The policy of quantitative easing led by advanced economies and the subsequent surge of capital flows to emerging economies (EMEs) after the global financial crisis together with their recent reversal have highlighted the need to tailor a macro approach for EMEs that incorporates financial stability as an explicit policy target. But what should the approach be? Should it take … [Read more...] about Searching for a New Macroprudential Framework
Politics and Institutions
Revisiting Policymaking in a Troubled Region
During much of its recent history, Latin America has alternated between policies that are state-controlled and those that are market-centered. It has swung from the import-substitution model of the post war era to the liberalization of the Washington Consensus of the 1990s with a host of lesser variations in areas ranging from industry to trade. Yet, significant advances … [Read more...] about Revisiting Policymaking in a Troubled Region
Reforming Constitutions: A Pandora’s Box
In March 1990, some 2 million Colombians cast a symbolic vote during elections demanding a new constitution. The vote followed a harrowing year of guerrilla, paramilitary and drug trafficking violence. Three presidential candidates had been assassinated, and many people argued that only a new national charter, creating a more inclusive, representative and decentralized … [Read more...] about Reforming Constitutions: A Pandora’s Box
Natural Disasters: How Nations Build Resilience
In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake which struck Haiti in 2010, killing more than 220,000 people and leaving 1 million homeless, governments and multilateral organizations gathered in New York to pledge an unprecedented $10 billion in emergency aid and long-term reconstruction. “Our goal is not to rebuild. It is to build back better,” said then U.N. … [Read more...] about Natural Disasters: How Nations Build Resilience
Fiscal Discipline: Can Constitutions Help?
By Mark Hallerberg Recently, there has been renewed interest in incorporating fiscal rules directly into constitutions. In 2012, the signatories of the so-called "Fiscal Compact" in Europe were expected to introduce a balanced budget rule that would "preferably (have) constitutional provisions." Those signatories included 25 of the current 28 member states of the European … [Read more...] about Fiscal Discipline: Can Constitutions Help?