Capital Flow Data – A Guide for Empirical Analysis and Real-time Tracking
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Summary:
This paper provides an analytical overview of the most widely used capital flow datasets. The paper is written as a guide for academics who embark on empirical research projects and for policymakers who need timely information on capital flow developments to inform their decisions. We address common misconceptions about capital flow data and discuss differences between high-frequency proxies for portfolio flows. In a nowcasting “horse race” we show that high-frequency proxies have significant predictive content for portfolio flows from the balance of payments (BoP). We also construct a new dataset for academic use, consisting of monthly portfolio flows broadly consistent with BoP data.
Starting in 2023, updates to the monthly portfolio flow dataset introduced in this paper are provided as part of the OECD’s Monthly Capital Flow Dataset (De Crescenzio and Lepers 2021), available here: https://www.oecd.org/daf/inv/investment-policy/oecd-monthly-capital-flow-dataset.xlsx
Series:
Working Paper No. 2020/171
Subject:
Balance of payments Balance of payments statistics Capital flows Economic and financial statistics Emerging and frontier financial markets Financial institutions Financial markets Flow of funds National accounts Stocks
Frequency:
regular
English
Publication Date:
August 21, 2020
ISBN/ISSN:
9781513554495/1018-5941
Stock No:
WPIEA2020171
Pages:
47
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