Opinion
IMF articles on reform and restructuring in Asia
ARTICLES - The International Monetary Fund has published the March issue of its quarterly magazine Finance and Development. There are six articles on reform and restructuring in Asia. Other articles on the role of capital in development, the effect of…
Is the crisis problem growing more severe?
ARTICLE - In the latest issue of journal Economic Policy, economist Barry Eichengreen et al ask whether financial crises are becoming more frequent and more disruptive. Looking back over 120 years of financial history, the authors find that there is …
IMF is 'well equipped to tackle crises'
ARTICLE - In a letter to the editor of The Straits Times, the IMF's director of external relations, Thomas Dawson, hits back at the newspaper's suggestions that the IMF's policies in Asia, Russia and now Turkey have been failures.
Central bank independence in Poland from 1924-26
ARTICLE - In an article in Public Budgeting & Finance, Gail Makinen from the Congress Library looks at the success of Poland's 1924-26 stabilisation plan. She concludes that a balanced budget may be more important to achieving price stability than…
Credibility of Colombia's exchange rate target
ARTICLE - In a fairly technical article in the Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Arturo Jose Galindo from the Inter-American Development Bank analyses the credibility of Colombia's exchange rate target zone. His results suggest that there is…
Role of subordinated debt in market discipline
IMF RESEARCH - This new working paper by the IMF puts the last nail in the coffin regarding the use of mandatory subordinated debt in enhancing market discipline in emerging markets. It says the preconditions for its success are not fulfilled in emerging…
Computer support for reserves managers-Nugee
RESERVE MANAGEMENT - Deciding on the right level of computer support for reserve managers in a world of fast changing technology often makes it preferable to outsource some IT provision, says John Nugee, former head of reserve management at the Bank of…
US Fed urges bankers to disclose more
SUPERVISION - In an advisory letter on Mar 23, 2001, the Federal Reserve Board urged large banking organizations to adopt a high-level, private-sector working group's recommendations for broader and more frequent public disclosures as a way to improve…
Fast-tracking EU securities market reform-Bishop
LAMFALUSSY REPORT - At the Mar 23/24 Summit, EU leaders succeeded in offering the European Parliament a compromise that should be acceptable, clearing the way to rapid action on the Lamfalussy Report on securities markets regulation, reports Graham…
Banking Supervision-HKMA Yam viewpoint
CENTRAL BANK ARTICLE - Effective banking supervision requires taking a larger view of the industry than simply focussing on the ability of borrower to repay, says Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Joseph Yam in his weekly column on the HKMA…
Is inflation targeting feasible in Poland?-article
ARTICLE - "Is inflation targeting feasible in Poland?" is a new article in the journal The Economics of Transition, Volume 9: Issue 1, co-written by Peter Christoffersen at McGill University, and Torsten Slk and Robert Wescott at the International…
Bank Capital Regulation: Literature Review-Santos
ARTICLE - "Bank Capital Regulation in Contemporary Banking Theory: A Review of the Literature" is a new article in the journal Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments, Volume 10: Issue 2, by Joao A. C. Santos at the New York Fed. This paper reviews…
Q&A: New procedures for BoJ money mkt operations
ARTICLE - The Bank of Japan has published a short question and answer article about its new procedures for money market operations which started on Mar 19, 2001. It says that although the procedures are intended to produce the same effects as the "Zero…
ECB tight-lipped on banking supervision
A confidential ECB report arguing that eurozone central banks should continue to perform banking supervision has been leaked to German daily paper Boersen Zeitung.
The Accidental Redistribution of ECB Profits
ARTICLE - According to the latest calculations of Hans-Wener Sinn and Holgar Feist, the division of European Central Bank profits will see Germany lose E. 30bn and France gain a similar amount.
New CEPR dicussion papers-Mar 2001
ARTICLE - The Centre for Economic and Policy Research are publishing four articles mostly by economist Charles Wyplosz on central bank isssues in March 2001 - Do We Know How Low Inflation Should Be?, How Risky is Financial Liberalization in the…
Optimal Degrees of Transparency in Monetary Policy
ARTICLE - According to most academics and policymakers, transparency in monetary policymaking is desirable. However, an article by Henrik Jensen titled "Optimal Degrees of Transparency in Monetary Policymaking" says that high transparency may be a policy…
Performance of US econ since Oct 1987 crash-Levy
ARTICLE - "An Economic Assessment: Contained Depression or the Foothills of Recovery? U.S. and Global Finance Prospects; The Performance of the Economy Since the October 1987 Crash" by Robert Barbera and David A. Levy. The authors argues over the causes…
Head of Colombian cbanks defends his policies
The managing director of the Central Bank of Colombia, Miguel Urrutia, has denied in an interview that the bank is responsible for Colombia's economic crisis and 20.5 per cent unemployment.
Changing the guard on Capitol Hill-by Richard Hill
ARTICLE - Months after Bush's win, two of America's key regulators, the SEC and CFTC, are still without chairmen. In the latest issue of The Financial Regulator Richard Hill examines the likely nominees, and what the new Congress has in store for them.
The rise and fall of consortium banks-by R Roberts
ARTICLE - Consortium banks, which flourished in the early "unregulated" years of the Euromarkets, have all but disappeared. Richard Roberts explains how concern about their stability prompted the BIS to develop the principle of "parental responsibility"…
Measuring regulatory success- by Alan Cameron
ARTICLE - Effective regulation cannot be measured by high-profile prosecutions or by counting boxes ticked. Financial regulators have much to learn from Professor Malcolm Sparrow's study of crime and environmental policing, argue Alan Cameron and Bill…
B-shares and China's monetary and banking systems
The removal of restrictions on the holding of B-shares should have a generally positive effect on the development of Mainland China's monetary and banking systems, says Joseph Yam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, in his weekly…
Does Europe want a single market?-Malcolm Levitt
The shortcomings of Europe's single market for financial services extend farbeyond securities markets. Consumers lose, and politicians seem to lack thestomach for reform. Radical change, including the swift adoption of AlexandreLamfalussy's…