis. Underlying this surge in inflows there is a decrease in interest rates and a slowdown in economic activity in the developed countries, and an improvement in economic prospects and creditworthiness in the recipient countries. The latter is due, in part, to the implementation of structural reforms comprising the deregulation of financial and labor markets, the dismantling of barriers to trade, and the reduction of restrictions on capital movements.

Post-crisis exchange rate policy in five Asian countries: filling in the 'hollow middle'?

Following the 1997–98 financial turmoil, crisis countries in Asia moved toward either floating or fixed exchange rate systems, superficially consistent with the bipolar view of exchange rate regimes and the “hollow middle” hypothesis. But some observers have claimed that, despite the changes in their de jure exchange rate regimes, the crisis countries’ policies have de facto been very similar in the post- and pre-crisis periods. This paper analyzes the evidence and concludes that, except for Malaysia, which adopted a hard peg and imposed capital controls, the other crisis countries are floating more than before, though less than “real” floaters do. But the intermediate exchange rate policies pursued by most of the crisis countries during the post-crisis can be justified on second-best arguments.

Economic Reforms, Financial Development and Growth: Lessons from the Chilean Experience

Despite reform efforts, the economic performance of Latin American countries during the 1990s was disappointing with the exception of Chile, which grew at almost 7% per year. This paper tries to explain this difference. Following recent literature that hiEconomic growth, reforms, institutions, financial development

Origins and Resolution of a Banking Crisis: Chile 1982-86

Starting in 1981, Chile went into a deep economic and financial crisis. The Chilean solution to the crisis was heterodox in the sense that many policies appear to have been arbitrary, and policy mistakes were made and corrected along the way. However, the economy recovered relatively quickly, and since has built a strong financial sector that allowed the country to avoid the financial turmoil observed during 1995 and 1997-98 in other emerging market economies. This paper reviews and evaluates the Chilean experience of the early 1980s. In particular, it discusses the macroeconomic internal and external environment that led to the banking crisis, and describes in detail the main measures implemented to its resolution. The paper attempts to identify which policies worked and which ones did not. To the extent allowed by the data, we try to see how (and which of) the different policies led to a recovery of the solvency in the banking system.

Banking, financial integration, and international crises : an overview

This paper summarizes new research on the relationship among institutions, financial development, economic growth, financial integration, and the likelihood of boom-bust cycles and banking crises. The first part of the paper reviews issues pertaining mainly to the banking sector, and summarizes new findings regarding banking regulation and supervision and the behavior of depositors and other market participants. New findings on the internationalization of banking, boom-bust cycles and macro-financial linkages during financial integration, the elements of international financial crises, and the role of capital controls to reduce macroeconomic vulnerability are reviewed in the second part of the paper.

Microeconomic Effects of Capital Controls: The Chilean Experience During the 1990s.

This paper studies the experience with the use of capital controls in Chile during the 1990s. Rather than revisiting previous studies, it complements previous research by providing, for the first time, empirical evidence on some of the microeconomic effects of capital controls, in particular, the unremunerated reserve requirement (URR). By looking at financial statements for a group of 73 Chilean firms during 1986-2001, the paper attempts to identify the effects of the URR on the firms’ costs and ways of financing. Chilean firms are grouped by economic sector, size and access to international capital markets. Results show that the effects of the URR are firm specific; forinstance, there are striking differences in the response to the URR among firms of different size and those with or without access to international capital markets.

Institutions, Economic Policies and Growth: Lessons From the Chilean Experience

A pesar del esfuerzo de reformas de las décadas pasadas, el desempeño económico y social de los países de América Latina durante los noventa fue bastante pobre. La excepción fue Chile, que creció a tasas promedio de 7% durante la mayor parte de la década y redujo significativamente su tasa de pobreza. Este trabajo intenta explicar esta notable diferencia. Siguiendo la literatura más reciente, que destaca el rol que juegan las instituciones y políticas en el crecimiento económico, argumentamos que el mejor desempeño de Chile se debió a que las reformas implementadas fueron mucho más profundas y abarcaron más áreas que aquellas implementadas en otros países de América Latina. Durante este proceso Chile terminó con fundamentos económicos más sólidos y, aún más importante, con mejores instituciones, lo que le permitió enfrentar de mejor manera los shocks adversos en los noventa. Basados en un modelo econométrico de corte transversal estimado para el período 1960-2000, argumentamos que el mejor desempeño de Chile vis-a-vis al resto de la región puede ser explicado en partes iguales por las mejores instituciones y políticas del país (en contraste, el mejor desempeño de Asia del Este es explicado principalmente por mejores políticas). Adicionalmente, estimamos que América Latina puede aumentar su tasa de crecimiento anual del producto per cápita un 1,6%, en promedio, si tuviera la calidad de instituciones de Chile. Por otro lado, si el promedio de los países de América Latina tuviera políticas (desarrollo financiero y sobrevaluación cambiaria) similares a Chile, la tasa de crecimiento anual del producto per cápita aumentaría en un 1,0%, en promedio. Concluimos que, para lograr tasas de crecimiento más altas, los países de América Latina deben avanzar en sus procesos de reformas y poner más énfasis en el desarrollo y fortalecimiento de sus instituciones, las cuales, como muestra la experiencia de Chile, pueden ser modificadas (aunque lentamente).

Efervescència col·lectiva al bar Ocata durant els partits del F.C. Barcelona

Treballs Finals de Grau Antropologia Social i Cultural, Facultat de Geografia i Història, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2014-2015, Tutor: Gerard HortaLa present investigació consisteix en desenvolupar un estudi de les relacions que s’estableixen entre les persones que participen regularment en la concentració ritual que s’origina a un bar durant els partits del F.C. Barcelona a fi de veure els partits per televisió. L’àmbit concret de la recerca és, com indica el títol del treball, el Bar Ocata, un bar dels de “tota la vida” situat al Masnou i regentat per la família X. Partint del concepte d’efervescència col·lectiva d’Émile Durkheim (1912), s’aborden els paral·lelismes que es poden establir entre el futbol i l’àmbit religiós a escala ritual, ja que es tracta d’un terme útil per analitzar els moments de fusió social que s’originen amb relació a l’experiència col·lectiva derivada de la visió televisiva col·lectiva dels partits del Barça

Characterization of a local-based concept of public insecurity.

This study addresses the crisis of insecurity in Latin America by attempting to build a local based concept of public insecurity. Using the case study of the Cerro de La Estrella National park in Iztapalapa, a neighbourhood famous for its insecurity in Mexico City. The study explores the definition of insecurity and its relation with use and access of public space in marginalized areas of urban Latin America. Based on the theories on public insecurity developed in the field of fear of crime, this study attempts to fill in recognized gaps in conceptual development and contextuality. It questions the contemporary relevance and applicability of the concept. The research question it aims to answer is Which factors affect the perception of insecurity in the Cerro de La Estrella National Park in Iztapalapa, Ciudad de México? And How do these factors affect the perception of insecurity? The study consists in a quantitative exploration of the topics of victimization, vulnerability and environmental measures on the site, identified as the key components of insecurity in the literature. In addition, it presents a qualitative exploration on the factors that affect site-specific insecurity along with its socio-spatial consequences. For this, it relies on surveys and semi-structured interviews gathered over two fieldwork seasons. The major findings from this research indicate that insecurity is influenced by many factors, their presence and interrelations being highly context-dependent. Understanding the factors which affect insecurity in its local variety is key for the development of effective policies. Finally, this study finds that securitization measures reliant on privatization of public space in the Cerro de La Estrella have led to increased insecurity