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Korea was one of the Asian economies hardest hit by the global financial crisis. Anticipating the downturn that would follow the episode of extreme financial stress, the Bank of Korea (BOK) let the exchange rate depreciate as capital flowed out, and preemptively cut the policy rate by 325 basis points. But did it work? This paper seeks a quantitative answer to the following question: Were it not for an inflation targeting framework underpinned by a flexible exchange rate regime, how much deeper would the recession have been? Taking the most intense year of the crisis as our baseline (2008:Q4-2009:Q3), counterfactual simulations indicate that rather the actual outcome of a - 2.1 percent contraction, the outturn would have been - 2.9 percent if the BOK had not implemented countercyclical and discretionary interest rate cuts. Furthermore, had a fixed exchange rate regime been in place, simulations indicate that output would have contracted by -7.5 percent over the same four-quarter period. In other words, exchange rate flexibility and the interest rate cuts implemented by the BOK helped substantially soften the impact of the global financial crisis on the Korean economy. These counterfactual experiments are based on an estimated structural model, which, along with standard nominal and real rigidities, includes a financial accelerator mechanism in an open-economy framework

Malaysia was hit hard by the global financial crisis of 2008-09. Anticipating the downturn that would follow the episode of extreme financial turbulence, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) let the exchange rate depreciate as capital flowed out, and preemptively cut the policy rate by 150 basis points. Against this backdrop, this paper tries to quantify how much deeper the recession would have been without the BNM's monetary policy response. Taking the most intense year of the crisis as our baseline (2008:Q4-2009:Q3), counterfactual simulations indicate that rather the actual outcome of a -2.9 percent

This paper examines the comovement in emerging market bond returns and disentangles the influence of external and domestic factors. The conceptual framework, set in the context of asset allocation, allows us to describe the channels through which shocks originating in a particular emerging or mature market are transmitted across countries and markets. We show that using a simple measure of cross-country correlations together with the commonly used average correlation coefficient can be more informative during episodes of heightened market instability. Data for the period 1997-2008 are analyzed

This paper examines why some financial stress episodes lead to economic downturns. The paper identifies episodes of financial turmoil using a financial stress index (FSI), and proposes an analytical framework to assess the impact of financial stress-in particular banking distress-on the real economy. It concludes that financial turmoil characterized by banking distress is more likely to be associated with severe and protracted downturns than stress mainly in securities or foreign exchange markets. Economies with more arms-length financial systems appear to be particularly vulnerable to sharp c

We examine the relationship between trade and financial globalization and the rise in inequality in most countries in recent decades. We find technological progress as having a greater impact than globalization on inequality. The limited overall impact of globalization reflects two offsetting tendencies: whereas trade globalization is associated with a reduction in inequality, financial globalization-and foreign direct investment in particular-is associated with an increase. A key finding is that both globalization and technological changes increase the returns on human capital, underscoring t

This paper proposes a conceptual framework to identify the potential sources of contagion in emerging bond markets and the mechanisms through which shocks originating in a particular emerging or mature market are likely to be transmitted across countries and markets. We then apply this framework to the emerging countries initially included in the EMBI Global Index over the period 1997-2005. We put into light that emerging markets became less and less intertwined over the recent period, and that, at present, the risk of contagion may come mainly from events taking place into mature markets. Finally, we derive policy recommendations in order to reduce emerging countries debt variability thus making them less vulnerable to a shock that takes place in mature markets. Sound macroeconomic policies, and in particular, prudent fiscal ones, could enhance government discipline and limit contagion effects in a wake of a global shock or a shock affecting another emerging country.

This paper proposes a conceptual framework to identify the potential sources of contagion in emerging bond markets and the mechanisms through which shocks originating in a particular emerging or mature market are likely to be transmitted across countries and markets. We then apply this framework to the emerging countries initially included in the EMBI Global Index over the period 1997-2005. We put into light that emerging markets became less and less intertwined over the recent period, and that, at present, the risk of contagion may come mainly from events taking place into mature markets. Finally, we derive policy recommendations in order to reduce emerging countries debt variability thus making them less vulnerable to a shock that takes place in mature markets. Sound macroeconomic policies, and in particular, prudent fiscal ones, could enhance government discipline and limit contagion effects in a wake of a global shock or a shock affecting another emerging country.