Goohoon Kwon

Russia's Regions: Income Volatility, Labor Mobility and Fiscal Policy

PCT No. PCT/GB94/01408 Sec. 371 Date Jun. 20, 1996 Sec. 102(e) Date Jun. 20, 1996 PCT Filed Jun. 29, 1994 PCT Pub. No. WO95/01272 PCT Pub. Date Jan. 12, 1995A brake booster having a fluid actuated piston in the form of a diaphragm (5) to which the supply of fluid is controlled by a valve mechanism (8A, 14A, 17), actuated by a driver-operated force input member (16) which acts via a reaction element (19) on an output member (10) providing power assisted input to a master cylinder. The booster includes a force transmission assembly (14,8) providing surfaces through which force is transmitted between the input and output members (16,10). A spring (24) is arranged to yield under a predetermined force to permit relative movement between parts (14) and (8) such as to change the ratio of the operative surface areas and thereby increase the boost ratio.

A General Equilibrium Approach to Interenterprise Arrears in Transition Economies with Application to Russia

This paper presents a general equilibrium model of interenterprise arrears, characterized by n-stage production technology with random productivity shocks. The model shows that large interenterprise arrears in transition economies may reflect substantial business risks in those countries and that rapid privatization and commercialization may contribute to a huge initial accumulation of trade credits and arrears. The paper also suggests that administrative measures aimed at immediate reduction of IEA such as imposition of prepayments and penalty charges, would not be as effective as partial equilibrium frameworks suggest. Consequently, a fundamental solution should be sought instead in reducing business risks or improving enterprise information. Finally, the paper discusses the relevance of the model to Russian experience in 1993 and 1994.

Regional Financial Integration in the Caribbean: Evidence from Financial and Macroeconomic Data

This paper assesses the extent of regional financial integration in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) by analyzing equity prices in the region and rigidity of external financing constraints. The results are presented in a cross-regional perspective. The Caribbean stock markets are not as well integrated as one would expect from the extent of cross-listing and importance of regional banking groups: price differentials of cross-listed stocks reach an average of 5 percent. Auto-Regressive models suggest that these price differentials are only slowly arbitraged away, with half-lives exceeding 7 worked days, even when looking only at large arbitrage opportunities (using a Threshold Auto-Regressive model). A speculative methodology using macroeconomic data seems to confirm these findings. A strong mean reversion of the current account (respectively regional trade imbalances) is interpreted, following Obstfeld and Taylor (2004), as a lack of ways to finance current account deficits, i.e. a lack of global (respectively regional) financial integration. The region appears to be much less integrated than the EU15 or the ASEAN+3 groups, although it fares well compared to other LDCs.

Experiences with Monetary Integration and Lessons for Korean Unification

This paper discusses the timing of monetary integration and supporting economic policies during a rapid and largely uncontrolled process of Korean reunification. The paper concludes that the transitory use of a separate currency in each region and supporting economic policies would help limit the initial costs of unification although the extent of the eventual cost reduction would depend critically on the success of ensuing economic reforms in the North during the transition.