EXCHANGE RATE MISALIGNMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

This article analyzes the theory of equilibrium real exchangerates and defines misalignment as a deviation of the real exchangerate (RER) from its equilibrium level. The role of macroeconomicpolicies is then analyzed under three alternative nominal exchangerate regimes: predetermined nominal exchange rates, floatingnominal rates, and dual or black market nominal exchange rates.This discussion points out how inconsistent macroeconomic policiesoften lead to real exchange rate misalignment. Corrective measures,including nominal devaluations and several alternative approaches,are then evaluated.      

Studies of the 1987 stock market crash: Review and appraisal

Within four months of the stock market crash on October 19, 1987, there were six studies of what happened. The Brady Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the General Accounting Office, the New York Stock Exchange, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange all produced reports that described and analyzed the Crash, and in some cases made recommendations for additional regulation. This paper examines the conclusions and analyses contained in these reports and provides a summary of their recommendations. Particular attention is given to the allegation that stock index futures trading was a significant factor in the Crash. In addition, the recommendations that higher margins be imposed on futures transactions and that formal trading halts be instituted in both the futures and stock markets are discussed in depth. A major conclusion of this review is that new market-making procedures are needed to cope with the growing institutionalization of trading in equity and equity-derivative markets. Columbia University     

The London Monetary and Economic Conference of 1933 and the End of the Great Depression

In this paper I analyze the London Monetary and Economic Conference of 1933, an almost forgotten episode in U.S. monetary history. I study how the Conference shaped dollar policy during the second half of 1933 and early 1934. I use daily data to investigate the way in which the Conference and related policies associated to the gold standard affected commodity prices, bond prices, and the stock market. My results show that the Conference itself did not impact commodity prices or the stock market. However, it had a small effect on bond prices. I do find that the events associated with the abandonment of the gold standard impacted prices in a significant way, even before the actual monetary and currency channels were at work. These results are consistent with the “change in regime” hypothesis of Sargent (1983).     

What can we learn from a race with one runner? A comment on Foreman‐Peck and Zhou, ‘Late marriage as a contributor to the industrial revolution in England’

Foreman‐Peck and Zhou's claim that late marriage was a major contributor to the industrial revolution in England cannot be sustained. They consider neither other influences on English industrialization nor other European economies where marriage age was high throughout the early modern period but industrialization came much later. It is not possible to argue that late marriage age was a major contributor to English industrialization without analysing other possible contributing factors. Any consideration of this question must assess marriage age alongside other causes of industrialization and explain why other European economies with a higher marriage age industrialized much later than England.     

Debt Relief and the Current Account: An Analysis of the HIPC Initiative

In this paper I develop a model to investigate the connection between debt relief and current account sustainability. This model can be used as a key input in assessing whether a HIPC country's real exchange rate is ‘overvalued,’ and will thus need to go through devaluation. The working of the model is illustrated for the case of Nicaragua, a country that in 2002 had one of the highest external debt to GDP ratios: almost 300 per cent. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere (after Haiti), and for the last decade has relied very heavily on foreign assistance and aid. Moreover, in the last few years Nicaragua has run extremely large current account deficits in excess of 37 per cent of GDP during 1997‐2001 largely financed by grants, donations and migrant remittances.     

Towards an understanding of fathers’ involvement in children’s sporting activities as racial fathering practices

ABSTRACT

This research note puts forward a conceptual framework for leisure research seeking to bring sport, fathering, and race and ethnicity together. It draws on theoretical ideas of practices and racial projects to develop the notion of racial fathering practices. The potential of racial fathering practices as an analytic approach is indicated through three vignettes of fathers’ involvement in their children’s sporting activities drawn from in-depth interview studies of fathers’ understandings of bringing up their mixed-race children in Britain and Aotearoa New Zealand.