Search

Begin New Search Topic Markets Publication Year within 25 Years

681. The Year to Date

Author:
John H. Makin
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
The array of postbubble stresses and uncertainties identified in the January 2010 Economic Outlook (“The Year Ahead”) promised that the new year would see plenty of volatility in markets. That is exactly what is playing out as we move through the first quarter. As risks accumulate, it may be that 2010 is shaping up as a mirror image of 2009, reversing last year's down-then-up pattern with an up-then-down pattern this year.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, China, and Europe

682. The Impact of Russia's 2010 Grain Export Ban

Author:
George Welton
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
One of the key factors in global food price volatility is the way that states react to disruptions in supply. There is a strong inclination for exporters to impose export bans in reaction to potential food price increases in their own country. This reaction, however, is a poor strategy for managing food prices at home and has a range of unintended consequences for the domestic and international economy. In general, export bans exacerbate problems created by interruptions in food production and may damage incentives to increase production at home long - term.
Topic:
Agriculture, Markets, and Food
Political Geography:
Russia

683. The Liquidation of Government Debt

Author:
Carmen M. Reinhart
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
Abstract:
Historically, periods of high indebtedness have been associated with a rising incidence of default or restructuring of public and private debts. A subtle type of debt restructuring takes the form of "financial repression." Financial repression includes directed lending to government by captive domestic audiences (such as pension funds), explicit or implicit caps on interest rates, regulation of cross-border capital movements, and (generally) a tighter connection between government and banks. In this paper, the authors describe some of the regulatory measures and policy actions that characterized the heyday of the financial repression era. In the heavily regulated financial markets of the Bretton Woods system, several restrictions facilitated a sharp and rapid reduction in public debt/GDP ratios from the late 1940s to the 1970s. Low nominal interest rates help reduce debt servicing costs while a high incidence of negative real interest rates liquidates or erodes the real value of government debt. Thus, financial repression is most successful in liquidating debts when accompanied by a steady dose of inflation. Inflation need not take market participants entirely by surprise and, in effect, it need not be very high (by historical standards). For the advanced economies in Reinhart and Sbrancia's sample, real interest rates were negative roughly half of the time during 1945–80. For the United States and the United Kingdom, their estimates of the annual liquidation of debt via negative real interest rates amounted on average to 3 to 4 percent of GDP a year. For Australia and Italy, which recorded higher inflation rates, the liquidation effect was larger (around 5 percent per annum).
Topic:
Debt, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
Political Geography:
United States and United Kingdom

684. IFSWF Report on Compliance with the Santiago Principles: Admirable but Flawed Transparency

Author:
Edwin M. Truman and Sarah Bagnall
Publication Date:
08-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
Abstract:
On July 7, 2011 the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) released a report on IFSWF Members' Experience in the Application of the Santiago Principles. The report is a self-assessment of the voluntary compliance of 21 member sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) with the Generally Accepted Principles and Practices of SWFs, issued in October 2008. We commend the IFSWF for undertaking the surveys on which the report is based, for the later decision to publish the results, and for the detail included in the report. However, as with many self-assessments, the report has some flaws. The principal flaw is that the characterization of the extent of compliance with the Santiago Principles is exaggerated.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Sovereign Wealth Funds
Political Geography:
Santiago

685. Keeping the Promise of Global Accounting Standards

Author:
Nicolas Véron
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Accounting is a fundamental underpinning of capital markets, and the worldwide spread of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) marks one of the most advanced attempts to develop globally consistent financial rules. The financial crisis has generated heated debates on the economic role of fair value accounting and other IFRS principles. Underlying these controversies are differing views about the mission and governance of accounting standard-setters, and how standards interact with other public policy instruments. The absence of relevant precedents for the unique institutional features of the IFRS Foundation, the global standard-setting organization, makes choices more difficult.The IFRS' defining promise is crossborder comparability of financial statements, but the aim of global harmonization will not be fully achieved in the next few years. Given the varying pace and modalities of local IFRS adoption, the IFRS Foundation must focus on the quality of its standards and the integrity of its brand. Standardsetting should serve investors' information needs, leaving other public-policy goals to be met through local assessment by individual jurisdictions. The foundation's governance and funding framework should strengthen its accountability to the global investor community. Active monitoring of local endorsement and implementation practices should encourage the gradual convergence of “IFRS dialects” towards a true single global reporting language.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Markets

686. Partial sovereign bond insurance by the eurozone: A more efficient alternative to blue (Euro-)bonds

Author:
Hans-Joachim Dübel
Publication Date:
08-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
'Blue' or Eurobonds guaranteed via joint and several liability by the eurozone member states have been proposed as an important tool to stabilise and structure the eurozone sovereign bond markets. But in this new Policy Brief, Hans-Joachim Dübel argues the case for a partial insurance of sovereign bonds by the European Stability Mechanism. Hans-Joachim Dübel is an independent financial sector consultant based in Berlin and founder of Finpolconsult.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Regional Cooperation, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Europe and Berlin

687. Only a more active ECB can solve the euro crisis

Author:
Paul De Grauwe
Publication Date:
08-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
The biggest threat for the eurozone is the contagion of the Greek sovereign debt crisis to the rest of the system. If the Greek crisis could be isolated, it would barely matter for the eurozone as a whole. After countless crisis meetings of the European Council, however, it has to be admitted that the European leaders have failed to isolate the Greek crisis and to stop the forces of contagion. The latest meeting of the heads of state or government of the euro area on July 21st is no exception.
Topic:
Debt, Markets, Regional Cooperation, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe

688. Capital Inadequacies: The Dismal Failure of the Basel Regime of Bank Capital Regulation

Author:
Kevin Dowd, Martin Hutchinson, Jimi Hinchliffe, and Simon Ashby
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The Basel regime is an international system of capital adequacy regulation designed to strengthen banks' financial health and the safety and soundness of the financial system as a whole. It originated with the 1988 Basel Accord, now known as Basel I, and was then overhauled. Basel II had still not been implemented in the United States when the financial crisis struck, and in the wake of the banking system collapse, regulators rushed out Basel III.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Monetary Policy, and Governance
Political Geography:
United States

689. Intercity Buses: The Forgotten Mode

Author:
Randal O'Toole
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The debate over President Obama's fantastically expensive high-speed rail program has obscured the resurgence of a directly competing mode of transportation: intercity buses. Entrepreneurial immigrants from China and recently privatized British transportation companies have developed a new model for intercity bus operations that provides travelers with faster service at dramatically reduced fares.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, Infrastructure, and Governance
Political Geography:
United States and China

690. Federal Higher Education Policy and the Profitable Nonprofits

Author:
Vance Fried
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Undergraduate education is a highly profitable business for nonprofit colleges and universities. They do not show profits on their books, but instead take their profits in the form of spending on some combination of research, graduate education, low-demand majors, low faculty teaching loads, excess compensation, and featherbedding. The industry's high profits come at the expense of students and taxpayer.
Topic:
Economics, Education, Markets, Privatization, and Governance