Working Papers
January 1, 0001
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January 1, 0001
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January 1, 0001
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January 1, 0001
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1996
November 1, 1996
Capital Mobility and Exchange Market Intervention in Developing Countries
Description: Official controls on interest rates and capital flows rule out the use of traditional interest rate parity conditions to measure changes in the degree of capital mobility confronting developing countries. This paper develops an alternative technique for measuring the cost of undertaking disguised capital flows when such official controls are present. This measure is derived from an intertemporal, optimizing model of an open economy incorporating the influence of the authorities’ foreign exchange market activities. The paper suggests that the real cost of undertaking disguised capital flows declined on average by nearly 70 percent between the early 1970s and the late 1980s.
November 1, 1996
The Role of the Prudential Supervision and Financial Restructuring of Banks During Transition to Indirect Instruments of Monetary Control
Description: This paper proposes a stylized sequencing of banking supervision and bank restructuring measures designed to complement and expedite the adoption of indirect instruments of monetary policy. Appropriate sequencing reflects both operational considerations and macroeconomic effects of structural measures. It typically involves implementing initially a critical mass of reforms of prudential supervision and of financial structure of both banks and enterprises, and subsequently adapting and refining these measures in line with the evolution of markets and internal governance. This approach facilitates implementation because the initial cost of bank restructuring can be offset, partly, through the budgetary effects of improved enterprise finances.
November 1, 1996
The Brady-Euro Yield Differential Debate: Why Arbitrage is Infeasible
Description: Brady bonds offer substantially higher returns than Eurobonds. This paper examines the Brady and Eurobond markets for developing country debt and finds that the apparent arbitrage opportunity is not only smaller than it at first appears, but is infeasible given the illiquidity of the Eurobond market. The maturity adjusted return differential between Brady and Eurobonds is smaller than the commonly cited yield spreads. Moreover, the transactions costs of executing a Eurobond short contract render arbitrage a loss-making proposition. Given the many crossover investors who are active in both the Brady and Euro markets, why do Eurobond investors not trade them actively?
November 1, 1996
Investment and Growth in the Middle East and North Africa
Description: The paper considers investment and growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Notwithstanding cross-country differences, investment as a whole has been too low, too heavily tilted toward the public sector, too highly dependent on external influences, and less productive than in many other regions. Improving the region’s investment performance is critical if policymakers are to succeed in increasing the region’s economic growth rate. After discussing the relationship between investment and growth, the paper analyzes the investment responsiveness of various countries in the region and notes the policy priorities for strengthening the basis for rapid and sustained economic growth.
November 1, 1996
Issues and New Directions in Public Expenditure Management
Description: The public expenditure management system is in a state of flux. Traditional approaches of expenditure management have serious limitations in addressing current and future tasks. The new approaches toward improved expenditure management, which emphasize the creation of task-oriented agencies, performance agreements, and competitive tendering and contracting, have considerable potential in meeting the tasks. But it is essential to address the detailed operational aspects of these new approaches so that they do not contribute to a shadow government or a government that continues to be weak in regard to contracts and third-party transactions.
November 1, 1996
Accountability and Transparency in the Public Sector: The New Zealand Experience
Description: This paper describes the reforms introduced in the New Zealand public sector since the mid-1980s. The reforms included corporatization and privatization of most state-owned enterprises, the shift from a cash-basis to an accrual-basis accounting system and the compilation of a balance sheet for the central government and its entities, performance-based arrangements for the delivery of core government outputs; and institutional changes in expenditure control mechanisms. The paper also summarizes the impact of the reforms on government revenue and spending patterns, and discusses lessons learned from New Zealand’s experience.