Accumulation of Reserves and Keeping Up with the Joneses: The Case of LATAM Economies

Yin-Wong Cheung and Rajeswari Sengupta

No 212010, Working Papers from Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research

Abstract: In this paper we explore the 'Mrs.Machlup's Wardrobe' hypothesis to understand the growing trend of Latin American economies amassing large stocks of international reserves. Using annual data from 1980 to 2007, we examine the relevance of the argument that economies continue to add to their existing reserves stock in order to keep up with the Joneses. We find strong evidence of presence of the Joneses effect. The effect is robust to the inclusion of traditional determinants of reserve accumulation as well as region specific factors including commodity exports that set the Latin American economies apart from other emerging economies.

Keywords: Demand for International Reserves; ¡¥Mrs. Machlup¡¦s Wardrobe¡¦ Hypothesis; Speculative Attack; Competitive Hoarding; Financial Crisis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F3 F4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2010-08
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Accumulation of reserves and keeping up with the Joneses: The case of LATAM economies (2011)
Working Paper: Accumulation of reserves and keeping up with the Joneses: the case of LATAM economies (2010)
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