Capital Controls, Sudden Stops and Current Account Reversals

Sebastian Edwards

No 11170, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: In this paper I use a broad multi-country data set to analyze the relationship between restrictions to capital mobility and external crises. The analysis focuses on two manifestations of external crises: (a) sudden stops of capital inflows; and (b) current account reversals. I deal with two important policy-related issues: First, does the extent of capital mobility affect countries' degree of vulnerability to external crises; and second, does the extent of capital mobility determine the depth of external crises -- as measured by the decline in growth -- once the crises occur? Overall, my results cast some doubts on the assertion that increased capital mobility has caused heightened macroeconomic vulnerabilities. I find no systematic evidence suggesting that countries with higher capital mobility tend to have a higher incidence of crises, or tend to face a higher probability of having a crisis, than countries with lower mobility. My results do suggest, however, that once a crisis occurs, countries with higher capital mobility may face a higher cost, in terms of growth decline.

JEL-codes: F30 F32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005-03
Note: IFM
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (104)

Published as Capital Controls, Sudden Stops, and Current Account Reversals , Sebastian Edwards. in Capital Controls and Capital Flows in Emerging Economies: Policies, Practices, and Consequences , Edwards. 2007

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Chapter: Capital Controls, Sudden Stops, and Current Account Reversals (2007)
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