A Welfare Analysis of Capital Account Liberalization

Haiping Zhang () and Juergen von Hagen ()

No 19-2007, Working Papers from Singapore Management University, School of Economics

Abstract: We develop a model of a small open economy with credit market frictions to analyze the consequences of capital account liberalization. We show that financial opening facilitates the in ows of cheap foreign funds and improves production efficiency. Reforms increasing labor market exibility can further improve such efficiency gains. However, capital account liberalization also has important distributional consequences. Specifically, it may be impossible to use public transfers to fully compensate the loss of those negatively affected by capital account liberalization. This explains why financial opening often meets fierce opposition even though it leads to efficiency gains for the economy as a whole. From a practical perspective, capital controls should be lifted gradually for a smooth transition.

Keywords: Capital account liberalization; Capital controls; Financial frictions; Macroeconomic uctuations; Asset price overshooting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E32 E44 F41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-08
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Published in SMU Economics and Statistics Working Paper Series

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Journal Article: A Welfare Analysis of Capital Account Liberalization (2008)
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