The External Wealth of Nations: Measures of Foreign Assets and Liabilities for Industrial and Developing Countries

By Gian M Milesi-Ferretti, Philip R. Lane

August 1, 1999

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Gian M Milesi-Ferretti, and Philip R. Lane The External Wealth of Nations: Measures of Foreign Assets and Liabilities for Industrial and Developing Countries, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 1999) accessed December 21, 2024

Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary

Capital flows are closely monitored, but surprisingly little is known about the stocks of external assets and liabilities held by countries, especially in the developing world. This paper constructs estimates of foreign assets and liabilities and their equity and debt subcomponents for 66 industrial and developing countries for the period 1970-97. It explores the sensitivity of estimates of stock positions to the treatment of valuation effects not captured in balance of payments data. Finally, it characterizes the stylized facts of estimated stocks and asks whether there are trends in net foreign asset positions and differences in debt-equity ratios across countries.

Subject: Balance of payments, Current account, External position, Financial institutions, Foreign assets, Foreign direct investment, Stocks

Keywords: Africa, Asset position of the country, Current account, Debt assets, Debt liability, Debt position, Debt ratio, Debt stock, Equity flows, Equity liability, External debt, FDI assets, FDI inflow, FDI liability, Foreign assets, Foreign direct investment, Net debt definition, Net FDI stock position, Stock data, Stock position, Stocks, WP

Publication Details

Pages:

62
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Working Paper No. 1999/115
Stock No:

WPIEA1151999
ISBN:

9781451853841
ISSN:

1018-5941

Notes

Link to the data set and documentation for this Working Paper.

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