{
  "title": "International Reserves—Too Much of a Zipf’s Thing",
  "publication": "IMF Working Papers, January 1, 2008",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/international-reserves-too-much-of-a-zipfs-thing-21597",
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  "summary": "Concentrated distribution of international reserves is puzzling. I show that the growth rates of international reserves bear only a very weak relationship to their initial stocks (scaled by GDP or in absolute terms), and that, by implication, the cross-sectional distribution of reserves conforms to",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Core finding",
      "content": "- The cross-sectional distribution of international reserves conforms to Zipf's law: the size of reserves is inversely related to their ranking.\n- Growth rates of international reserves bear only a very weak relationship to their initial stocks (scaled by GDP or in absolute terms)."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Evidence and robustness",
      "content": "- Evidence in favor of Zipf's law for international reserves is described as strong and time robust."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Comparison with WEO projections",
      "content": "- The cross-sectional distribution of international reserves embedded in the WEO projections is much less concentrated than implied by Zipf's law."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Subject tags and keywords (as provided)",
      "content": "- Subjects: International reserves, Population and demographics, Reserve assets, Reserves accumulation, Stocks\n- Keywords: growth rate, law influence, reserve, WP\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- wp0811\n  - wp0811 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - wp0811 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/international-reserves-too-much-of-a-zipfs-thing-21597"
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    "[Markdown version](/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/international-reserves-too-much-of-a-zipfs-thing-21597/index.md)",
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    "Authors: Mariusz A. Sumlinski",
    "Published: January 1, 2008",
    "Series: IMF Working Papers",
    "DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451868739.001",
    "The cross-sectional distribution of international reserves conforms to Zipf's law: the size of reserves is inversely related to their ranking.",
    "Growth rates of international reserves bear only a very weak relationship to their initial stocks (scaled by GDP or in absolute terms).",
    "Evidence in favor of Zipf's law for international reserves is described as strong and time robust.",
    "The cross-sectional distribution of international reserves embedded in the WEO projections is much less concentrated than implied by Zipf's law.",
    "Subjects: International reserves, Population and demographics, Reserve assets, Reserves accumulation, Stocks",
    "Keywords: growth rate, law influence, reserve, WP",
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