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The paper evaluates current account dynamics in countries with different exchange rate regimes within the EU. In this, the empirical analysis explicitly differentiates between countries with a flexible and a fixed exchange rate regime and members of a monetary union. In addition, we model the adjustment process of external disequilibria by referring to the flexibility of exchange rates and interest rates. The sample covers annual data for 27 EU countries from 1994 to 2011. The estimation is based on a simple autoregressive model and comes to the conclusion that current account adjustment is significantly hampered in countries that are members of a monetary union. This holds particularly in comparison with floating exchange rate regimes owing to lower exchange rate flexibility. However, the persistence of current account balances in member countries of a monetary union is also more pronounced than in fixed-rate regimes due to less flexible interest rates as a result of the single monetary policy.

This paper examines the relationship between the exchange rate regime and the pace of current account adjustment. The panel data set we refer to includes 11 catching-up countries from central, eastern and south-eastern Europe between 1994 and 2007. The exchange rate regime is measured by a continuous z-score measure of exchange rate volatility proposed by Gosh, Gulde and Wolf (2003). Based on a basic autoregression estimation, the results indicate that a more flexible exchange rate regime significantly enhances the rate of current account adjustment.

Financial globalisation has been associated with divergent current account patterns in emerging market economies. While countries in emerging Asia have been running sizeable current account surpluses, countries in emerging Europe have been facing large current account deficits. In this paper we test for the relevance of financial market characteristics in explaining divergent current account patterns in emerging Europe and emerging Asia based on the assumption that both regions constitute two different convergence clubs with the euro area and the US representing the core, respectively. In line with the theoretical literature, we find that better developed and more integrated financial markets increase emerging markets ´ability to borrow abroad. The degree of financial integration within the convergence clubs as well as the extent of reserve accumulation are found to be the most significant factors to explain divergent current account patterns in emerging Europe and emerging Asia. We conclude that the overall character of integration matters for the pattern of current account developments in catching-up economies.

Global financial integration has been associated with divergent patterns of real convergence and the current account in emerging markets. While countries in emerging Asia have been running sizeable current account surpluses, countries in emerging Europe have been facing large current account deficits. In this paper we test for the relevance of financial market characteristics in explaining this divergence in the catching-up process in Europe and Asia. We assume that the two regions constitute distinct convergence clubs, with the euro area and the United States respectively at their core. In line with the theoretical literature, we find that better developed and more integrated financial markets increase emerging markets' ability to borrow abroad. Moreover, the degree of financial integration within the convergence clubs - as opposed to the state of financial integration in the global economy - and the extent of reserve accumulation are significant factors in explaining the divergent patterns of real convergence and the current account in the regions under review.

A test of speculative efficiency on the foreign exchange markets of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the Slovak republic was unable to identify a cointegration relationship between forward and spot rates against the euro for the period between 1999 and mid-2002. Econometric studies confirm the existence of a time-variable exchange rate premium in all of the above countries. However, information and transaction costs also appear to be responsible for the observed deviations from speculative efficiency. The segmentation of the foreign exchange markets is likely to hamper the coordination of national monetary and foreign exchange policies within ERM II. In addition, this segmentation increases uncertainty in setting the central rate against the euro.

AbstractThis paper studies the determinants of cross‐border bank lending on a panel dataset comprising 17 advanced and 28 emerging market economies from 1993 to 2008. The empirical framework is based on a gravity model of financial flows. Our main findings are that the decrease in cross‐border lending in the 2007–2008 crisis was mostly due to global rather than country‐specific risk factors, and that central and eastern Europe was less affected by this decrease than other emerging market regions because of its stronger financial and monetary ties with creditor countries, and its relatively sound banking systems. These results are fairly robust to several different specifications, sub‐samples and econometric methodologies.

The paper evaluates current account dynamics in countries with different exchange rate regimes within the EU. In this, the empirical analysis explicitly differentiates between countries with a flexible and a fixed exchange rate regime and members of a monetary union. In addition, we model the adjustment process of external disequilibria by referring to the flexibility of exchange rates and interest rates. The sample covers annual data for 27 EU countries from 1994 to 2011. The estimation is based on a simple autoregressive model and comes to the conclusion that current account adjustment is significantly hampered in countries that are members of a monetary union. This holds particularly in comparison with floating exchange rate regimes owing to lower exchange rate flexibility. However, the persistence of current account balances in member countries of a monetary union is also more pronounced than in fixed-rate regimes due to less flexible interest rates as a result of the single monetary policy.