Foreign Reserve Adequacy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Publication Date:

June 1, 2008

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:

This paper looks at the question of adequacy of reserves in sub-Saharan African countries in light of the shocks faced by these countries. Literature on optimal reserves so far has not paid attention to the particular shocks facing low-income countries. We use a two-good endowment economy model facing terms of trade and aid shocks to derive the optimal level of reserves by comparing the cost of holding reserves with their benefits as an insurance against a shock. We find that the optimal level of reserves depends upon the size of these shocks, their probability, and the output cost associated with them,

Series:

Working Paper No. 2008/150

Subject:

Aid flows Consumption International reserves Terms of trade Trade balance

English

Publication Date:

June 1, 2008

ISBN/ISSN:

9781451870084/1018-5941

Stock No:

WPIEA2008150

Pages:

36

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