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! ]

International Finance

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Maurice Obstfeld

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

Abstract

This essay written for The New Palgrave dictionary of Ecnomics provides a selective and interpretive account of the development of thought on international financial questions. Attention is focused on the process of international adjustment and on the proper definition of external balance. Since the first descriptions of the price-specie-flow mechanism in Humes time, the definition of external balance has evolved in response to changes in the world economy's structure. The foreign reserve constraint so central under the gold standard or in the early Bretton Woods years is less important under conditions of high international capital mobility. Increasingly, the current account and the national intertemporal budget constraint are emphasized in discussions of international adjustment. In analogy with the idea of a high-employment government budget surplus, a working definition of external balance might be a current account that maintains the highest possible steady consumption level consistent with the economy's expected intertemporal budget constraint. Intertemporal approaches to external balance become more difficult to apply when countries face credit rationing as a result of nonrepayment risk.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w2077.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: Access to the full text is generally limited to series subscribers, however if the top level domain of the client browser is in a developing country or transition economy free access is provided. More information about subscriptions and free access is available at http://www.nber.org/wwphelp.html.

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 2077.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: Dec 1988
Date of revision:
Publication status: published as From The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, edited by John Eatwell, Murray Milgate, and Peter Newman, Vol. 2, E to J, pp. 898-906. New York: Stockton Press, 1987.
Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:2077

Note: ITI IFM
Contact details of provider:
Postal: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
Phone: 617-868-3900
Email:
Web page: http://www.nber.org
More information through EDIRC

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

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

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. Maurice Obstfeld., 2001. "International Macroeconomics: Beyond the Mundell-Fleming Model," Center for International and Development Economics Research (CIDER) Working Papers C01-121, University of California at Berkeley. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Sebastian Edwards, 2001. "Capital Mobility and Economic Performance: Are Emerging Economies Different?," NBER Working Papers 8076, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Antoni Estevadeordal & Alan M. Taylor, 2002. "A Century of Missing Trade?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 383-393, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Alan M. Taylor & Janine L. F. Wilson, 2006. "International Trade and Finance under the Two Hegemons: Complementaries in the United Kingdom 1870-1913 and the United States 1920-30," NBER Working Papers 12543, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Sebastian Edwards, 1999. "How Effective are Capital Controls?," NBER Working Papers 7413, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Gianluca Benigno & Pierpaolo Benigno, 2003. "Designing targeting rules for international monetary policy cooperation," Working Paper Series 279, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Alex Luiz Ferreira & Miguel León-Ledesma, 2003. "Does the Real Interest Parity Hypothesis Hold? Evidence for Developed and Emerging Markets," Studies in Economics 0301, Department of Economics, University of Kent. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Peter L. Rousseau & Richard Sylla, 2001. "Financial Systems, Economic Growth, and Globalization," NBER Working Papers 8323, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Salvador Gil-Pareja & Simón Sosvilla-Rivero, 2004. "Export market integration in the European Union," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 0, pages 271-301, November. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Maria Eleftheriou & Dieter Gerdesmeier & Barbara Roffia, 2006. "Monetary policy rules in the pre-EMU era - Is there a common rule?," Working Paper Series 659, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
  11. Peter L. Rousseau, 2002. "Historical Perspectives on Financial Development and Economic Growth," NBER Working Papers 9333, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? There are NEP reports in over 80 fields that deliver new research to your email.

This page was last updated on 2008-10-11.

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.