Publications

June 2005
Article

Inflation, Openness, and Exchange Rate Regimes: The Quest for Short-Term Commitment

By: Laura Alfaro

This paper further tests Romer's (1993) extension of Kydland and Prescott's (1977) predictions for dynamic-inconsistency problems in open economies. In a panel data set of developed and developing countries from 1973 to 1998, I find that openness does not play a role... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Economy; Currency Exchange Rate; Developing Countries and Economies; Inflation and Deflation

Person Page

Media

This lists media reports covering my firm dollarDEX Investments or me (or my colleagues), or columns written by me (or my colleagues). There are all... View Details

March 2006 (Revised April 2010)
Case

China: To Float or Not To Float? (A)

By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel

On July 21, 2005 China revalued its decade-long quasi-fixed exchange rate of approximately 8.28 yuan per U.S. dollar by 2.1% to 8.11 and, at the same time, introduced a more market-based exchange rate system. Many analysts and economists were disappointed with what... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Trade; Currency Exchange Rate; Governance Controls; Policy; Growth and Development Strategy; China

Web

Site Credits - A Chronicle of the China Trade

of the China Trade Introduction Doing Business with China Augustine Heard & Co. The Canton Trade Commodities & Currencies Treaty Ports & Compradors Clippers & Steamships Exploring Trade Links Chinese Competition Expatriate Traders... View Details

February 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Chronology of the Asian Financial Crisis

By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael Di Tella and Renee Kim

In July 1997, Thailand became the first Asian "tiger" economy to abandon its fixed exchange rate system in response to speculative attacks on its currency. Investors started to flee Asia, and the crisis rapidly spread to other countries. Central banks spent billions of... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Currency Exchange Rate; Central Banking; Policy; Crisis Management; Asia; Thailand

01 Mar 2011
News

The Check Is in the Mail

kept by American merchants at a time when hard currency was often scarce. Period documents reveal a fascinating level of intimate detail in how a creditor’s reliability was assessed. “You start to get a real, not abstract, image of... View Details

Keywords: Arts, Sports, Language, Driving, and Other Schools; Educational Services; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information

01 Dec 2018
News

Averting Crisis

website can see the probability that a given sector within a certain country is currently experiencing a bubble. For users seeking a longer-term perspective, the site also includes a historical database of banking, stock market, and View Details

01 Mar 2009
News

Buddy, Can You Spare a Trillion

periodically blown up other emerging markets. Having already devalued the renminbi in 1994, and having retained capital controls throughout the period of economic reform, China suffered no currency crisis in 1997–1998. When the Chinese... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

02 Jan 2018
Op-Ed

'Dear Working Knowledge'--Our Favorite Reader Comments of the Year

Do Bitcoin and Digital Currency Have a Future? Austin Brown comments: Cryptocurrencies also have no inherent value in and of themselves, so the big question here is whether or not they are actually a good mechanism by which to exchange... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

January 1995 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Syscom Computers

By: Kenneth A. Froot, Peter Tufano and Chris L Marshall

Discusses a company deciding what it should do to manage its worldwide hedging operations. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Currency Exchange Rate; Information Management; Management Practices and Processes; Risk Management; Operations

Find at Harvard

15 Sep 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Debt Redemption and Reserve Accumulation

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk

July 2010 (Revised March 2012)
Case

China 'Unbalanced'

By: Diego A. Comin and Richard H.K. Vietor

In 2010, Wen Jiabao looked back at the financial crisis with some satisfaction. Using aggressive fiscal and monetary policy, China had weathered the crisis successfully, growing 8.7% annually in 2010. Most of the unemployed workers had returned to work, often... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Trade; Currency Exchange Rate; Investment; Local Range; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; China

April 2011
Teaching Note

European Union: The Road to Lisbon (TN)

By: J. Gunnar Trumbull and Diane Choi

Teaching Note for 711032. View Details

Keywords: Currency; Financial Crisis; Problems and Challenges; Performance Effectiveness; Portugal

December 1994 (Revised June 1995)
Case

Tiffany & Co.--1993

By: W. Carl Kester and Kendall Backstrand

The restructuring of Tiffany's retailing agreement with Mitsukoshi Ltd. in 1993 exposed Tiffany to substantial yen/dollar exchange rate volatility that it had not previously faced. This new exposure requires Tiffany to establish risk management policies and practices.... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Currency Exchange Rate; Management Practices and Processes; Risk Management; Agreements and Arrangements; Situation or Environment

September 2010 (Revised March 2012)
Teaching Note

China "Unbalanced" (TN)

By: Diego A. Comin and Richard H.K. Vietor

Teaching Note for 711010. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Policy; Trade; Currency Exchange Rate; Energy; Investment; China; United States

December 1980 (Revised January 1994)
Case

International Foodstuffs

By: David E. Bell

Describes three fairly routine instances in which considerations of risk exposure in foreign exchange are necessary. The three are a delayed payment for a grain shipment, a foreign subsidiary facing devaluation of its domestic currency, and a foreign acquisition. The... View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; Risk and Uncertainty; International Relations; Mergers and Acquisitions; Money; International Finance; Financial Services Industry