This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

The Current Account in Developing Countries: A Perspective from the Consumption-Smoothing Approach

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Ghosh, Atish R
Ostry, Jonathan D

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

According to the consumption-smoothing view, a high degree of capital mobility implies that agents are able to fully smooth their consumption in the face of shocks. This article develops a framework to test whether, indeed, the current account in developing countries acts as a buffer to smooth consumption in the face of shocks to national cash flow, which is defined as output less investment less government expenditure. Using vector autoregression analysis, we estimate the optimal consumption-smoothing current account with data from a sample of forty-five developing countries. We find that for a majority of the countries, the hypothesis of full consumption smoothing cannot be rejected, suggesting that capital mobility may after all be quite high in this group of countries. Copyright 1995 by Oxford University Press.

Download Info
To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
1. Check below under "Related research" whether another version of this item is available online.
2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

Publisher Info
Article provided by Oxford University Press in its journal World Bank Economic Review.

Volume (Year): 9 (1995)
Issue (Month): 2 (May)
Pages: 305-33
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:oup:wbecrv:v:9:y:1995:i:2:p:305-33

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK
Fax: 01865 267 985
Email:
Web page: http://wber.oxfordjournals.org/

Order Information:
Web: http://www.oup.co.uk/journals

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Christopher F. Baum).

Related research
Keywords:

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Dr Anthony J. Makin, 2003. "Feasible Limits For External Deficits And Debt," Discussion Papers Series 321, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia. [Downloadable!]
  2. César Calderón & Alberto Chong & Norman Loayza, 1999. "Determinants of Current Account Deficits in Developing Countries," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 51, Central Bank of Chile. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Lau, Evan & Baharumshah, Ahmad Zubaidi & Habibullah, Muzafar Shah, 2007. "Accounting for the Current Account Behavior in ASEAN-5," MPRA Paper 1322, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  4. Neil Dias Karunaratne, 2008. "The Polemics and Empirics of the Sustainability of Australia’s Current Account Deficit - Revisited," Discussion Papers Series 364, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia. [Downloadable!]
  5. Jiandong Ju & Shang-Jin Wei, 2007. "Current Account Adjustment: Some New Theory and Evidence," NBER Working Papers 13388, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Jaime Guajardo & Guillermo Le Fort, 1999. "Cuenta Corriente y Desvíos Transitorios en Términos de Intercambio y Volúmenes de Exportaciones: Chile 1985-1999," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 49, Central Bank of Chile. [Downloadable!]
  7. Sebastian Edwards, 2004. "Thirty Years of Current Account Imbalances, Current Account Reversals and Sudden Stops," NBER Working Papers 10276, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Kunhong Kim & Viv B Hall & Robert A Buckle, 2001. "New Zealand's Current Account Deficit: Analysis based on the Intertemporal Optimisation Approach," Treasury Working Paper Series 01/02, New Zealand Treasury. [Downloadable!]
  9. Menzie D. Chinn & Eswar S. Prasad, 2000. "Medium-Term Determinants of Current Accounts in Industrial and Developing Countries: An Empirical Exploration," NBER Working Papers 7581, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Sebastian Edwards, 2001. "Does the Current Account Matter?," NBER Working Papers 8275, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. JORDAN, Alwyn & STANFORD, Sunielle, 2006. "A Derivation Of The Optimal Current Account Balance For Barbados, Jamaica And Trinidad And Tobago," Applied Econometrics and International Development, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 6(1). [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Gian Maria Milesi-Ferrett & Assaf Razin, 1996. "Sustainability of Persistent Current Account Deficits," NBER Working Papers 5467, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Christopher Kent, 1997. "The Response of the Current Account to Terms of Trade Shocks: A Panel-data Study," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9705, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
  14. Maxwell Opoku-Afari, . "Capital Flows and Current Account Sustainability: The Ghanaian Experience," Discussion Papers 07/07, University of Nottingham, CREDIT. [Downloadable!]
  15. Martha Misas & Carlos Esteban Posada, . "Determinantes de la Tasa de Ahorro: Una Perspectiva Internacional," Borradores de Economia 068, Banco de la Republica de Colombia. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  16. John C. Bluedorn, 2005. "Hurricanes: Intertemporal Trade and Capital Shocks," Economics Series Working Papers 241, University of Oxford, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  17. Calderon, Cesar & Loayza, Norman & Serven, Luis, 2003. "Do capital flows respond to risk and return?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3059, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  18. Adler, Johan, 2001. "From closed to open door policy: An empirical study of Chinas international capital mobility, 1958-98," Working Papers in Economics 64, Göteborg University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  19. Sebastian Edwards, 2006. "External Imbalances in an Advanced, Commodity-Exporting Country: The Case of New Zealand," NBER Working Papers 12620, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Alberto Bagnai & Stefano Manzocchi, 1999. "Current-Account Reversals in Developing Countries: The Role of Fundamentals," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 143-163, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Tarlok Singh, 2004. "Optimising and Non-optimising Balance of Trade Models: A Comparative Evidence from India," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 18(3), pages 349-368, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? IDEAS also computes impact factors for journals and working paper series.

This page was last updated on 2008-8-11.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.