世界経済・社会統計 = World development indicators

We investigate whether income inequality affects subsequent growth in a cross-country sample for 1965-90, using the models of Barro (1997), Bleaney and Nishiyama (2002) and Sachs and Warner (1997), with negative results. We then investigate the evolution of income inequality over the same period and its correlation with growth. The dominating feature is inequality convergence across countries. This convergence has been significantly faster amongst developed countries. Growth does not appear to influence the evolution of inequality over time. Outline

https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/81822/1/02-28.pdf

Economic growth and income inequality

The East Asian miracle: Economic growth and public policy: By the World Bank. (New York: Oxford University Press for the World Bank, 1993. 389 pp. $19.95, paper.)

There is growing recognition in the human dimensions research community that climate change impact studies must take into account the effects of other ongoing global changes. Yet there has been no systematic methodology to study climate change vulnerability in the context of multiple stressors. Using the example of Indian agriculture, this paper presents a methodology for investigating regional vulnerability to climate change in combination with other global stressors. This method, which relies on both vulnerability mapping and local-level case studies, may be used to assess differential vulnerability for any particular sector within a nation or region, and it can serve as a basis for targeting policy interventions.

Mapping vulnerability to multiple stressors: climate change and globalization in India

This book explores whether the world economy is breaking up into regional trading and currency blocs centred on the European Community, Japan and the United States. Frankel uses trade, investment and financial data to assess this issue. He concludes with an analysis of how trends in regional economic integration can be used as building blocks for a stronger multilateral system.

Regional Trading Blocs in the world economic system, reseñado por Antonio Ortiz-Mena L.N.

This paper has a number of purposes. First, it revisits the older theory of reserve adequacy and optimality to see whether this can still be used and perhaps strengthened in ways that would inform the current debate. Second, it explores the connection between reserve adequacy and currency crisis in the light of recent experience and empirical research. Third, it critically investigates alternative rule-of-thumb measures of reserve adequacy. Fourth, and drawing on the foregoing analysis, it examines the extent to which crisis countries should seek to replenish and build up their international reserves in the post-crisis period. Additional owned reserves represent a guaranteed and unconditional source of liquidity; is this what is needed?

Too Much of a Good Thing? The Adequacy of International Reserves in the Aftermath of Crises

China has been stockpiling international reserves at an extremely rapid pace since the late 1990s and has surpassed Japan to become the largest reserve holder in the world. This paper undertakes an empirical investigation to assess the extent of de facto sterilization and capital mobility using monthly data between mid 1999 and late 2005. We find that China has been able to successfully sterilize most of these reserve increases, thus making it a reserve sink such as Germany was under the Bretton Woods system. Recursive estimation of offset coefficients, however, finds evidence of increasing mobile capital flows that may undercut China's ability to continue high levels of sterilization.

China as a Reserve Sink: The Evidence from Offset and Sterilization Coefficients

This paper provides a detailed study of the crisis in Thailand with the goal of determining the usefulness of existing currency crisis theory to the breakdown of the baht's de facto dollar peg in 1997-98. We do not attempt to provide a comprehensive survey of the currency crisis literature; nor do we add directly to the empirical and theoretical literatures on currency crises. Rather, our goal in this paper is to examine, through the lens of the existing currency crisis literature, the sequence of events culminating with the devaluation of the Thai baht in July 2, 1997 and the financial and economic collapse thereafter. But why do we concentrate on Thailand in particular? First, the devaluation of the baht is widely acknowledged as the dawn of the East Asian crisis. Second, and in relation to this, given that Thailand was the first domino to fall, there seems to be greater debate/disagreement as to whether the Thai crisis was 'fundamentals-based' or due to 'self-fulfilling expectations'. Given our emphasis on Thailand, we do not address the issue of the reasons for the widening and deepening of the crisis from Thailand to the rest of East Asia and beyond (i.e. 'contagion').

(Ir)relevance of currency-crisis theory to the devaluation and collapse of the Thai baht

Whether a real devaluation ultimately proves to be expansionary or contractionary depends on whether the boost given to the exportables sector offsets any possible output-depressing effects that may accompany the expenditure-switching policy. Failure of the exportables sector to adequately respond to the price incentives is a virtual guarantee that devaluation will be contractionary. This appears to have been the experience of Indonesia, the country worst hit by the crisis of 1997–1998. This paper explores whether the increased exchange rate variability of the Indonesian rupiah post 1997 may have been a cause for the country's poor export performance. J. Japanese Int. Economies 18 (2) (2004) 218–240.

https://www.adelaide.edu.au/cies/documents/papers/0205.pdf

Ramkishen S. Rajan

Papers

Too Much of a Good Thing? The Adequacy of International Reserves in the Aftermath of Crises

China as a Reserve Sink: The Evidence from Offset and Sterilization Coefficients

Too Much of a Good Thing? The Adequacy of International Reserves in the Aftermath of Crises

(Ir)relevance of currency-crisis theory to the devaluation and collapse of the Thai baht

Impact of exchange rate volatility on Indonesia's trade performance in the 1990s