Date of Award
9-2011
Document type
dissertation
Access Type
Open Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Program
Economics
First Advisor
Gerald Epstein
Second Advisor
Arslan Razmi
Third Advisor
James Heintz
Subject Categories
Economics
Abstract
One of the defining trends in international finance over the last two decades has been the unprecedented growth in the levels of international reserves accumulated by emerging nations. In a global financial system characterized by market failures and sudden stops, many developing countries have opted for the protection provided by individual accumulation of reserves as a second-best outcome. However, as suggested by Rodrik (2006), among others, the accumulation of reserves comes at a hefty opportunity cost to the nations that hold them. It is this particular aspect that brings into question--or at least merits a re-examination of--the validity and efficiency of reserve accumulation as a stabilization and development strategy, particularly in the context of some cash-strapped developing nations. This dissertation takes an in-depth look at this trend in Latin America by investigating the extent of protection of these precautionary reserves, the role of contagion risk in the accumulation process, and the outlook of regional arrangements of cooperation, such as regional reserve pooling mechanisms.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/2395860
Recommended Citation
Rosero, Luis Daniel, "Essays on International Reserve Accumulation and Cooperation in Latin America" (2011). Open Access Dissertations. 473.
https://doi.org/10.7275/2395860
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations/473