Boom-Bust Cycles in Middle Income Countries: Facts and Explanation

51 Pages Posted: 29 Oct 2002

See all articles by Aaron Tornell

Aaron Tornell

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Frank Westermann

University of Osnabrueck - Department of Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) - Ifo Institute

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: July 2002

Abstract

In this paper we characterize empirically the comovements of macro variables typically observed in middle income countries, as well as the "boom-bust cycle" that has been observed during the last two decades. We find that many countries that have liberalized their financial markets, have witnessed the development of lending booms. Most of the time the boom gradually decelerates. But sometimes the boom ends in twin currency and banking crises, and is followed by a protracted credit crunch that outlives a short-lived recession. We also find that during lending booms there is a real appreciation and the nontradables (N) sector grows faster than the tradables (T) sector. Meanwhile, the opposite is true in the aftermath of crisis. We argue that these comovements are generated by the interaction of two characteristics of financing typical of middle income countries: risky currency mismatch and asymmetric financing opportunities across the N- and T-sectors.

JEL Classification: E32, E44, F32, F44

Suggested Citation

Tornell, Aaron and Westermann, Frank, Boom-Bust Cycles in Middle Income Countries: Facts and Explanation (July 2002). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=340902 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.340902

Aaron Tornell

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Department of Economics ( email )

Box 951477
Bunche Hall 8387
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1477
United States
310-794-1686 (Phone)
310-825-9528 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

Frank Westermann (Contact Author)

University of Osnabrueck - Department of Economics ( email )

Rolandstr. 8
Osnabrueck, D-49069
Germany

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) - Ifo Institute ( email )

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, 01069
Germany

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
152
Abstract Views
2,799
Rank
287,833
PlumX Metrics