The External Wealth of Nations Mark II: Revised and Extended Estimates of Foreign Assets and Liabilities, 1970–2004

Author/Editor:

Philip R. Lane ; Gian M Milesi-Ferretti

Publication Date:

March 1, 2006

Electronic Access:

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Link to data for this title

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:

We construct estimates of external assets and liabilities for 145 countries for the period 1970-2004. We describe our estimation methods and present key features of the data at the country and the global level. We focus on trends in net and gross external positions, and the composition of international portfolios, distinguishing between foreign direct investment, portfolio equity investment, official reserves, and external debt. We document the increasing importance of equity financing and the improvement in the external position for emerging markets, and the differing pace of financial integration between advanced and developing economies. We also show the existence of a global discrepancy between estimated foreign assets and liabilities, and identify the asset categories that account for this discrepancy.

Series:

Working Paper No. 2006/069

Subject:

Current account Emerging and frontier financial markets External position Foreign assets Stocks

Notes:

Link to updated and extended dataset (1970-2014) (Zip file size 961KB)

English

Publication Date:

March 1, 2006

ISBN/ISSN:

9781451863291/1018-5941

Stock No:

WPIEA2006069

Pages:

50

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