Amadou N. R. Sy
Last Updated: May 10, 2019
Amadou is an advisor in the IMF African Department where he coordinates the Financial and Monetary Sector Network. His current research includes issues related to FinTech, correspondent banking relations, excess liquidity, and macrofinancial linkages. Amadou is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Africa Growth Initiative (AGI) at the Brookings Institution which he was leading until January 2017. There he led policy and research work on macroeconomic and financial issues. His work on the Financing for Development agenda has been influential in global policy circles and he has provided expert advice to the African Development Bank, Making Finance Work for Africa, and the UN. Amadou his the author of “Africa through an economic lens” (Brookings Institution Press) and an editor of “Beyond the Curse: Policies to Harness the Power of Natural Resources” (IMF). Amadou has published in academic and practitioner journals, including Emerging Markets Review, IMF Staff Papers, Journal of Banking & Finance, Journal of African Economies, and the Review of International Economics. His policy work won the runner-up 2011 ICFR-Financial Times Prize for best research on financial regulation. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Revue d’Economie du Développement, manages the African Economic Research Consortium Visiting Scholars program at the IMF, and has been a member of Ph.D. Thesis Committees at the Université d’Auvergne, France. Amadou holds a Ph.D. in Finance from McGill University where he lectured in finance and is a CFA Charter holder and a Certified Financial Risk Manager (GARP).
Email: ASY@imf.org
Personal WebPage: https://ideas.repec.org/e/psy16.html#papers
Fluent In: French.
IMF Books and Working Papers:
Can Digitalization Help Deter Corruption in Africa? , Working Paper No. 20/68 , May 29, 2020
Coping with Falling Oil Prices: The Different Fortunes of African Banks , Working Paper No. 19/129 , June 17, 2019
FinTech in Sub-Saharan African Countries : A Game Changer? , Departmental Paper No. 19/04 , February 14, 2019
The Impact of Bailouts on the Probability of Sovereign Debt Crises: Evidence from IMF-Supported Programs , Working Paper No. 19/2 , January 11, 2019
How Did Markets React to Stress Tests? , Working Paper No. 15/75 , April 01, 2015
Beyond the Curse : Policies to Harness the Power of Natural Resources , January 19, 2012
How Risky Are Banks' Risk Weighted Assets? Evidence From the Financial Crisis , Working Paper No. 12/36 , January 01, 2012
Are there Spillover Effects From Munis? , Working Paper No. 11/290 , December 01, 2011
Sovereign Rating News and Financial Markets Spillovers : Evidence From the European Debt Crisis , Working Paper No. 11/68 , March 01, 2011
Beyond Aid: How Much Should African Countries Pay to Borrow? , Working Paper No. 10/140 , June 01, 2010
Setting up a Sovereign Wealth Fund: Some Policy and Operational Considerations , Working Paper No. 09/179 , August 01, 2009
The Systemic Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies and Rated Markets , Working Paper No. 09/129 , June 01, 2009
Islamic Bond Issuance - What Sovereign Debt Managers Need to Know , Policy Discussion Paper No. 08/3 , July 01, 2008
Local Currency Debt Markets in the West African Economic and Monetary Union , Working Paper No. 07/256 , November 01, 2007
Capital Account Liberalization and Risk Management in India , Working Paper No. 07/251 , October 01, 2007
Financial Integration in the West African Economic and Monetary Union , Working Paper No. 06/214 , September 01, 2006
Distance-to-Default in Banking: A Bridge Too Far? , Working Paper No. 06/215 , September 01, 2006
Managing the Interest Rate Risk of Indian Banks' Government Securities Holdings , Working Paper No. 05/78 , April 01, 2005
Were Bid-Ask Spreads in the FX Market Excessive During the Asian Crisis? , Working Paper No. 05/34 , February 01, 2005
The Role of Mature Market Mutual Funds in Emerging Markets: Myth or Mayhem? , Working Paper No. 04/133 , July 01, 2004
Debt Crises and the Development of International Capital Markets , Working Paper No. 04/44 , March 01, 2004
Rating the Rating Agencies: Anticipating Currency Crises or Debt Crises , Working Paper No. 03/122 , June 01, 2003
Emerging Market Bond Spreads and Sovereign Credit Ratings: Reconciling Market Views with Economic Fundamentals , Working Paper No. 01/165 , October 01, 2001
Currency Boards, Credibility, and Macroeconomic Behavior , Working Paper No. 00/97 , June 01, 2000
Managerial Entrenchment and the Choice of Debt Financing , Working Paper No. 99/94 , July 01, 1999
Publications in Journals (Refereed)
“The Systemic Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies and Rated Markets,” 2009, World Economics, 10 (4), www.world-economics-journal.com,
“Were the bid-ask spreads in the FX market excessive during the Asian crisis?” 2006, with T. Becker, International Review of Financial Analysis, 15/4-5. pp.434-49, www.elsevier.com
“Islamic Bond Issuance: What Sovereign Debt Managers Need to Know,” 2008 with Jobst, Andreas, Kunzel, Peter, and Paul Mills, International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 330-344, Emerald, and Islamic Law and Law of the Muslim World Paper No. 09-63, Series at New York Law School
Does Good Governance Matter for Energy Investment? Does Governance Matter? Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa,” with M. Sow, forthcoming, Journal of African Economies Suppl.
“Rating the Rating Agencies: Debt Crises or Currency Crises,” 2004, Journal of Banking and Finance, 28, pp. 2845-67, www.elsevier.com
“Predicting Sovereign Debt Crises: Are Defaults Still Adequate?” 2007, with A. Pescatori, IMF Staff Papers, Volume 54/2, www.palgrave-journals.com
“Financial Market Integration in the WAEMU,” 2007, Journal of Financial Transformation, Monetary Union – Vol 19 - April 2007, www.capco.com
“Emerging Market Bond Spreads and Credit Ratings: Reconciling Market Views Economic Fundamentals” 2002, Emerging Markets Review, December, www.elsevier.com
“Regulating Credit Rating Agencies: Where To Now?” 2011, Journal of Financial Transformation, 31, pp. 141-50
“Distance to Default in Banking: A Bridge Too Far?” 2007, with Jorge Chan Lau, Journal of Banking Regulation, 9, pp. 14 – 24, Nov 2007, www.palgrave-journals.com
“Managing the Interest Rate Risk of Indian Banks’ Government Securities Holdings,” Economic And Political Weekly, March 31-April 6, 2007, pp. 1211-1217, Vol XLII No 13, Mumbai, www.epw.org.in
“A Signaling Model of Currency Board Credibility,” with Maria L. Oliva and Luis A. Rivera-Batiz, Review of International Economics, November 2001, www.roie.org
“Government Securities Markets in the West African Monetary Union: A Review,” 2010, African Development Review, Vol. 22, No. 2
Publications in Books and Conference Volumes
“Spillover in the US Municipal Bond Markets,” 2011 with R. Arezki, B. Candelon, and M. Sy, Finance and Development, September, Washington DC
“The Economics and Finance of Resource Rich Countries,” 2011, w. R.Arezki and T. Gylfason, Editors, IMF, Washington D.C., www.imf.org
“Managing the Risk of Credit Rating Downgrades: Lessons for Investors from Recent Crises,”2011, Asian Credit Review
“Bad News Spreads,” 2010, Finance & Development, December, Washington D.C.
“The Rise of Islamic Finance and Its Potential for Africa/Les Perspectives de la Finance Islamique en Afrique,” Podcasts, March 3 and February 22, 2011, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/pvcast.aspx
“Setting Up a Sovereign Wealth Fund: Some Policy and Operational Considerations,” 2008 with U. Das, Y. Lu. And C. Mulder, “New Perspectives on Sovereign Asset Management” Edited By Malan Rietveld, Central Banking Publications
“Generally Accepted Principles and Practices—Santiago Principles,” (part of the Secretariat of the International Working Group of Sovereign Wealth Funds), 2008, contributor, www.iwg-swf.org
“Financial Market Integration in the WAEMU,” in “The CFA Franc Zone: Common Currency, Uncommon Challenges,” 2008, the CFA Franc Zone, edited by A. Gulde-Wolfe and Charalambos Tsangarides, IMF
“CEMAC: From a Monetary Union to Financial Integration,” with C. Durand, in “Building Monetary and Financial Systems: Case Studies in Technical Assistance,” edited by Charles Enoch et Al., 2007, IMF
“Fuller Capital Account Convertibility: Implications for Risk Management in India,” 2007, The Analyst, ICFAI, India, October and Professional Reference Book on "IUP on Indian Financial Markets: Regulatory Developments” edited by Dhandapani Alagiri, Icfai, Business School Research Center, Chennai.
“Fuller Capital Account Convertibility: Implications for Risk Management in India,” 2007, The Analyst, ICFAI, India, October
“Sovereign Ratings and Financial Crises,” 2004 in “Sovereign Risk and Financial Crises,” Eds. Michael Frenkel. Alexander Karmann and Bert Scholtens, Springer Publ
“Privatization Options,” 1997, with Vihang R. Errunza and Sumon Mazumdar, The Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Finance, Blackwell Publishers, re-edited in 2005.
Other Published Materials
Amadou is an advisor in the IMF African Department where he coordinates the Financial and Monetary Sector Network. His current research includes issues related to FinTech, correspondent banking relations, excess liquidity, and macrofinancial linkages. Amadou is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Africa Growth Initiative (AGI) at the Brookings Institution which he was leading until January 2017. There he led policy and research work on macroeconomic and financial issues. His work on the Financing for Development agenda has been influential in global policy circles and he has provided expert advice to the African Development Bank, Making Finance Work for Africa, and the UN. Amadou his the author of “Africa through an economic lens” (Brookings Institution Press) and an editor of “Beyond the Curse: Policies to Harness the Power of Natural Resources” (IMF). Amadou has published in academic and practitioner journals, including Emerging Markets Review, IMF Staff Papers, Journal of Banking & Finance, Journal of African Economies, and the Review of International Economics. His policy work won the runner-up 2011 ICFR-Financial Times Prize for best research on financial regulation. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Revue d’Economie du Développement, manages the African Economic Research Consortium Visiting Scholars program at the IMF, and has been a member of Ph.D. Thesis Committees at the Université d’Auvergne, France. Amadou holds a Ph.D. in Finance from McGill University where he lectured in finance and is a CFA Charter holder and a Certified Financial Risk Manager (GARP).
Email: ASY@imf.org
Personal WebPage: https://ideas.repec.org/e/psy16.html#papers
Fluent In: French.
IMF Books and Working Papers:
Can Digitalization Help Deter Corruption in Africa? , Working Paper No. 20/68 , May 29, 2020
Coping with Falling Oil Prices: The Different Fortunes of African Banks , Working Paper No. 19/129 , June 17, 2019
FinTech in Sub-Saharan African Countries : A Game Changer? , Departmental Paper No. 19/04 , February 14, 2019
The Impact of Bailouts on the Probability of Sovereign Debt Crises: Evidence from IMF-Supported Programs , Working Paper No. 19/2 , January 11, 2019
How Did Markets React to Stress Tests? , Working Paper No. 15/75 , April 01, 2015
Beyond the Curse : Policies to Harness the Power of Natural Resources , January 19, 2012
How Risky Are Banks' Risk Weighted Assets? Evidence From the Financial Crisis , Working Paper No. 12/36 , January 01, 2012
Are there Spillover Effects From Munis? , Working Paper No. 11/290 , December 01, 2011
Sovereign Rating News and Financial Markets Spillovers : Evidence From the European Debt Crisis , Working Paper No. 11/68 , March 01, 2011
Beyond Aid: How Much Should African Countries Pay to Borrow? , Working Paper No. 10/140 , June 01, 2010
Setting up a Sovereign Wealth Fund: Some Policy and Operational Considerations , Working Paper No. 09/179 , August 01, 2009
The Systemic Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies and Rated Markets , Working Paper No. 09/129 , June 01, 2009
Islamic Bond Issuance - What Sovereign Debt Managers Need to Know , Policy Discussion Paper No. 08/3 , July 01, 2008
Local Currency Debt Markets in the West African Economic and Monetary Union , Working Paper No. 07/256 , November 01, 2007
Capital Account Liberalization and Risk Management in India , Working Paper No. 07/251 , October 01, 2007
Financial Integration in the West African Economic and Monetary Union , Working Paper No. 06/214 , September 01, 2006
Distance-to-Default in Banking: A Bridge Too Far? , Working Paper No. 06/215 , September 01, 2006
Managing the Interest Rate Risk of Indian Banks' Government Securities Holdings , Working Paper No. 05/78 , April 01, 2005
Were Bid-Ask Spreads in the FX Market Excessive During the Asian Crisis? , Working Paper No. 05/34 , February 01, 2005
The Role of Mature Market Mutual Funds in Emerging Markets: Myth or Mayhem? , Working Paper No. 04/133 , July 01, 2004
Debt Crises and the Development of International Capital Markets , Working Paper No. 04/44 , March 01, 2004
Rating the Rating Agencies: Anticipating Currency Crises or Debt Crises , Working Paper No. 03/122 , June 01, 2003
Emerging Market Bond Spreads and Sovereign Credit Ratings: Reconciling Market Views with Economic Fundamentals , Working Paper No. 01/165 , October 01, 2001
Currency Boards, Credibility, and Macroeconomic Behavior , Working Paper No. 00/97 , June 01, 2000
Managerial Entrenchment and the Choice of Debt Financing , Working Paper No. 99/94 , July 01, 1999
Publications in Journals (Refereed)
“The Systemic Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies and Rated Markets,” 2009, World Economics, 10 (4), www.world-economics-journal.com,
“Were the bid-ask spreads in the FX market excessive during the Asian crisis?” 2006, with T. Becker, International Review of Financial Analysis, 15/4-5. pp.434-49, www.elsevier.com
“Islamic Bond Issuance: What Sovereign Debt Managers Need to Know,” 2008 with Jobst, Andreas, Kunzel, Peter, and Paul Mills, International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 330-344, Emerald, and Islamic Law and Law of the Muslim World Paper No. 09-63, Series at New York Law School
Does Good Governance Matter for Energy Investment? Does Governance Matter? Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa,” with M. Sow, forthcoming, Journal of African Economies Suppl.
“Rating the Rating Agencies: Debt Crises or Currency Crises,” 2004, Journal of Banking and Finance, 28, pp. 2845-67, www.elsevier.com
“Predicting Sovereign Debt Crises: Are Defaults Still Adequate?” 2007, with A. Pescatori, IMF Staff Papers, Volume 54/2, www.palgrave-journals.com
“Financial Market Integration in the WAEMU,” 2007, Journal of Financial Transformation, Monetary Union – Vol 19 - April 2007, www.capco.com
“Emerging Market Bond Spreads and Credit Ratings: Reconciling Market Views Economic Fundamentals” 2002, Emerging Markets Review, December, www.elsevier.com
“Regulating Credit Rating Agencies: Where To Now?” 2011, Journal of Financial Transformation, 31, pp. 141-50
“Distance to Default in Banking: A Bridge Too Far?” 2007, with Jorge Chan Lau, Journal of Banking Regulation, 9, pp. 14 – 24, Nov 2007, www.palgrave-journals.com
“Managing the Interest Rate Risk of Indian Banks’ Government Securities Holdings,” Economic And Political Weekly, March 31-April 6, 2007, pp. 1211-1217, Vol XLII No 13, Mumbai, www.epw.org.in
“A Signaling Model of Currency Board Credibility,” with Maria L. Oliva and Luis A. Rivera-Batiz, Review of International Economics, November 2001, www.roie.org
“Government Securities Markets in the West African Monetary Union: A Review,” 2010, African Development Review, Vol. 22, No. 2
Publications in Books and Conference Volumes
“Spillover in the US Municipal Bond Markets,” 2011 with R. Arezki, B. Candelon, and M. Sy, Finance and Development, September, Washington DC
“The Economics and Finance of Resource Rich Countries,” 2011, w. R.Arezki and T. Gylfason, Editors, IMF, Washington D.C., www.imf.org
“Managing the Risk of Credit Rating Downgrades: Lessons for Investors from Recent Crises,”2011, Asian Credit Review
“Bad News Spreads,” 2010, Finance & Development, December, Washington D.C.
“The Rise of Islamic Finance and Its Potential for Africa/Les Perspectives de la Finance Islamique en Afrique,” Podcasts, March 3 and February 22, 2011, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/pvcast.aspx
“Setting Up a Sovereign Wealth Fund: Some Policy and Operational Considerations,” 2008 with U. Das, Y. Lu. And C. Mulder, “New Perspectives on Sovereign Asset Management” Edited By Malan Rietveld, Central Banking Publications
“Generally Accepted Principles and Practices—Santiago Principles,” (part of the Secretariat of the International Working Group of Sovereign Wealth Funds), 2008, contributor, www.iwg-swf.org
“Financial Market Integration in the WAEMU,” in “The CFA Franc Zone: Common Currency, Uncommon Challenges,” 2008, the CFA Franc Zone, edited by A. Gulde-Wolfe and Charalambos Tsangarides, IMF
“CEMAC: From a Monetary Union to Financial Integration,” with C. Durand, in “Building Monetary and Financial Systems: Case Studies in Technical Assistance,” edited by Charles Enoch et Al., 2007, IMF
“Fuller Capital Account Convertibility: Implications for Risk Management in India,” 2007, The Analyst, ICFAI, India, October and Professional Reference Book on "IUP on Indian Financial Markets: Regulatory Developments” edited by Dhandapani Alagiri, Icfai, Business School Research Center, Chennai.
“Fuller Capital Account Convertibility: Implications for Risk Management in India,” 2007, The Analyst, ICFAI, India, October
“Sovereign Ratings and Financial Crises,” 2004 in “Sovereign Risk and Financial Crises,” Eds. Michael Frenkel. Alexander Karmann and Bert Scholtens, Springer Publ
“Privatization Options,” 1997, with Vihang R. Errunza and Sumon Mazumdar, The Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Finance, Blackwell Publishers, re-edited in 2005.