This collection of essays examines the topic of macroeconomic stabilisation in an international context, focusing on monetary policy, capital controls and exchange rates. Chapter 1, written in collaboration with Giancarlo Corsetti and Joao Duarte, reconsiders the effects of common monetary policy shocks across countries in the euro area, using a data-rich factor model and identifying shocks with high-frequency surprises around policy announcements. We show that the degree of heterogeneity in the response to shocks, while being low in financial variables and output, is significant in consumption, consumer prices and macro variables related to the labour and housing markets. Mirroring country-specific institutional and market differences, we find that home ownership rates are significantly correlated with the strength of the housing channel in monetary policy transmission. We document a high dispersion in the response to shocks of house prices and rents and show that, similar to responses in the US, these variables tend to move in different directions. In Chapter 2, I build a two-country, two-good model to examine the welfare effects of capital controls, finding that under certain circumstances, a shut-down in asset trade can be a Pareto improvement. Further, I examine the robustness of the result to parameter changes, explore a wider set of policy instruments and confront computational issues in this class of international macroeconomic models. I document that within an empirically relevant parameter span for the trade elasticity, the gains from capital controls might be significantly larger than suggested by previous contributions. Moreover, I establish that a refined form of capital controls in the shape of taxes and tariffs cannot improve upon the outcome under financial autarky. Finally, results show that the conjunction of pruning methods and endogenous discount factors can remove explosive behaviour from this class of models and restore equilibrating properties. In Chapter 3, I use a panel of 20 emerging market currencies to assess whether a model that combines fundamental and non-fundamental exchange rate forecasting approaches can successfully predict risk premia (i.e. currency excess returns) over the short horizon. In doing so, I aim to overcome three main shortcomings of earlier research: i) Sensitivity to the chosen sample period; ii) seemingly arbitrary selection of explanatory variables that differs from currency to currency; and iii) difficulty in interpreting forecasts beyond the numerical signal. Based on a theoretical model of currency risk premia, I use real exchange rate strength combined with indicators for carry, momentum and economic sentiment to homogeneously forecast risk premia across all 20 currencies in the sample at a monthly frequency. In doing so, the model remains largely agnostic about structural choices, keeping arbitrarily imposed restrictions to a minimum. Results from portfolio construction suggest that returns are significant and robust both across currencies as well as over time, with Sharpe Ratios in out-of-sample tests above 0.7.

This thesis presents three essays on the main determinants and regulations of international capital flows. The essays contribute to an ongoing significant debate among scholars and practitioners on what determines international capital flows by examining the following issues: Global liquidity, market sentiment and financial stability indices; Global liquidity and capital flow regulations; and Global governance and gross capital flows dynamics. In the first essay, we explore the main determinants of global liquidity, measured using cross-border claims of banks, and establish the link between a variety of financial stability indices and global liquidity. For a sample of 149 countries between 2000 and 2016, we find that Bloomberg Financial Stability Indices are more powerful in explaining global liquidity than FRED Financial Stress Indices and the Euro Area Systemic Stress Composite Indicator (CISS). Moreover, both market sentiment indices, namely the US Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) and the US IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index are economically and statistically significant on cross-border bank flows. The research provides useful insights on what market sentiment and financial stability indices are better to employ for financial markets surveillance and as such practice of investment management. We argue that anyone interested in using financial stability indices as indicators of financial conditions and the level of financial stress would benefit from tracking several indices and not just one. The second essay examines the effectiveness of capital controls and macroprudential policies as ways to manage the volume of international capital flows, controlling for other determinants. The findings show that capital controls imposed on inflows generally prevail over controls imposed on outflows in reducing the magnitude of capital flows. The results are consistent with the pecking order theory on capital flows and are connected with the riskiness of different asset classes. For a sample of 112 countries over 2000 and 2016, we find that FX and/or countercyclical reserve (RR_REV) and general countercyclical capital buffer requirements (CTC), reserve requirement ratios (RR) and concentration limits (CONC) are the most effective macroprudential policies for managing countries' exposures to global liquidity fluctuations. Moreover, progress is being made to reduce the systemic risks created by systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) using macroprudential policies. The results reflect recent developments in Basel III regulations and shed light on the effective calibration of capital flow regulations to country-specific circumstances. The final essay examines the link between global governance indicators and patterns of gross capital flows, controlling for other determinants. For a sample of 67 countries between 2000 and 2016, we contribute to explain the existence of the Lucas paradox (1990) on "why doesn't capital flow from rich to poor countries" and the Feldstein-Horioka puzzle (1980). The findings show that institutional quality rather than the effect of diminishing returns of capital is a key explanation for the Lucas paradox. Finally, we provide new evidence on the relationship between the multidimensional nature of financial development and gross capital flows. The findings show the importance and predominance of financial institutions versus financial markets in the dissemination of international capital flows across counties.

The main objective of my thesis is to analyze and compare reactions of Iceland and Ireland to financial and economic crisis as well as the aftermath of the crisis and the process of recovery as direct consequence of these reactions. Both states had financial sector couple of times bigger than their GDP before the crisis and after the fall of Lehman Brothers they ran into some serious difficulties. However, states chose very different approaches to deal with a situation. Ireland decided to bailout its banks despite the huge increase in public debt and cost of taxpayers' money. Iceland allowed its banks to default and backed only domestic deposits. In my thesis I also analyze the fact that Ireland is a member of euro area and therefore does not possess independent monetary policy and Iceland has independent floating currency and implications that these facts had during and after the crisis on development of countries. In the last chapter I am analyzing possibilities of future development of economies and potential risks and challenges that lie ahead of them.

The aim of thesis is to analyze the development of the national economy of Iceland in the period 1994-2013. In addition to the reasons for the collapse of the banking sector thesis examines the way the state handled the situation. The theoretical part deals with the theory of the national economy, the characteristics of the main macroeconomic aggregates, the current banking system and selected theories of the business cycle. The practical part presents economic and political characteristics of Iceland. It is followed by main analysis divided into two periods, each of which contains an analysis of the legal framework, institutional provision, development of key macroeconomic aggregates and a separate chapter devoted to the development of the banking sector. Research suggests that the overheating of the economy occurred due to the extreme expansion of the banking sector, expansionary fiscal policy and inappropriate monetary policy of the central bank. The State had to seek the help of the International Monetary Fund during the crisis. There has been introduction of capital controls to stabilize the exchange rate. The state let the banking sector go bankrupt and created new domestic banks. Subsequently fiscal indicators were stabilized, but not at the expense of the needy and households. The business cycle in Iceland is best described by the Financial instability hypothesis.

This dissertation studies the role of sterling during the Bretton Woods period (1944-1971). The Bretton Woods system has often been described as a dollar system with sterling having lost its relevance as reserve currency. However, despite being a secondary reserve currency and having lost importance, sterling was the 'first line of defence for the dollar' as contemporaries put it. They frequently stressed the fact that a sterling crisis would have consequences on the stability of the Bretton Woods system but economic historians have never tested this empirically. This dissertation argues that sterling played an important role in the stability of the international monetary system. Foreign exchange market participants globally monitored sterling and US policymaker stepped in to avoid devaluation of the British currency. US support to sterling was mainly due to the fear of a British devaluation, which could trigger a run on the dollar. When the UK finally devalued the pound in 1967, it marked the beginning of an instable period for the international monetary system. The Gold Pool, a syndicate to defend the US gold parity, collapsed in 1968 and this prefigured the end of the Bretton Woods system. This dissertation presents new data along with novel archival material from seven archives across continents to demonstrate how contagion from sterling to the dollar occurred. Modern econometric methods are used to analyse a new dataset with over 80,000 observations of offshore exchange rates, central bank intervention and reserves. This evidence shows that a secondary reserve currency can still play a key role in the stability of the international monetary system.

金融危機是一種反常的金融現象，其共同的現象是資金外流、貨幣兌美元大幅貶值、股價重挫、經濟成長衰退、百業蕭條，這就是金融危機。而近代的金融危機趨勢不再只是單一區域的問題，就由這次1997下半年自泰國貨幣開始貶值的貨幣危機，經過一連串的蔓延效應後，影響所及不限於東南亞地區，更擴及俄羅斯、東歐、拉丁美洲等地，造成全球主要新興市場和新興工業國家的經濟遭受嚴重打擊，儼然已變成全球金融危機。 大部分過去經濟學者一開始均用傳統貨幣危機理論來分析金融危機，如Krugman在1979年提出標準的「第一代危機模型」，其中強調經濟基本面的持續惡化，導致維持固定匯率區間的制度遭到阻力，也因此產生了貶值的壓力，也就是由經濟的實質面去影響到金融面。但有鑑於這次亞洲金融危機並非以基本面因素來解釋即可令人信服，必須配合經濟趨勢的潮流，再加入金融面因素來探討以補基本面理論的不足，尤其再加入因金融恐慌的自我實現危機型態以及傳染蔓延因素，兩者互相配合以求能更完整分析為何這次金融危機能襲擊全球新興市場的原因。 此外，本文並描述各國因受金融危機衝擊所帶來的影響，以及各國政府採取何種因應措施，最後仍不敵國際投機客和市場預期心理下，紛紛請求IMF的支援。但IMF的援助貸款附帶有嚴苛條件，這些國家在實行IMF的政策後卻帶來經濟更加萎縮的事實。本文亦針對IMF的各項政策提出質疑與探討，並期研擬出更正確的政策方針。台灣在這次金融危機中雖相較受創較輕，但不容否認仍對台灣經濟社會帶來許多衝擊，本文亦分析台灣金融制度的問題，並且提出各項因應政策的比較分析。最後，匯總幾點本文研究結論與建議。 第一章 導論…………………………………………1 第一節 研究背景與目的…………………………………………1 第二節 研究內容與架構…………………………………………3 第三節 研究方法與流程…………………………………………5 第二章 金融危機發生的原因………………………7 第一節 第一代危機模型…………………………………………8 第二節 基本面因素…………………………………………….10 第三節 金融面實質現象的主要論點………………………….25 第三章 金融危機的原因--系統性風險的探討……46 第一節 系統性風險下的危機………………………………….48 第二節 第二代危機模型……………………………………….52 第三節 傳染蔓延……………………………………………….58 第四章 金融危機對世界各國的衝擊………………61 第一節 危機發生前的總體經濟條件………………………….62 第二節 1997上半年危機前的苦難……………………………65 第三節 1997年貨幣危機的蔓延效應…………………………67 第四節 金融危機的因應政策………………………………….70 第五節 與1930年代經濟大蕭條比較…………………………75 第五章 金融危機對台灣的影響……………………77 第一節 基本面優勢…………………………………………….78 第二節 金融危機的影響與台灣金融問題…………………….81 第三節 台灣所採取的因應政策………………………………86 第四節 金融危機的教訓和經驗萃取………………………….92 第六章 結論…………………………………………94 第一節 本文主要發現………………………………………….95 第二節 本文政策性意涵……………………………………….96 第三節 研究建議……………………………………………….98

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