A Solution to Two Paradoxes of International Capital Flows

Author/Editor:

Shang-Jin Wei ; Jiandong Ju

Publication Date:

July 1, 2006

Electronic Access:

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Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary:

International capital flows from rich to poor countries can be regarded as either too low (the Lucas paradox in a one-sector model) or too high (when compared with the logic of factor price equalization in a two-sector model). To resolve the paradoxes, we introduce a non-neoclassical model which features financial contracts and firm heterogeneity. In our model, free patterns of gross capital flow emerge as a function of the quality of the financial system and the level of protection for property rights(i.e., the risk of expropriation. A poor country with an inefficient financial system but a low expropriation risk may simultaneously experience an outflow of financial capital but an inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), resulting in a small net flow.

Series:

Working Paper No. 2006/178

Subject:

Capital flows Foreign direct investment Self-employment Trade in goods Trade liberalization

English

Publication Date:

July 1, 2006

ISBN/ISSN:

9781451864380/1018-5941

Stock No:

WPIEA2006178

Pages:

39

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