The importance of economic growth cannot be overstated. Income growth is essential for achieving economic, social, and even political development. In recent years, an enormous amount of talent and effort has been invested in understanding the process of economic growth, making it one of the most dynamic ...

Inflation targeting cum exchange-rate floating has become the framework of choice in countries pursuing an independent and effective monetary policy. Since its adoption by New Zealand (1990) and Chile (1991), central banks of nearly 25 industrial and emerging economies have implemented an explicit ...

Inflation rates fell markedly around the world during the last decade of twentieth century. This was the result of a profound change in the conduct of monetary policy, clearly driven by the strong, anti-inflationary stance adopted by central banks in industrial and developing countries. The central ...

This volume contains several macroeconomic and microeconomic works on the subjects of monetary policy transmission and the regulation of the banking industry. The reason to consider both issues in the same volume lies in the fact that some channels whereby monetary policy reaches the real sector hinge ...

Monetary policy must consider the bi­directional relationship between the economy and its central bank. It should therefore address two essential questions: first, how changes in the economy induce a reaction by the central bank, and second, how these policy changes are in turn transmitted to the ...

Huge swings in oil, food, and other commodity prices and the global financial crisis are at the core of current monetary policy discussion. The latter events are vivid reminders of how uncertainty, imperfect knowledge, and the need to learn affect macroeconomic behavior and the conduct of monetary ...

Are international capital markets a source of stable and reliable financing for emerging market economies, or a source of instability? Is the pattern of capital flows from poor to rich countries observed in the past decade sustainable? What is the optimal degree of capital account openness both for ...

The financial crisis that started in 2007 brought the global economy to the brink, and in many respects it is still unfolding, especially in Europe. While a fierce debate continues on how to understand and deal with the crisis, a consensus is emerging with regard to the originating shocks, the mechanisms ...

The importance of the labor market is indisputable. The countries' economic outcomes rely to a significant extent on its performance, as production, economic growth, and prices are all intimately linked with it. Moreover, the functioning of the labor market is a key determinant of social welfare. ...

Emerging market economies endure significant macroeconomic volatility. The large correlation between external factors, e.g., terms of trade and world interest rate shocks, and domestic macroeconomic volatility is highly suggestive of their key role, but it does not explain the mechanism through which ...