The Impact of a Fixed Exchange Rate Regime on Growth and Volatility in an Oil-‐‑dependent Economy
By Shihab Osman Malik and Faisal Bandar Alsaadi This study examines the relationship between the fixed exchange rate regime, economic growth, and output volatility in oil-‐‑producing Saudi Arabia over the post-‐‑Bretton Woods period (1973–2016). We assess the implications of the current exchange rate regime on macroeconomic and growth performance, and evaluate its sustainability in the […]
The Puzzle of Mobile Money Markets: An Example of Goldilocks Conditions
By Ricardo Martínez-Cid and Gonzalo Pernas This paper investigates the supply-side and demand-side factors that explain the success of mobile money markets. Namely, we argue that there exists a set of Goldilocks conditions that best supports mobile money services. A population must have exposure to financial services to understand mobile money and have a high […]
The Investment Cost of Currency Crises in Emerging Markets: An Empirical Treatment from 1994-2015
By Eric Ramoutar Currency crises – large and sudden depreciations in the value of a country’s currency – have been an unfortunate by-product of increased financial openness over the last half century. This study extends the already vast literature on the impact of currency crises by estimating how currency crises affect domestic investment in emerging […]
The Rise of Mobile Money in Kenya: The Changing Landscape of M-PESA’s Impact on Financial Inclusion
By Hong Zhu M-PESA, the hugely popular mobile money system in Kenya, has been celebrated for its potential to “bank the unbanked” and increase access to financial services. This paper provides evidence to support this idea and explores mechanisms through which this might be the case. It specifically looks at the savings products held by […]