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International Reserves and Self-Insurance against External Shocks

Author

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  • Régis Barnichon

Abstract

The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate. This paper develops an analytical framework that helps to quantify the optimal level of international reserves for a small open economy with limited access to foreign capital and subject to natural disasters or terms of trade shocks. International reserves allow the country to relieve balance of payments pressures caused by external shocks and to avoid large fluctuations in imports. I calibrate the model to two regions, the Caribbean and the Sahel, and assess the sensitivity of the results.

Suggested Citation

  • Régis Barnichon, 2008. "International Reserves and Self-Insurance against External Shocks," IMF Working Papers 2008/149, International Monetary Fund.
  • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2008/149
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mr. Romain Ranciere & Mr. Olivier D Jeanne, 2006. "The Optimal Level of International Reserves for Emerging Market Countries: Formulas and Applications," IMF Working Papers 2006/229, International Monetary Fund.
    2. Ogaki, Masao & Zhang, Qiang, 2001. "Decreasing Relative Risk Aversion and Tests of Risk Sharing," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 69(2), pages 515-526, March.
    3. Masao Ogaki & Jonathan D. Ostry & Carmen M. Reinhart, 1996. "Saving Behavior in Low- and Middle-Income Developing Countries: A Comparison," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 43(1), pages 38-71, March.
    4. Mr. Joshua Aizenman & Mr. Jaewoo Lee, 2005. "International Reserves: Precautionary vs. Mercantilist Views, Theory and Evidence," IMF Working Papers 2005/198, International Monetary Fund.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ilan Noy & Christopher Edmonds, 2019. "Increasing fiscal resilience to disasters in the Pacific," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 97(3), pages 1375-1393, July.
    2. Heng, Dyna & Corbett, Jenny, 2011. "What Drives Some Countries to Hoard Foreign Reserves?," MPRA Paper 48552, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Oct 2011.
    3. Heng, Dyna, 2011. "Does financial development reduce the motivation to hoard foreign reserves?," MPRA Paper 48555, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2012.
    4. Miss Nkunde Mwase, 2012. "How much should I hold? Reserve Adequacy in Emerging Markets and Small Islands," IMF Working Papers 2012/205, International Monetary Fund.
    5. Ilan Noy & Christopher Edmonds, 2016. "The Economic and Fiscal Burdens of Disasters in the Pacific," CESifo Working Paper Series 6237, CESifo.
    6. Winston Moore & Adrian Glean, 2016. "Foreign exchange reserve adequacy and exogenous shocks," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(6), pages 490-501, February.
    7. Ms. Nicole Laframboise & Mr. Boileau Loko, 2012. "Natural Disasters: Mitigating Impact, Managing Risks," IMF Working Papers 2012/245, International Monetary Fund.

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